Gigantes del Cibao (English: Cibao Giants) are a baseball team that plays in the Dominican Professional Baseball League. The team was founded in 1996 as Gigantes del Noroeste then with a change of ownership the name was changed several times, being called Pollos del Cibao, and Pollos Baseball Club.
History At the start of the professional Dominican Republic baseball season in 1995, the League of Professional Baseball reported that for the 1996 season it planned to create another franchise to expand the league, to that date there were only five teams: Tigres del Licey, Aguilas Cibaeñas, Leones del Escogido, Estrellas Orientales and Toros del Este.
Thus, a group led by former baseball major league player Julián Javier, who had arranged for the appointment or purchase of the franchise, accompanied by José Aníbal García, Ysócrates Peña, Abraham Abukarma who formed a committee, this committee met with Siquió NG de la Rosa getting the necessary partners to invest in the project.
The company was established as Nordeste Baseball Club, which has 34 founding members from the different provinces of the Cibao region. Among the members are: Carlos Eliseo Negrin, Celso Ventura, Miguel Angel Almanzar, Rafael Almanzar, José Adolfo Herrera and others.
In 1996, they were granted permission to operate and immediately began to put the old Estadio Julian Javier in conditions for baseball.
The first three years of operation of the team were in the hands of the Dominican Baseball League who held the guidance and advice of the steps to be followed for the proper functioning of the newly established team.
In 1999, the team broke the record for fewest games won, 9–51. Shareholders decided to re-list the team.Julio Hazim immediately renamed the team as Pollos del Cibao, staying for two years as head of the administration team. It was in the first season of the new ownership when Hazim fixed part of the stands, stadium roof and drainage. That same year there was a new sale, this time to former big leaguer Stanley Javier, who decided to return to the previous name. Now it was no longer the Gigantes of nordeste (Giants of Northeast) but: Gigantes del Cibao. From 2004 to 2012, the team was under the direction of the Genao family. Since 2013, the team went on to be managed by the Rizek Family.
Estadio Julian Javier
The Estadio Julian Javier is the home of Gigantes del Cibao, located in San Francisco de Macoris, Dominican Republic. The stadium was built for the 1975 National Games, and has capacity for 12,000 people. The stadium is named in honor of former MLB Dominican baseball player Julian Javier.
Presidents The Gigantes have had several presidents from its founding to the present day: Siquio NG de la Rosa (Founding President) José Anibal Garcia Angel Miguel Almanzar Carlos Eliseo Negrin Julio Hazim Stanley Javier Alberto Genao Laurentino Genao Samir Rizek Sued
Rivalries
Aguilas Cibaeñas The Gigantes have a rivalry with Aguilas Cibaeñas due to the proximity of the two cities. The two teams are in the same region, and the opening match is always played between these two, just changing the venue each year. Tigres del Licey Another great sporting rivalry is with the Tigres del Licey. This has developed because of the three finals in which the team has participated, 2 were against the Tigres del Licey. In fact, the first loss in the history of the Gigantes was against Licey.
Another factor is in the final series of the 2008–09 season where these two had clashed, scuffles occurred between players of each team. The Gigantes play home games in the Estadio Quisqueya, home of the Tigres.
Fans The Gigantes have the sixth largest number of fans in the league, after Tigres del Licey, Águilas Cibaeñas, Leones del Escogido, Toros del Este and Estrellas Orientales. The team is young, and is one of the fastest growing markets in the league.
Lifetime record Year Record finished 1996–97 20–28 Miss the Round Robin 1997–98 23–28 Miss the Round Robin 1998–99 9–51 Miss the Round Robin 1999–00 16–31 Miss the Round Robin 2000–01 19–30 Miss the Round Robin 2001–02 15–33 Miss the Round Robin 2002–03 27–23 Make the Round Robin 2003–04 26–24 Make the Round Robin (Loss in the final) 2004–05 27–22 Make the Round Robin 2005–06 17–33 Miss the Round Robin 2006–07 31–19 Make the Round Robin 2007–08 29–18 Make the Round Robin 2008–09 31–19 Make the Round Robin (Loss in the final) 2009–10 27–22 Make the Round Robin (Loss in the final) 2010–11 25–24 Make the Round Robin 2011–12 25–26 Make the Round Robin 2012–13 22–29 Miss the Round Robin 2013–14 22-28 Make the Round Robin 2014–15 28–22 Champions2015–1622–28Missed the Round Robin2016–1727–23Made the Round Robin2017–1829–21Made the Round Robin2018–1920–30Missed the Round Robin2019–2021–29Missed the Round Robin2020–2116–14Made the Round Robin (Loss in the final)2021–2222-17Champions
Managers
Year Manager interim 1996–97 Julián Javier 1997–98 Osvaldo Virgil 1998–99 Alejandrito Taveras 1999–00 Alejandrito Taveras 2000–01 Miguel Diloné 2001–02 Miguel Diloné 2002–03 John Shoemaker 2003–04 Miguel Diloné 2004–05 Arturo De Freites 2005–06 John Shoemaker Arturo De Freites 2006–07 Arturo De Freites 2007–08 Mike Rojas Luis Natera 2008–09 Luis Dorante 2009–10 Félix Fermín 2010–11 Félix Fermín 2011–12 Arturo De FreitesHéctor de la Cruz 2012–13 Héctor de la CruzBonny Castillo 2013–14 Mako Oliveras 2014-15 Audo Vicente 2015-2016 Luis Dorante
Outstanding players
Players include: Jose Reyes Albert Pujols Plácido Polanco Kendry Morales Joel Peralta Nelson Cruz Román Colón Pedro Strop Ramón Santiago Erick Almonte Alexi Casilla Wilson Valdez Wilson Betemit Marcell Ozuna Leury Garcia Brayan Peña Jean Segura Carlos Peguero John Halama Scott Spiezio Aquilino Lopez Darío Veras Juan Pérez Mark Trumbo Jimmy Paredes Antonio Bastardo Pedro Féliz Ty Wigginton
And many others.
2022 Caribbean Series Roster Dominican Republic 2022 Caribbean Series Roster Players CoachesPitchers
updated on 27 January 2022 Catchers
Infielders
OutfieldersManager
Coaches
References
External links Official Page