Watch: Junior Caminero Performs Epic Celebration Following Epic HR in LIDOM Championship
Pimpin’ ain’t easy, but it sure is fun. Dolomite would have been proud of Junior Caminero on Monday night when he blasted a massive homer to lead his Leones del Escogido squad to victory over Tigres del Licey in Game 7 of the LIDOM championship. For those who aren’t familiar, the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League is a winter league circuit consisting of six teams spread across the Dominican Republic. Typical rules of genteel comportment do not apply.
¿EL CAMINERAZO? Pongan el caption ustedes – WOW por los 411. Palos de Junior Caminero de 454 pies con una velocidad de salida de 114.3 mhp pic.twitter.com/WIpPphHz3i
— Antonio Puesán (@antoniopuesan) January 28, 2025
I’m sure some old coach is grumbling as he takes out his fungo to prove he’s still fundamentally sound enough to hit catcher pop-ups, but this is incredibly fun and should be viewed as such. Hitting a ball 454 feet — an estimate that might be about 50 feet short — to give your team a one-run lead in the 9th inning of the final game of a championship series is worthy of all the celebrations. And when you consider that this and other such leagues feature dudes pimping singles, you can see why Caminero was keen to put a little sauce on this trot.
It’s hard to believe this guy is only 21 as he heads into what will presumably be his first full MLB season. After a cup of coffee in 2023, Caminero slashed .248/.299/.424 with six homers and a 105 wRC+ over 177 plate appearances for the Rays last year. Primarily a third baseman, he’s played every infield position other than catcher during his brief time in the bigs and could be primed for a breakout campaign.
All of that aside, this is a reminder that camps start to open in less than two weeks and the first spring training games begin in just over three weeks.