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The Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente formerly known as ''Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico'' (lit. "Professional Baseball League of Puerto Rico" or ''LBPPR'') and Puerto Rico Baseball League, is the main professional baseball league in Puerto Rico. In 2007, the LBPPR suspended operations for the first time since its creation. In 2008, the organization resumed operations, after restructuring. These included renaming the league to "Puerto Rico Baseball League" and establishing a website. In May 2012, the league debuted its current name, choosing to honor Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente by naming it after him and adopting his philosophy of athletic development. Currently consisting of four〔http://ligapr.com/〕 teams, the league's champion participates in the Caribbean Series. ==Inception and ''Béisbol Romántico '' (1938–1970)== Puerto Rican Baseball began at the end of the 19th century. The first two clubs were founded in 1897: the ''Almendares'' Baseball Club owned by Francisco Alamo Armas, and the ''Borinquen'' Baseball Club owned by Santos Filippi.〔(Béisbol en Puerto Rico )〕 According to ''El Pais'' newspaper, the first game was played on January 11, 1898 at the old velodrome in Santurce, San Juan. The ''Borinquen'' beat the ''Almendares'' 3 to 0. The first game to complete nine innings was played on January 30, 1898, when the ''Borinquen'' beat the ''Almendares'' again, 9 to 3.〔 Enrique Huyke, a professor from Mayagüez, originally suggested the establishment of an organized baseball league in Puerto Rico. The idea was adopted by Teofilo Maldonado, president of the Commission on Recreation and Sports. A third party, Gabriel Castro, helped Huyke with the scouting of organizations which had to pay a thousand dollars prior to being admitted, while independent entities like the Guayama Rotary Club collaborated in raising funds for the teams.〔 The ''Liga de Béisbol Semiprofesional de Puerto Rico'' (LBSPR) was founded in 1938, as a semi-professional league.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 7〕 Six team formed the new organization, these were the Senadores de San Juan, Leones de Ponce, Criollos de Caguas, Brujos de Guayama and Grises Orientales de Humacao.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 8〕 The first Puerto Rican players to play in Major League Baseball, Hiram Bithorn and Luis Olmo, were active in the rosters of San Juan and Caguas. Bithorn became the younger manager in the league's history, receiving the office when he was 22 years old.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 83〕 Huyke served as manager for Mayagüez for less than a month, because the team's owner threatened to remove its entry if he did not take the office.〔 Maldonado was named the league's commissioner. Changes in the rosters were allowed only during the first half of the season, meeting a deadline before the beginning of the second half. While the number of games has historically varied from 40 to 80 games per season.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 10〕 The All-Star game was scheduled to coincide with the traditional Three Kings Day, an idea suggested by Angel Colon so that the proceeds could be used to buy toys.〔 This date was used for decades, until the emergence of television forced the league to comply to the dates requested by the networks.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 222〕 One of the main figures of the league in its early stage was veteran Negro leagues' veteran, Emilio Navarro.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 78〕 The Cangrejeros de Santurce and Tiburones de Aguadilla joined the original teams in the 1939–40 season. On January 8, 1939, Humacao and San Juan played an 18-inning game that lasted four hours, establishing a record.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 220〕 Between 1938 and 1941, the LBSPR was part of the National Semi-Professional Baseball Congress, with titleholder Guayama facing the champions of the Congress' United States branch in best-of-seven series in 1939, where they defeated the Duncan Cementers, and again in 1940, with a roster that included the league's Most Valuable Player, Satchel Paige.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 9〕 In 1939–40, Perucho Cepeda, the defending batting champion, won the league's batting title over Josh Gibson, who managed to win it the following season.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 74〕 The Criollos de Caguas won their firs championship in 1940–41, defeating the Cangrejeros in the final series. Santurce's Luis Cabrera was the last player to win the LBSPR' Most Valuable Player award.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 81〕 On September 14, 1941, Rafael Delgado Márquez proposed that the league was renamed to ''Liga de Béisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico'' (LBPPR), effectively moving the league towards professionalism.〔 A format of ''vueltas'' (halves) was adopted〔(''Puerto Rico's Winter League: A History of Major League Baseball's Launching Pad.'' ) Thomas E. Van Hyning. Page 9. (Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland & Co., 1995) ISBN 0-7864-0128-1. ISBN 978-0-7864-0128-4. Retrieved 3 October 2012.〕 since the league's creation, where the winners of each vuelta facing each other for the championship. However, Ponce managed to win three consecutive championships (1941–1945) without having to participate in a final by winning both ''vueltas''.〔 Consequently, the fans of teams that were mathematically eliminated by this format lost interest in the tournament. Some players also concluded their participation in the season after the teams were eliminated. To deal with this issue, the league established a new playoff format, where the top four teams where included.〔 Francisco Coimbre was a key member of Ponce's success with his offensive, winning two batting championships, establishing a league record for most consecutive games with hits and not recording a single strikeout in three consecutive seasons (1939–42).〔 The consistency of his performances earned him a Most Valuable Player award. Other players that participated for Ponce included Juan Guilbe and Griffin Tirado.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 80〕 World War II affected the league directly, reducing the 1942–43 season's length with only four active teams. This amount of teams continued until 1946, while the rule that allowed the participation of three imported players per team, was suspended from 1942 to 1944.〔 In the 1944–45 season, Canena Marquez debuted in the league establishing a record of highest batting average for a rookie with .361, fulfilling the minimum required at-bats.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 118〕 The Senadores de San Juan won their first championship on 1945–46, defeating the Indios in the finals.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 89〕 During this season, Joe Buzas became the first foreign MLB player to manage in the LBPPR.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 179〕 Tomas “Planchardon” Quiñones won two back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards from 1943 to 1945.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 100〕 In 1947, the league's team participated in a series of five games against the New York Yankees, which featured Ponce defeating the visiting team.〔 Jose “Pantalones“ Santiago debuted in this season, earning the Rookie of the Year recognition while Canena Marquez broke Josh Gibson's home run record of 13.〔 Vic Power made his debut for the Criollos on the 1947–48 season, in which the team won the league's title with a roster that included Rafaelito Ortiz, who was the only pitcher to win 10 or more games for 3 different LBPPR teams.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 92–93〕 Mayaguez won the 1948–49 championship with a roster that included Canena Marquez and Luke Easter.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 149〕 That same year, the LBPPR joined the Caribbean Series, beginning a rivalry with the Cuban League's champion that lasted throughout the next decade, until Cuba ceased to participate in the event.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 231〕 A decade after its foundation, the league was employing an 80-game schedule. Several new ballparks have been built by the 1949–50 season, this was due to an attendance average of 750,000.〔 Each of the stadiums built surpassed 6,000 seats, with Ponce's Paquito Mountaner reaching 9,718 seats by then.〔 The installation of lights that allowed the organizations of games at night increased attendance. Estadio Sixto Escobar had a maximum capacity of over 15,000, with 13,135 seats.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 11〕 Percucho Cepeda was one of the league's dominant figures during the 1940s, winning two batting championships and a Most Valuable Player award. Natalio Irizarry won the league's Rookie of the Year recognition in 1949–50.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 120〕 From 1949–1955, the league featured the participation of new MLB players, including Johnny Logan, Harvey Haddix and Hank Aaron among several others.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 12〕 The players began choosing the league to play due to its competitive level and warm climate during the winter, a custom that has continued until the current decade. Players of the Negro leagues preferred it due to lack of racism towards the players, as opposed to the United States.〔Van Hyning et al., p. 84〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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