Cibaeñas Eagles

The Águilas Cibaeñas is a professional baseball team of the Professional Baseball League of the Dominican Republic (LIDOM), based in Santiago de los Caballeros, in the northern region of Cibao. Founded in 1933, the team has won 6 Caribbean Series and 22 national titles.

The team is popular among Dominican baseball fans for the phrase: “La Leña Esta HERE,” and Águilas Cibaeñas has earned the nicknames “Las Cuyayas” and “Los Mameyes.” These nicknames refer to the team's mascot and the classic yellow color that the team uses in its official uniform.

The Águilas Cibaeñas won the last game of the series in their home stadium, the Cibao Stadium, by a score of 2-1. Mendy López and Rafael Furcal hit home runs in the game. Furcal, popularly known as “Furcalazo,” sealed the game with his home run in the eighth inning.

Cibao Stadium is nicknamed “Death Valley” and many fans consider it the most intimidating stadium for the other team in the country or even the entire Caribbean. Cibao Stadium is known as the loudest and happiest stadium in the Caribbean. Historically the Águilas Cibaeñas have performed much better at home than away from home.

The Águilas Cibaeñas have more former players in Major League Baseball than any other Dominican team. Some current MLB players who played with Águilas Cibaeñas include Edwin Encarnación, Carlos Martínez, José Reyes, Jonathan Villar, Carlos Gómez, Juan Lagares, Dellin Betances, Bartolo Colón, Wandy Rodríguez, Melky Cabrera, Danny Santana, Yoenis Céspedes, Starling Marte, Brandon Moss and current Cleveland Guardians manager Terry Francona.

History

1933-1937: birth of the team

The trajectory of the Águilas Cibaeñas as one of the representative teams of the Cibao region is linked to the development of baseball in the valley of death . Although baseball had been known in the Dominican Republic since the end of the 19th century, the idea of creating a fourth team arose in the 1930s. Initially the team was named Santiago B.B.C., on Monday, January 2, 1933, as the first representative novena of this city and the region in the national championships, according to the birth certificate shown by the board of directors.

In that meeting held on Monday, January 2, 1933, which formally constituted the famous Santiago Baseball Club team, well-known municipalities of this noble city participated. Domingo O. Bermúdez, Rafael F. Bonnelly, Augusto Vega Espaillat, Dr. Manuel Grullón, Eladio Victoria Jr., Ramón Suárez Vásquez and Mr. Marcos A. Cabral led the group that shaped the local representative.

Messrs. Gustavo Tavarez, W.E. Brown Benjamín Sánchez G, Luis Meses Ariza, Rafael V. Meyreles, Esteban Piola, Luis Pérez and Demetrio Mojica.

Five days after their formation, on Saturday, January 7, 1933, they held their first international match playing in the Play Enriquillo against the famous Cuban ninth team “Cuban Star”. The visitors won the double match with scores of 9-4 and 4-1.

In the second game, the pitcher Cocaína García, with his compatriot Alejandro Oms in circulation, hit the first home run on the grounds of Enriquillo Park, as revealed by Juan Antonio Paulino (Pirí) in his book Baseball Review of the First Santiago de América. Three weeks later, on January 26, the ninth Ponce from Puerto Rico visited Santiago, limiting the Santiago Baseball Club to a single run, scored on the leg of Luis Tomas Saillant, pushing for a triple by catcher Papín Henríquez. The Santiago team achieved its first great feat on August 16, 1933, when it twice blanked the already famous Licey team from the capital. In the first game. The people of Santiago counted on the extraordinary work of the vegan Blanquito El Pino.

While in the second challenge of the day held under the hot sun of Enriquillo Park, Bertico Pichardo from Santiago with the help of El Pino in the ninth left Licey blank again, giving him 18 consecutive zeros.

The name Águilas Cibaeñas: As a curious note, it is important to note that the name Águilas Cibaeñas appears published for the first time on Monday, April 8, 1929 in the sports page of the newspaper LISTIN DIARIO, that is, four years before the founding of the Santiago Baseball Club. On that occasion the following headline was read: Bragaña Pitching, without the “seasoning” of Perrubia, left the Águilas Cibaeñas with five “attempts” and only one “flight.” The chronicle signed by F. Elio Alcántara and Moby Dick referred to the defeat of the Águilas del Sandino 10-1 at the hands of Licey during the 1929 national championship.

The members of the Santiago Baseball Club played a romantic ball, since according to Maestro Pirí, they "lived off their salaries as workers and only received a ridiculous sum for what they called dividends (box office income) in each game, practicing "Sports for fun and exercise and without losing enthusiasm."

With the powerful emblem of the Eagle, a symbol of majesty and victory throughout history, Santiago B.B.C. officially adopts the name “Águilas Cibaeñas” four years later with the proposal made by Luis Tomás Saillant, on January 28 1937, the start date of his successful competitive career in professional ball.

