The Caimanes de Barranquilla are a baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 team in the Colombian Professional Baseball League

Colombian Professional Baseball League

The Colombian Professional Baseball League, also known as the Colombian Winter League, is a professional baseball league based in Colombia...

. They have participated in the league since the 1984-1985 season, playing in the Estadio Tomás Arrieta

Estadio Tomás Arrieta

Estadio Tomás Arrieta is a baseball park in Barranquilla, Colombia. It currently serves as the home of the Caimanes de Barranquilla. The stadium holds 8,000 people.- References :...

 in Barranquilla

Barranquilla

Barranquilla is an industrial port city and municipality located in northern Colombia, near the Caribbean Sea. The capital of the Atlántico Department, it is the largest industrial city and port in the Colombian Caribbean region with a population of 1,148,506 as of 2005, which makes it Colombia's...

.

History

In 1998 the success of Colombian-born players in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

, most notably Edgar Renteria

Edgar Rentería

Edgar Enrique Rentería Herazo , nicknamed "The Barranquilla Baby," is a Colombian professional baseball shortstop. He throws and bats right-handed. Previously, he has played for the Florida Marlins, the St...

 (who was on the 1997 World Champion Florida Marlins

Florida Marlins

The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...

), led to a meeting in Miami of Colombian baseball personalities including Edinson Renteria, Edgar Perez and Jose Martinez

Jose Martinez

Jose Martinez may refer to:* Antonio José Martínez , New Mexico Catholic priest* Jose E. Martinez , American lawyer and judge* José Martínez Ruiz , Spanish poet and writer...

 (who led and contributed to the development of Colombian Professional Baseball between 1979 and 1985). The meeting was acknowledged by the MLB and the Caribbean Confederation of Professional Baseball. The meeting established a working group consisting of the businessmen involved with professional baseball in Colombia in the 1980s and new executives from the cities of Barranquilla and Cartagena including Alfredo Navarro

Alfredo Navarro

Alfredo Navarro was a Uruguayan political figure.-Background:Navarro was a prominent member of the Colorado party in the 1930s.He was a noted medical doctor .-Vice President of Uruguay:...

, Farid Char, Gabriel Pelaez, Iveth Chejuan, Tico Bernal, and Julio Blanch. This working group was presented with a proposal to revive professional baseball in Colombia under the leadership of the Renteria family. The working group decided to move forward with the proposal, beginning the 1999-2000 season with four teams, the Caimanes y Electricos de Barranquilla (The Barranquilla Crocodiles and Electric Eels) and the Tigres e Indios of Cartagena (The Cartagena Tigers and Indians).