Winter league to retire Carlos Beltrán's No. 15 and dedicate season to Candy Maldonado
The Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente announced the honors, a recognition for Juan Francisco Puello Herrera and international broadcast plans for the 2026-27 season.
File photoThe short version
- El Vocero reported the LBPRC will permanently retire Carlos Beltrán's number 15 across all six teams and Puerto Rico's international squads
- Metro Puerto Rico reported the season is dedicated to Cándido "Candy" Maldonado with the official ceremony on Nov. 4 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium
- El Nuevo Día reported a three-year deal with TelevisaUnivision will stream all 145 games on ViX for viewers in the United States
- El Vocero reported Juan Francisco Puello Herrera will receive a special recognition on opening night for his 34 years leading the Caribbean baseball confederation
Opening night honors
The Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente, known as La Pro, presented details of its 2026-27 season during a press conference. El Vocero reported the season will begin Nov. 4. The league will permanently retire Carlos Beltrán's number 15, joining those of Roberto Clemente, Orlando Cepeda, Roberto Alomar, Edgar Martínez, Iván Rodríguez and Tany Pérez. The retirement applies to all six franchises and any team representing Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Series, Serie de las Américas or other approved international events.
The official ceremony for the retirement and the dedication of the season to Cándido "Candy" Maldonado will take place on Nov. 4 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium before the inaugural game between the Cangrejeros de Santurce and Leones de Ponce. El Vocero reported that a special recognition will also be held for Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, commissioner of the Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe, for his 34 years of service ahead of his retirement in July 2027. Metro Puerto Rico reported the season is dedicated to Maldonado, who was named Rookie of the Year in 1978-79, hit 92 home runs in the league and was inducted into the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 2023.
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Broadcast and format details
The league reached a three-year agreement with TelevisaUnivision that will make all 145 games of each season available exclusively in the United States on the ViX streaming platform. El Nuevo Día reported the deal aims to connect with more than six million Puerto Ricans living in the United States. Locally, WAPA Deportes will broadcast 39 games including the entire postseason, while the remaining 106 games will be available free on La Pro's YouTube channel and mobile app.
The 2026-27 season will consist of 40 games per team. The top four of the six teams advance to the postseason, which begins with semifinal series on Jan. 2. El Nuevo Día reported the champion will represent Puerto Rico in the 2027 Caribbean Series. Metro Puerto Rico reported the runner-up will participate in the 2027 Serie de las Américas in Caracas, Venezuela.
Where the sources differ
All three sources agree that the LBPRC will retire Carlos Beltrán's number 15 this season and dedicate the campaign to Candy Maldonado, with ceremonies on opening night Nov. 4 at Hiram Bithorn Stadium. El Vocero and El Nuevo Día both list the same retired-number honorees and describe the effect on international teams; Metro Puerto Rico lists some but not all. El Vocero and El Nuevo Día report the special recognition for Juan Francisco Puello Herrera; Metro does not mention it. El Nuevo Día provides the most detail on the TelevisaUnivision/ViX deal and local broadcast split; Metro mentions the ViX partnership and Wapa Deportes without numbers. Metro alone gives the full opening-night schedule of three games and the date of the Danny Ortiz award ceremony. El Vocero alone mentions the presidential award to Danny Ortiz and the FanFest context. El Nuevo Día alone reports the Dec. 12 Hall of Fame ceremony and candidate list.
What the reports do not say
The sources do not state how many games will be played on opening night beyond the three mentioned by one outlet, whether tickets are available for the ceremonies, the exact broadcast schedule for individual games, or any financial terms of the TelevisaUnivision agreement. They also do not indicate the total attendance expected at Hiram Bithorn Stadium or any player or manager reactions to the honors.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Reporting La liga invernal retirará el número 15 de Carlos Beltrán y dedica la temporada a Candy Maldonado
- Reporting Retirarán el número 15 en el béisbol invernal en honor a Carlos Beltrán
- Reporting La liga invernal boricua retirará el número 15 de Carlos Beltrán
How we checked this
El Vocero, Metro Puerto Rico and El Nuevo Día all covered the LBPRC announcements. Details on the number 15 retirement, the dedication to Maldonado and the Puello Herrera recognition rest on overlapping but not identical reporting from the three outlets. The specific broadcast numbers and U.S. audience reference appear only in El Nuevo Día.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.