Tigres del Licey


Tigres del Licey is a professional baseball team founded in 1907 based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of the two franchises of the Capital city of the country, the oldest and the most successful team in the Dominican league, with and 10 Caribbean Series as of January, 2017. Some of their best players have included Alonzo Perry, Pedro González, Manuel Mota, Guayubín Olivo, César Gerónimo, and Elvio Jiménez. Many of the best Dominican players and Major League Baseball players have taken part in the long history of the Tigres, including Tommy Lasorda, baseball hall-of-famer who took the team to the 1973 Caribbean World Series title. The Licey logo is a cursive "L". The team, nicknamed "El Glorioso" has a passionate fan base.

History

Circa 1900, baseball in the Dominican Republic was only a minor pastime, due to the heavy political turmoil surrounding the country back then. By 1907, baseball was increasing in popularity.
The Licey team was founded as the result of a meeting that took place in the house of Vicente María Vallejo, on el Conde Street, in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, on November 9, 1907. Founding members were: George and Cuncún Pou, Luis and Federico Fiallo, Luis and Pinchán Valejo, Luis Castillo, Salvador Piñeyro, Alvaro Alvarez, Tutú Martínez, Angel and Chichí Mieses, Arturo Perdomo, Bi Sanchez, Virgilio Abreu, Alberto Peña, Arturo Nolasco and Tulio Piña. Many of the founding members of the original team were also part of the first roster.
Over the next 16 years, Licey became so dominant that an agreement was made among the three other competing teams to form a new team, composed of their best players, in order to beat Licey. This team, called "Leones del Escogido", still exists and the teams share the same stadium in Santo Domingo.
During what Dominicans call the "first stage" of the country's baseball history, the game was only played during the day. The game's "second stage" didn’t begin until dictator Rafael Trujillo built the capital's Estadio Quisqueya in 1955, a brilliantly designed and built stadium for the time. With the stadium came lights and what is considered the Dominican's golden age of baseball.

Current standing

Licey has won the "Serie del Caribe" 10 times. In an unusual situation during the 2008 season Licey finished second in the Dominican championship but replaced Puerto Rico, which was absent. Licey won the series defeating Mexico, Venezuela and their Dominican rival the Aguilas Cibaeñas. Licey is the only team to have won the series on every venue celebrated.

Famous players and managers

Final Series and championships

Current roster 2016-17

Cited references