Bolivarian National Baseball League

Bolivarian National Baseball League

Sport	Baseball
Founded	2005; 20 years ago (2005)
Ceased	2019; 6 years ago (2019)
Country	Venezuela

The Liga Nacional Bolivariana de Béisbol (LNBB, English: Bolivarian National Baseball League), commonly referred to as the Liga Bolivariana (lit. Bolivarian League), was a semi-professional baseball league that operated in Venezuela from 2005 to 2019. Unlike the top-level Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, the LNBB season was played during the summer, for players not affiliated with American organized baseball (i.e. those playing in the Venezuelan Summer League).

The league was founded in February 2005 by President Hugo Chávez, and was sponsored by the Venezuelan government as well as the state-owned oil giant PDVSA.^[1] Critics referred to it as the "Chávez League," due to its close association with the Chavista regime.^[2] At its height, the league saw the participation of up to 20 teams in 19 states of country's 23 states. In 2019, it ceased its activities due to financial problems, during the prolonged economic crisis in Venezuela.^[3]

References

1. "Liga Bolivariana en homenaje a Castillo y Valbuena" (in Spanish). Diario de los Andes. April 25, 2019.
2. "¡Bates listos! Preparan la Liga de Verano de Béisbol Venezolano". Noticias Barqusimeto. March 5, 2021.
3. "La importancia de tener dos ligas de béisbol en Venezuela" (in Spanish). La Hiena Sport. August 29, 2021.