Usually the Spanish Division de Honor would have kicked off the European Baseball season already at the end of February. But thanks to the Spanish participation in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the opening weekend was postponed to March 16 and 17. The new season in Spanish baseball starts on Saturday and Sunday.
The defending champion is CB Barcelona, which defeated last year’s regular season winner Astros Valencia in the championship series, which for the first time determined the Spanish championship. Barcelona opens the new season with a doubleheader at home in Montjuic on Saturday, facing the Tenerife Marlins. The Astros will be on the road to Burlada, taking on Baseball Navarra on Sunday.
Also on the schedule on the first weekend will be an all-Catalonian matchup between CB Sant Boi and CB Viladecans. And CD Pamplona hosts El Llano from Gijon. San Inazio Bilbao is going to have a bye week, as the Division de Honor starts with only nine teams into the new season. Halcones de Vigo has withdrawn from the competition during the winter.
The Copa del Rey – Spain’s cup tournament – will be played on March 30 and 31 in Tenerife. CB Barcelona, the Astros Valencia, the Tenerife Marlins and CB Viladecans will be the participants.
The regular season in the Spanish Divison de Honor will be played from March 16 to July 28. The playoffs, which will be played in a best-of-five format between the top two teams, are scheduled to start afterwards.
Full Schedule of Spanish Division de Honor
CB Barcelona
CB Barcelona has won the last two championships. Even the move from the FC Barcelona to form a new club has been nearly flawless, as CBB was able to field a strong team for the Spanish and European stage. They will once again be among the favorites. Ricardo Hernandez is coming back from Nettuno. Oscar Angulo, Kevin Malone, Jesus Golindano, Jose Luis Riera and Pau Sancho continue to form a strong offense. Alberto Magallon and Jorge Balboa will be the biggest supporters of Hernandez on the pitching staff. Chris Goebel has joined the team from Germany. Jorge Miqueleiz is the manager.
Astros Valencia
They entered the championship series as the favorite, having won the regular season. But the Astros Valencia in the end had to settle for second place in the final standings. Manager Juan Garcia is going to have another strong team for the 2013 season. Larry Infante, Blake Ochoa and Osiris Pascual will be the foreign players on the team. Spanish national team hurler Lowuin Sacramento and Pedro Luis Peraza will be at the top of the pitching staff. Trevor Caughey and Pedro Pablo Belmonte – last year’s two aces – are no longer on the roster.
Tenerife Marlins
Manager Nestor Perez once again will be leading one of the youngest, but also the strongest teams in the Division de Honor. The Tenerife Marlins aren’t dominating the league, as they have done in the past. But they are still among the favorites. Veterans Richard Montiel and Leslie Nacar lead the team on offense and defense. Edwin Encarnacion (not the Major Leaguer obviously), Jose Manuel Melendez, Ruben Rijkhof and Nathan Wheatley are the foreign players on the roster. Yancarlo Franco, Deion and Lesther Galvan and Jose Luis Salazar are all back.
CB Viladecans
New manager Edgar Hernandez joined CB Viladecans from CB Sant Boi, hoping to continue the improvement the record title holder in Spanish baseball saw in the last couple of years. He will be supported by Felix Cano Sr. and former Minor Leaguer Denny de Jesus Nino. Besides Nino, Jose Montana, Jose Ovalles and Miguel Valdes will occupy a foreign player slot. Felix Cano Jr. and Pol Llopis are back as well, hoping to get closer towards the championship series.
CB Sant Boi
Candelario Diaz was with Spain at the 2013 World Baseball Classic, working as an assistant coach together with manager Mauro Mazzotti. He is going to be the manager for CB Sant Boi in the Division de Honor this year. Luis Alberto Burgos, Jose Lopez (former Minor League hurler in the Angels organization), Stefano Pistocchi and Rafael Rivas are the foreign players on the team. Marc Carrillo, Xavier Civit, Daniel Matias, Yaeko Vasquez, William Domero, Ruben Fente and Daniel Martinez will make sure that Sant Boi will challenge to get back into the top four.
San Inazio Bilbao
San Inazio Bilbao is going to start one week later into the 2013 season, having a bye on opening weekend. Manager Pedro Pocero and his players hope that this is the year where they can move up into the upper half of the standings. Kelvin Marianucci, Juan Jose Lopez (only foreign player currently on roster), Rafael Llames and Jose Morales are asked to carry the team.
Baseball Navarra
Baseball Navarra is also a team, which has a manager who worked at the World Baseball Classic as an assistant coach. Miguel Erroz, who also has been the Spanish junior national team head coach, hopes to bring Navarra back to the top. Luis Miguel Comprés Santos and Okaury Montero will be the import players. Emmanuel Febles and Hector Perozo are asked to help Montero on offense. Youngsters Andres Casado and Yorking Cespedes hope to make another step forward on the mound.
CD Pamplona
Baseball Navarra’s neighbors at Burlada, CD Pamplona, had a pretty decent season last year, accomplishing a few surprise wins although couldn’t make major strides towards the top of the standings and are seemingly stuck in the bottom half. Manager Alberto Casanellas has Alexis Fumero, Adonis Nathanael Alcantara, Jerome Olivier Debrais, Gabriel Guerrero (injured, could miss opener) and Rafael Ramirez are the foreign players. Last year’s top hitter Fernando Pelaez could be on the verge of a breakout year at age 20.
El Llano
El Llano came back into the Division de Honor last year and obviously couldn’t compete with the top half. However eight wins in 36 games aren’t that bad for a new team in the league. Manager Carlos Lopez Herrero and his club still have a long way to go. Vito Luis Abbattista, Rafael Angel Barrera, Nuevo de la Cruz, Wilquin Escanio, Henry Hensen, Alfredo Torres and Hector Velasquez are considered foreign players on the roster. The big news is that Escanio is back for another season and the fact that Ernesto Pino is not.
All rosters can be found on the website of the Spanish Baseball and Softball Federation
Photo: Diego Lazaro