Leones de León
| Leones de León | |
|---|---|
 Logo | |
| Information | |
| League | Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League |
| Location | León, Nicaragua |
| Ballpark | Estadio Rigoberto López Pérez |
| Established | 1945 |
| Latin American Series championships | 2019 |
| League championships | 10 (1957, 1957–58, 1959–60, 2004–05, 2009–10, 2018–19, 2019–20, 2021–22, 2024-25, 2025-26) |
| Former name | Mets de San Felipe Mets de León Melenudos de León |
| Colors | Black, gold, white |
| Manager | Sandor Guido |
The Leones de León are a professional baseball team competing in the Nicaragua Professional Baseball League (LPBN). Their home games are played at Estadio Rigoberto López Pérez in León, Nicaragua. Their biggest rival is Indios del Bóer, which are based in the capital of Managua.
Leones also fields a team in Nicaragua's summer league, the Germán Pomares Ordóñez First Division, representing the department of the same name, albeit with different colors (blue and red) and management from the professional team. The team is historically the most successful in the first division.
History
In 1957, the first full season of professional baseball in Nicaragua, the "Melenudos de León" (León Mane-men) were skippered by manager Tony Castaño, whose pitching staff included Conrado Marrero, formerly of the Washington Senators.[1] In the following 1957–58 season, Cuban pitcher Manuel Montejo of León threw the country's first professional no-hitter, in a 5–0 win over Cinco Estrellas on November 5, 1957.[2]
Leones won the 1958 Pan American Series (Serie Panamericana), a one-off international club tournament against Venados de Mazatlán of the Mexican Pacific League and Vanytor de Barranquilla of the Colombian league.[3][4] They also won the 2019 Latin American Series, the other counterpart of Caribbean Series, in a final game against the Chileros de Xalapa of the Mexican Liga Invernal Veracruzana.
The team has also won the most titles in Nicaragua's amateur league, the Germán Pomares Ordóñez First Division (Campeonato Nacional de Béisbol Superior Germán Pomares Ordoñez), with 20 (1939, 1943, 1960, 1962–64, 1967, 1968, 1973, 1974, 1981, 1983, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1997, 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2019).
Leones previously played their home games at the Estadio Héroes y Mártires de Septiembre, which held a capacity of 3,328 spectators.[5][6] Since 2024, they have played at the new Estadio Rigoberto López Pérez.[7]
Championships
| Season | Manager | Opponent | Series score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Tony Castaño | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Wilfredo Calviño | Cinco Estrellas | 4–2 | |
| 1959–60 | Julio Moreno | Cinco Estrellas | 4–1 | |
| 2004–05 | Noel Areas | Tigres de Chinandega | 4–3 | |
| 2009–10 | Roger Guillén | Oriental de Granada | 4–1 | |
| 2018–19 | Sandor Guido | Tigres de Chinandega | 4–1 | |
| 2019–20 | Sandor Guido | Tigres de Chinandega | 4–1 | |
| 2021–22 | Sandor Guido | Gigantes de Rivas | 4–3 | |
| 2024–25 | Sandor Guido | Tren del Norte | 4–3 | |
| 2025–26 | Sandor Guido | Gigantes de Rivas | 4–3 | |
| Total championships | 10 | |||
International competition
Latin American Series record
| Year | Venue | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 |  Veracruz |
1st | 7 | 0 | 1.000 |  Sandor Guido
|
| Total | 7 | 0 | 1.000 | |||
Serie de las Américas record
| Year | Venue | Finish | Wins | Losses | Win% | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Managua |
2nd | 5 | 2 | .714 | Sandor Guido
|
| 2026 |  Great Caracas |
5th | 2 | 4 | .333 | Sandor Guido
|
| Total | 7 | 6 | .538 | |||
Roster
| Leones de León roster – 2024–25 LPBN champions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | |||
Pitchers
|
Catchers
Infielders
Outfielders
|
Manager Coaches
Roster updated on 13 April 2025
| ||
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References
- ^ "COMENTANDO EL BEISBOL NICARAGÜENSE". La Republica. 27 March 1957. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ^ "Leones propinan juego Sin Hit Ni Carrera". No. 8 January 2023. LBPN. Retrieved 26 August 2025.
- ^ Lou Hernández (10 October 2011). The Rise of the Latin American Baseball Leagues, 1947-1961. McFarland. p. 80. ISBN 978-0-7864-8936-7.
- ^ "Con Wilfredo Calvino" (in Spanish). La Prensa. 8 September 2003. Retrieved 13 February 2024.
- ^ "Leones - Liga de Béisbol Profesional Nacional". lbpn.com.ni. Archived from the original on 2020-01-22.
- ^ "Conozca el diseño de Construcción del Nuevo Estadio de Béisbol de León". El19Digital. 18 August 2020. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
- ^ "Estadio Rigoberto López Pérez de León, Nicaragua". VisitLeon.com. Retrieved 2 September 2025.