Heavy rains have plagued the country of Colombia in recent weeks causing mudslides and impeding travel between cities. Heavy rains are nothing new to Colombia. This year, however, they came late and over stayed their welcome. Heavy rain is typical in the late summer and fall. This year however, the rains have lasted into December and washed away roads in many places throughout the countryside.

The six team Liga Colombiana de Béisbol Profesional is a member of the Confederación de Béisbol del Caribe, making its champion eligible for the Caribbean Series. The current six teams are: Barranquilla Alligators, Cartagena Tigers, Montería Lions, Cali Bulls, Medellín Colts, and the Bogotá Eagles. A quick look at the rosters reveals most players are Colombian with a sprinkling of Americans, Canadians, Cubans, Dominicans, and Venezuelans. Many players are a member of affiliate big league clubs, but there are also several who play independent ball in the US.

Historically, Colombia has not been known for its baseball. Baseball-almanac.com lists nine Colombians who have played in the Major Leagues, the most famous being reigning World Series MVP Edgar Renteria. Renteria is so famous in his native Colombia that one year they named a strain of the flu after him, at least that’s what my wife tells me who saw him in a Blockbuster Video in Barranquilla.

Here is the official press release (roughly translated into English) from the league detailing the cancellation of the 2010-2011 season:

The Colombian League of Professional Baseball and Team Rentería regret to report that on Wednesday December 8, 2010, was canceled this season.

So far this season there have been postponed a lot of games, many of whom were to carry out.

In addition, the state of the roads has prevented the proper development of the championship, it took 20 hours for the Colts to travel from Medellin to Cali to Bogota, a journey that is usually done in half the time.

In Antioch there are multiple landslides on roads and on the Atlantic coast, the Magdalena River has already invaded the eastern road, preventing the passage of buses and trucks. Not to mention that all forecasts indicate that the rains will continue until February next year. With these arguments, at a special meeting with all members of the LCBP and managers and representatives of the teams who took part in the meeting via skype, it was decided. This has already been communicated to the Caribbean Confederation of MLB, who understood perfectly the situation that has engulfed our country.

Next Friday, December 10, at a site and time to be confirmed, will offer a press conference to give more details.

These photos are from the blog of Jeff Albert, an American who was coaching for the Barranquilla Alligators.

Streets flooded in Barranquilla

Rainy day in Barranquilla

Dugout flooding in Bogata