Originally Posted on the Previous Iteration of Baseball.FYI by Bill Thompson
Baseball never ends, that’s a mantra I’ve learned to live my life by. It’s served me well as it has helped me to dive headfirst into the world of unaffiliated baseball. One of the leagues I have been lucky enough to get to watch the past few years is Liga de Béisbol Profesional de la República Dominicana, or LIDOM.
I’m sure plenty of you already know about LIDOM or at the very least have heard of the Dominican Republic’s respected winter league. For those who haven’t, it’s time to get to know a little about the league that will make you love baseball again.
LIDOM’s roots stretch back to the 1900s, though the league itself would not be formed until 1951. While there have been a few seasons that were not played for one reason or another, the league has basically marched on year-after-year, quietly establishing itself as one of the premier unaffiliated leagues the world over. The quiet part is actually kind of funny, for reasons we will get to in a bit.
Back to LIDOM’s history, like most unaffiliated leagues there’s always plenty of drama. However, there’s honestly not that much drama worth talking about. The brass tacks of the league throughout its history have been that the season starts, great baseball is played, the fans have a great time, and a champion is crowned. Lather, rinse, and repeat every year.
As far as format goes, LIDOM is fairly simple to break down. It’s presently a six-team league (Águilas Cibaeñas, Estrellas Orientales, Gigantes del Cibao, Leones del Escogido, Tigres del Licey, and Toros del Este). Each season starts in the middle of October and ends near the end of January.
Usually, the season consists of 50 regular-season games, then an 18 game round robin between the four teams that advance to the playoffs, and finally a best-of-nine championship series between the two remaining teams.
Coronavirus has reared its ugly head this year and the regular season just started in the middle of November and will only be 30 games. The playoffs will consist of the top five teams. The fourth and fifth seeds play a three-game set. Whoever wins that advances to face the number one seed in a best-of-seven series while the two and three seed square off under the same rules. The championship series will then be a best-of-seven affair as well. As is always the case the winner of the LIDOM championship will then advance to compete against other league champions in the Serie del Caribe.
The one aspect of LIDOM that always fascinates people is the player movement come playoff time. Any player who doesn’t make the playoffs can be drafted by the teams that did make the playoffs. Typically this draft is limited to four or so selections per team, and the selected players become members of the team that picked them.
Then in the championship series, the process repeats itself and then again going into Serie del Caribe. Team rosters are limited to 35 total, with 28 active for a game, and that means that if a team selects a player they have to cut an existing player to make room.
This year it’s safe to assume that players will be drafted after every round. It’s a regular approach throughout Latin winter leagues and it makes for interesting stories as a player could play for two or three teams in the playoffs and then is automatically returned to their regular team at the start of the next season.
Outside of that one little twist, LIDOM operates under standard baseball rules. They do employ a universal designated hitter, but that’s about the only thing one needs to know when it comes to the rules of in-game action. At the same time, be prepared for a more lively brand of baseball. LIDOM is built around personality, both of the teams and the players.
The players are encouraged to be themselves, to celebrate vociferously, show as much emotion as they possibly can, and to make the game fun. They do exactly that, and those efforts are aided by teams buying into that concept. Those personalities come in handy in a league where there aren’t a lot of home runs and runs are scored through action plays like hit and runs, stealing bases, and playing small ball.
Each team plays in an 8,000-18,000 seat stadium, with Licey and Escogido sharing a stadium. Those stadiums contain the lifeblood of LIDOM; the fans. Unfortunately, there’s a chance there won’t be any fans in LIDOM stadiums during the 2020-2021 season thanks to Coronavirus concerns.
I really can’t stress how unfortunate that is for those who have never seen a packed Estadio Cibao when it’s the playoffs and Licey and Cibaeñas are continuing their neverending rivalry. The fans in LIDOM are loud, they make their opinions on players and teams known, and they are always having a blast with chants, fight songs, and heckling that would make your mom blush. If the fans never find their way to the stands this season that will be a shame, a necessary one, but still a shame.
Due to their only being six teams in the league, they all have some sort of rivalry with one another. Some are more fierce than others, though none compare to the highs and lows of the Licey/Cibaeñas rivalry. The two teams hate one another, their fans hate one another, and those fans teach their kids to hate the other team. Because LIDOM is a small league it ensures that Licey and Cibaeñas play quite often and their encounters are always heated. None of the other rivalries can touch what Licey and Cibaeñas have going on, but I’m not sure the world could handle an entire league with the hatred those two teams harbor for one another.
If LIDOM sounds like the league for you, guess what, you’re in luck. LIDOM is an extremely easy league to watch. Every game from the league is streamed via DR Sports. Games can be found on the website or app and easily cast to your TV screen of choice. The quality is top-notch and the price of $19 for the whole season (if you like the league enough to come back next year you can get the season package for $14 if you sign up early) can’t be beaten. The season package includes the regular season and the entirety of the playoffs. It does not include any Serie del Caribe games, which is its only real drawback.
Those who love baseball and can’t get enough of it should give LIDOM a shot. It’s a fun baseball league, with plenty of action, emotion, and excitement. There are intense rivalries, the quality of baseball is very high (the league consists of a mixture of MLB prospects, veterans, and unaffiliated journeymen), and come playoff time you’ll be reminded of what emotionally driven baseball can do for the soul. If you’ve read this far you know you need to get a LIDOM season package, every baseball fan owes themselves the little treat that is LIDOM.