Venezuelan Baseball (LVBP): News, Notes, and Where to Watch

As the fourth week of the regular season for the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) progresses, here is a look at the top news and notes from the beginning of the week in Winter League Baseball.

Salvador Pérez is the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award Winner

Salvador Pérez, catcher and captain of the Kansas City Royals, has been named the 2024 Roberto Clemente Award winner for his charitable endeavors to communities in Kansas City and Valencia, Venezuela.

The Roberto Clemente Award is the most prestigious individual honor in Major League Baseball. Pérez will receive this honor in a press conference before Game 3 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. He is the first Kansas City Royal to win the award and the second of Creole descent, the first being Carlos Carrasco, who received the honor in 2019.

Salvador Pérez’s efforts to help communities in need are inspiring, to say the least. Pérez distributes bags of food and supplies to over 2,000 households each winter in Venezuela; over the past 10 years, he has helped over 10,000 families. He also owns a youth baseball league in Valencia, where he grew up. Pérez teaches the children valuable lessons about life, education, and safety while providing them with the facilities and coaches they need to be successful. In Kansas City, Pérez donated $1 million to the Kansas City Urban Youth Academy, paid for the surgeries of children in need, donated toys to children’s hospitals, and supported the police department, among other incredible efforts in the U.S. and Latin America.

The Tiburones de La Guaira Stand Atop the Leaderboard With The Help of A Strong Pitching Rotation

Elvis Araujo, Ricardo Pinto, and Erly Casanova have been dominant to start the 2024-2025 season for the Tiburones de La Guaira and have lifted the team to the top of the standings as of the fourth week of the season. Each of them is on the list of the ten best-starting pitchers in the whole Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional, only allowing nine earned runs over 42 innings with a combined ERA of 1.93, WHIP of 1.14 and a 4-0 record.

This pitching trio allows the Tiburones to hope again for a deep postseason run. Entering the season, the left-hander Elvis Araujo had not started a game in the LVBP since 2022. Having arrived at the Tiburones from a six-player trade with the Aguilas del Zulia, Araujo posted an excellent 2.63 ERA over a total of 13.1 innings in his first three starts this season. Equally as impressive is Erly Casanova, who, in his 19th year, has posted a 2.70 ERA over 13.1 innings. Rounding out the trio is the Tiburones ace, Ricardo Pinto. Pinto was the MVP of the previous Final of the Creole Tournament and the Caribbean Series and has translated his incredible performances to this season. So far, Pinto has pitched 15 total innings, allowing just nine hits, one earned run, and 13 strikeouts while posting an unbelievable 0.60 ERA. If he keeps it up at this level, there’s a good chance he will win the Pitcher of the Year Award.

The Tiburones have room to boast when it comes to pitching, not just because of this trio but also because of their whole starting rotation. Currently, their rotation leads the LVBP in ERA, posting a 3.69; they have the lowest WHIP at 1.31 and have fewer hits at 54 than they do innings pitched, which is 61.

LVBP Standings as of October 28:

1. Tiburones de La Guaira (10-4)
2. Tigres de Aragua (8-5)
3. Cardenales de Lara (7-7)
4. Navegantes del Magallanes (7-7)
5. Caribes de Anzoátegui (6-6)
6. Leones del Caracas (5-7)
7. Bravos de Margarita (5-8)
8. Águilas del Zulia (5-9)

Get all your information and news about the Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional at worldbaseball.com

You can watch the LVBP on beisbolplay.com

Photo Credit: Salvador Perez #13 of Venezuela celebrates while rounding the bases. (Photo by Eric Espada/Getty Images)