Given the overwhelming title of champion obtained in 1936 by the Estrellas Orientales, the residents of Santo Domingo proposed holding the National Championship of 1937 between a team from Santiago, one from San Pedro de Macorís (the previous year's champions) and a third from Santo Domingo. The dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo, as a technique to pronounce his presidential re-election in 1937, proposed merging the two teams of Santo Domingo , which he called Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo.

Aguilas Cibaeñas

On January 28, 1937, a meeting of athletes was held in the roof garden of the Hotel Mercedes in Santiago de los Caballeros, to form a National Championship that year, In that tournament the Santiago team began to be called the "Águilas Cibaeñas".

During the presidency of Restituyo González, in 1953, the first steps were taken to convert the team into a legal entity. In that year, by decree No. 9005 of May 2, 1953, it was incorporated in accordance with the provisions of Law 520 of 1920. From that moment on, the team is "Águilas Cibaeñas, Inc.&# 3. 4;.

The realities of professional baseball forced the Eagles to modify their original constitution. In 1971, the team was established as a Company by Shares, in accordance with the provisions of the Commercial Code of the Dominican Republic. Decree No. 1146 of June 11, 1971 authorized the conversion of an association to a Company. The official constitution was approved in the assembly on October 6, 1971.

The first tournament won by the Águilas Cibaeñas was in 1952, then they won their second after 12 years in 1964. The team reached its greatest splendor in the 1970s and 1990s, when they won 5 championships almost consecutively, 1971-72, 1974-75, 1975-76, 1977-78, 1978-79 and then 1992-93, 1995-96, 1996-97, 1997-98, 1999-00. Starting in the 2000s, the team began to have a good streak.

In the 1995-96 season the team won the national title by beating the Estrellas Orientales 4-2 under the command of Terry Francona.

Rivalry with the Tigres del Licey

Due to the decline of the Leones del Esgido, starting in the 1990s a great rivalry grew between the Tigres del Licey and the Águilas Cibaeñas. These confrontations between both teams are almost comparable to those of Licey and Esído from previous years, although with a more emotional meaning because they belong to the two largest cities in the country.

2000-2008: Félix Fermín in charge

With Félix Fermín as leader, the 2000s represent one of the most important stages for the Cibaeño team. In a period of eight years, the team won five national titles and 3 Caribbean series titles.

At that time the team had a special "blunderbuss" with players like: Luis Poland, Bernie Castro, Alberto Castillo, Tony Batista, Miguel Tejada, Alexis Gómez who marked one of the most interesting trajectories in the history of the team.

In the 2000-01 and 2002-03 seasons the ninth Aguilucha won the national title by defeating the Leones del Esgido.

In the 2001-02 and 2005-06 campaigns they fell to their biggest rival, the Tigres del Licey.

But the Santiago team achieved revenge by beating the Tigres del Licey in the 2004-05 seasons and twice in a row in the years 2006-07, 2007-08.

2008-2017: the drought

In the 2008-09 season Luis Poland broke the undisputed record with the team's uniform, the record was in the hands of Miguel Diloné.

In the 2011-12 season, Mendy López, wearing the yellow uniform, became the holder of the record for lifetime home runs in the Dominican League, surpassing Félix José's 60 home runs.

In the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons the team had a good resurgence with the performances of Joaquín Arias, Héctor Luna and the return to Dominican baseball of Manny Ramírez, but it was not enough and they fell on both occasions against the Lions of the Chosen One in the final series.

In the 2016-17 season the team met again with the Tigres del Licey in the final series, the Licey team defeated the ninth Aguilucha 6-2, in the ninth game held at the Cibao Stadium.

2018-present: the new beginning

For the 2017-18 season, the team had the opportunity to have star players such as Ronny Rodriguez, Zoilo Almonte, Johan Camargo, Juan Carlos Pérez from day one, as a result the team had a good performance in the campaign.

The team won the national title after nine years of intense struggle, they faced the Tigres del Licey again but this time they managed to beat them in seven games and thus achieve their 21st national title.

In 2021, the team won its second title in a period of three years, this time beating the Gigantes del Cibao in seven games, they won the national title by reversing the final series which the Gigantes dominated 3-1. In this way they achieved their 22nd title, tying with the Tigres del Licey as the top winners in Dominican baseball.

Career

Grade: G: Matches won; Q:Lost matches; %: win percentage

Notable players

Team of the 20th century

For the 1999-2000 season, the sports journalist, Rolling Fermín, made the selection of the "Native Team of the 20th Century", voted by the journalists who regularly attend to Cibao Stadium. Miguel Diloné was selected as Eagle of the Century.

Retired numbers

Managers

• Note 1: the substituting section should be filled with persons who have replaced the incumbent manager either because they resigned from office or were dismissed.

Championships

National titles

Caribbean Series

Year	Headquarters	Récord
1997	Beautiful	4-2
1998	Puerto La Cruz	6-0
2001	Culiacán	4-2
2003	Carolina	6-1
2007	Carolina	5-1
2021	Mazatlan	7-0

Americas Series

Year	Headquarters	Récord
2015	Miami	2-0

Prizes

Baseball Players

Roster season 2021-22