Caribbean Series
Current season, competition or edition: 2020 Caribbean Series | |
 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1949 |
| First season | 1949 |
| Countries |  Colombia Cuba Dominican Republic Mexico Panama Puerto Rico Venezuela |
| Most recent champion(s) | Toros del Este (1st title) |
| Most titles | Tigres del Licey (10 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN Deportes ESPN Latin America ESPN3 MLB Network |
| Related competitions | LCBP SNC LIDOM LMP PROBEIS LBPRC LVBP |
| Official website | [1] |
The Caribbean Series (Spanish: Serie del Caribe), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is normally played in February after all of the leagues have ended their national tournaments.
History
The competition was the brainchild of Venezuelan baseball entrepreneur Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto Ortiz,[1] his business partner since 1936, who devised the idea after seeing the success of the now extinct Serie Interamericana in 1946, which featured the clubs Brooklyn Bushwicks from the United States, Cervecería Caracas from Venezuela, Sultanes de Monterrey from Mexico, and an All-Star team composed of Cuban players.
Inspired by the Serie Interamericana and his experience as a former president of the International Baseball Federation, Morales joined Prieto and presented the idea to baseball representatives of Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico during a meeting held in Havana on August 21, 1948.[2] The representatives then agreed to stage a four-country, round-robin tournament 12-game to be known as the Serie del Caribe, to be launched in Cuba from February 20–25 of 1949.
The Series ran annually from 1949 through 1960, with Cuba winning seven times. However, the event was cancelled after Fidel Castro dissolved all professional baseball in Cuba in 1961. It was not until 1970 that the Caribbean Series was revived. Moreover, the 1981 Caribbean Series was not held due to a Venezuelan League player's strike.
The tournament featured the champions of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela for over 40 years. Cuba returned in 2014. Panama returned to host the 2019 edition. Colombia was added for the 2020 edition, replacing Cuba who could not participate due to visa issues.
Leagues participating
Current
| League | Years |
|---|---|
| Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente
|
1949–1960, 1970– |
| Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
|
1949–1960, 1970– |
| Cuban National Series
|
1949–1960, 2014–19 |
| Panamanian Professional Baseball League
|
1949–1960, 2019– |
| Dominican Professional Baseball League
|
1970– |
| Mexican Pacific League
|
1971– |
| Colombian Professional Baseball League
|
2020– |
Series
Championship games
Starting with the 2013 Caribbean Series, a championship game was introduced where the two teams with the best win-loss record from the round-robin first stage would meet to determine the champion. In 2013 the first round consisted of 12 games and each team faced the other teams twice, one as home club and the other as an away team; from 2014 on, with the return of Cuban teams to the tournament, the first stage was changed to a round robin of 10 games where each team faced the other teams once.
| Year | Venue | Champion | Result | Runner-up | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Hermosillo
|
Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón
|
4–3 | Leones del Escogido
|
Eddie Díaz
|
| 2014 | Isla de Margarita
|
Naranjeros de Hermosillo
|
7–1 | Indios de Mayagüez
|
Matías Carrillo
|
| 2015 | San Juan
|
Vegueros de Pinar del Río
|
3–2 | Tomateros de Culiacán
|
Alfonso Urquiola
|
| 2016 | Santo Domingo
|
Venados de Mazatlán
|
5–4 | Tigres de Aragua
|
Juan José Pacho
|
| 2017 | Culiacán
|
Criollos de Caguas
|
1–0 | Águilas de Mexicali
|
Luis Matos
|
| 2018 | Guadalajara
|
Criollos de Caguas
|
9–4 | Águilas Cibaeñas
|
Luis Matos
|
| 2019 | Panama City
|
Toros de Herrera
|
3–1 | Leñadores de Las Tunas
|
Manuel Rodríguez
|
| 2020 | San Juan
|
Toros del Este
|
9–3 | Cardenales de Lara
|
Lino Rivera
|
Championships by team
Championships by country
| Rank | Country | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dominican Republic
|
20 | 1971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2020 |
| 2 | Puerto Rico
|
16 | 1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2017, 2018 |
| 3 | Mexico
|
9 | 1976, 1986, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 |
| 4 | Cuba
|
8 | 1949, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 2015 |
| 5 | Venezuela
|
7 | 1970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2006, 2009 |
| 6 | Panama
|
2 | 1950, 2019 |
Undefeated teams
| No. | Team | Record | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Tigres del Licey
|
6–0 6–0 5–0 |
1971 1977 1991 |
| 2 | Cangrejeros de Santurce
|
6–0 6–0 |
1953 2000 |
| 1 | Alacranes del Almendares
|
6–0 | 1949 |
| 1 | Leones del Habana
|
5–0 | 1952 |
| 1 | Elefantes de Cienfuegos
|
6–0 | 1960 |
| 1 | Senadores de San Juan
|
6–0 | 1995 |
| 1 | Águilas Cibaeñas
|
5–0 | 1998 |
| 1 | Leones del Caracas
|
6–0 | 2006 |
| 1 | Venados de Mazatlán
|
6–0 | 2016 |
See also
- List of baseball players who have played in the Caribbean Series
- Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame
- Caribbean Series MVPs
- Latin American Series
- Asia Series
- European Cup
- Caribbean Series Awards
Notes
- ^ Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela Exaltados 2008 – Oscar Prieto Ortiz Archived 2013-12-31 at the Wayback Machine (Spanish).
- ^ Bjarkman, Peter (1994). Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-89950-973-0.
Sources
- Antero Núñez, José. Series del Caribe. Jefferson, Caracas, Venezuela: Impresos Urbina, C.A., 1987.
- Gutiérrez, Daniel. Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela – 1895–2006. Caracas, Venezuela: Impresión Arte, C.A., 2007.
External links
- Béisbol en Cuba (Spanish)
- Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame
- Cuban Teams in the Caribbean Series
- Historia de las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
- Las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
- Sobre el Diamante (Spanish)