Albert Pujols, Yadier Molina face off as managers in Winter Leagues

The World Series may be over, but there’s still plenty of exciting baseball action unfolding in Latin America’s Winter Leagues this offseason. One compelling storyline took the spotlight on Tuesday night.

Cardinals legends Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina, who spent nine seasons as teammates and won two World Series titles together in 2006 and ’11, went head to head as managers in the Dominican Republic for the first time. Pujols’ Leones del Escogido defeated Molina’s Águilas Cibaeñas, 2-1, at Estadio Cibao in Santiago.

All Dominican Winter Leagues games can be streamed live on MLB.TV (Spanish language broadcast only) with the MLB.TV Offseason Package.

Molina, 42, took over as the Águilas skipper on Oct. 28 when the team dismissed manager Manny García after going 2-7 to start the season. They have gone 4-2 under Molina’s leadership and are in fifth place in the six-team circuit after Tuesday’s loss.

The former catcher has been steadily building his managerial credentials. Molina helmed the Navegantes del Magallanes in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the 2022-23 season and led the Criollos de Caguas to the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League title in his native Puerto Rico in 2023-24. Molina also managed Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Meanwhile, Pujols, a first-time manager at age 44, has the Leones off to a strong start, as they currently lead the LIDOM standings with a 12-4 record.

The Leones and Águilas will meet seven more times during the LIDOM regular season as both teams vie for a ticket to the playoffs and the chance to represent the Dominican Republic at the 2025 Caribbean Series in Mexicali, Mexico.