team was consecrated by the press and the fans as "Los Héroes del '41" (The Heroes of '41). The game was played in an amateur and disorganized form until December 27, 1945, when the owners of the Caracas Brewers (present day Caracas Lions or Leones del Caracas), Vargas, the Magallanes Navigators (Navegantes del Magallanes), and Venezuela created the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. On January 12, 1946, the first champion was crowned, Sabios del Vargas. In 1962, the La Guaira Sharks (Tiburones de La Guaira) are brought into the league to replace Pampero. In 1964, the league added two more teams, the Lara Cardinals (Cardenales de Lara) and the Aragua Tigers (Tigres de Aragua). In 1969, the Zulia Eagles (Águilas del Zulia) are brought into the league to replace the Valencia Industrymen (Industriales de Valencia); the original Venezuela team. In 1991, the league expanded to 8 teams from 6, with the additions of the Eastern Caribbeans (Caribes de Oriente) who are now the Anzoátegui Caribbeans or (Caribes de Anzoátegui); and the Cabimas Oil Tankers, who became the Llanos Shepherds (Pastora de los Llanos) and since the 2007/08 season are the Margarita Braves (Bravos de Margarita). For the 2007–2008 seasons, the West Division (Division Occidental) and the East Division (Division Oriental) were merged in one single division of 8 teams. Each team plays 9 games against the other 7 teams, for a total of 63 games. In recent years, Tigres de Aragua has become the most dominant team of the league, winning the crown 4 times in 5 years. Leones del Caracas is the most successful Venezuelan team, champion of the league 19 times (3 times as "Cervecería Caracas") and champion of the Caribbean Series 2 times. See also List of organized baseball leagues International Baseball Awards Baseball at the Summer Olympics Professional baseball in Taiwan Chinese Professional Baseball League Taiwan Major League Taiwan Series Asia Series Chinese Taipei national baseball team Professional baseball in Japan References Sources Further reading History of baseball