The Águilas Cibaeñas (; ''

Cibao The Cibao, usually referred as El Cibao, is a region of the Dominican Republic located in the northern part of the country. As of 2009, the Cibao region has a population of 5,622,378, making it the most populous region in the country. The region ...

an Eagles'') is a professional baseball team in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

's Professional Baseball League (LIDOM), based in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

in the northern region of

. Founded in , the team has won six

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series ( Spanish: ''Serie del Caribe'') is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in ...

and 22 national titles. The Estadio Cibao is the home stadium of the Águilas. The team is popular among Dominican baseball fans by the phrase : “La Leña Está Aquí” (The Wood is here), and Águilas Cibaeñas has earned the nickname “Las Cuyayas” ( The Kestrels) and “Los Mameyes” (The Mameyes). These nicknames are in reference to the team’s mascot and the classic yellow color the team uses in its official uniform. The Águilas Cibaeñas won the final game of the series at their home stadium Estadio Cibao (Stadium Cibao) by the score 2–1. Mendy Lopez and

Rafael Furcal Rafael Antoni Furcal (born October 24, 1977) is a Dominican former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, and Miami Marlins. With St. Louis, h ...

both hit home runs in the game. Furcal—popularly known as “Furcalazo”—sealed the game with his homerun in the 8th inning.

History

The meeting was attended by many notable Dominican athletes of the time including; Luis Alfáu, Pilindo Bonetti, Charles Dore, Manuel Henriquez, Burrulote Rodríguez, Julio and Miguel Peguero Linval, Luis Mercado, and Tomas Sainllant. The athletes recommended that the National Championship of 1937 should be held between a team from

, a team from San Pedro de Macorís and a team from the capital, Ciudad Trujillo (renamed from

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

). The team from the Capital was formed from two others, the Leones del Escogido and the

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and is based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Tigres is the oldest team in LIDOM and ...

, Trujillo himself named them the Dragones de Ciudad Trujillo. The proposal was accepted and the team representing Santiago would be known from then on as the Águilas Cibaeñas. Since then, the club has become one of today's most competitive clubs in the history of Dominican professional baseball. The development of the Águilas Cibaeñas as a team is linked to the development of baseball in the valley of Cibao. From 1951 to 1954, the championships were held during the summer months. However, before the start of season in 1955 the traditional professional baseball championship was moved to the winter season to allow the most prominent Dominican players an opportunity to play in it. Still to this day Dominican players employed by teams in the MLB take part of this national winter classic to keep the tradition strong. Águilas Cibaeñas have more former players in Major League Baseball than any other Dominican team. Some current and former MLB players who played with Águilas Cibaeñas include Edwin Encarnación, Carlos Martínez, Jose Reyes, Jonathan Villar, Carlos Gómez, Juan Lagares, Dellin Betances, Bartolo Colón,

Wandy Rodríguez Wandy Fulton Rodríguez (born January 18, 1979) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros from 2005 to 2012, the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2012 to 2014 and the Texas Ranger ...

Melky Cabrera Melky Cabrera Astacio (born August 11, 1984), nicknamed "the Melkman", is a Dominican former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, San Francisco Giants, Toronto Blu ...

, Danny Santana, Yoenis Céspedes, Starling Marte, Brandon Moss and current Cincinnati Reds manager

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American professional baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously managed the Cleveland Indians/G ...

Stadium

Estadio Cibao is nicknamed the “Valley of Death” and many fans consider it the most intimidating stadium for the other team in the country or even all the Caribbean. Estadio Cibao is known as the loudest and happiest stadium in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. Historically the Águilas Cibaeñas have performed much better at home than on the road.

Retired numbers

Current roster

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aguilas Cibaenas Santiago de los Caballeros Dominican Professional Baseball League teams Baseball teams established in 1937 1937 establishments in the Dominican Republic