Caribbean Series
 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| First season | 1949 |
| Director | Juan Francisco Puello Herrera |
| Organising body | Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation |
| Countries | Colombia Dominican Republic Mexico Panama Puerto Rico Venezuela |
| Region | CaribbeanandLatin America |
| Most recent champion(s) |  Tiburones de La Guaira(1st title) (2024) |
| Most titles |  Tigres del Licey(11 titles) |
| TV partner(s) | United States: ESPN Deportes Bally Sports |
| Related competitions | LPB LIDOM LMP PROBEIS LBPRC LVBP |
| Official website | seriedelcaribe.net |
 2024 Caribbean Series | |
TheCaribbean Series(Spanish:Serie del Caribe) is an annual club tournament contested byprofessional baseballteams inLatin America.It is organized by theCaribbean Professional Baseball Confederation.The series is normally played in February, after the variouswinter leagueshave ended their national tournaments.
TheDominican Republichas won the most Caribbean Series championships (22), withTigres del Liceybeing the most successful team in the tournament's history. The series has been won by 29 teams from seven different countries. Only two teams have won the tournament two years in a row, the most recent beingCriollos de Caguasfrom Puerto Rico in2017and2018.
History[edit]
The competition was the brainchild of Venezuelan baseball entrepreneurPablo MoralesandOscar Prieto Ortiz,who devised the idea after seeing the success of theSerie Interamericanain 1946, which featured the clubsBrooklyn Bushwicksfrom theUnited States,Cervecería Caracasfrom Venezuela,Sultanes de Monterreyfrom Mexico, and an All-Star team composed of Cuban players.[1]
Inspired by the Interamerican Series and his experience as a former president of theInternational Baseball Federation,Morales joined Prieto and presented the idea to baseball representatives of Cuba, Panama, and Puerto Rico during a meeting held inHavanaon August 21, 1948.[2]The representatives then agreed to stage a four-country,round-robin tournament12-game to be known as theSerie del Caribe,to be launched in Cuba fromFebruary 20–25 of 1949.
The Series ran annually from 1949 through 1960, with Cuba winning seven times. However, the event was suspended in 1961, as a result of theCuban Revolution.Fidel Castrodissolved all professional baseball in Cuba, andMLB CommissionerFord Frickruled that American major leaguers were barred from playing in Havana, where the 1961 series had been scheduled.[3][4]
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 theDominican Republic,Mexico,Puerto Rico,andVenezuelafor over 40 years.Cubareturned in 2014.Panamareturned to host the 2019 edition.Colombiawas added for the 2020 edition, replacingCubawho could not participate due tovisaissues.Curaçaowas invited as a guest in 2023.[5]
Participants[edit]
- Key
- Member of theCaribbean Professional Baseball Confederation
Previous participants[edit]
| Country | League | First edition | Latest edition |
|---|---|---|---|
 Cuba
|
Cuban League | 1949 | 1960 |
| Cuban National Series | 2014 | 2019 | |
| Cuban Elite League | 2023 | ||
 Curaçao
|
Curaçao National Championship AA League | 2023 | |
 Colombia
|
Colombian Professional Baseball League | 2020 | 2023 |
Notes[edit]
- aAfter the1960 tournament,Panama would not appear in another Caribbean Series until2019.
- bVenezuela's LVBP was replaced by theLiga Occidental de Béisbol Profesionalfor the 1960 tournament
Series[edit]
Championship games[edit]
Starting with the2013 Caribbean Series,a championship game was introduced where the two teams with the best win–loss record from theround-robinfirst stage would meet to determine the champion. In2013the 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; from2014on, 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 Obregón
|
4–3 (18) | 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 (10) | 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
|
| 2021 | Mazatlán
|
Águilas Cibaeñas
|
4–1 | Criollos de Caguas
|
Félix Fermín
|
| 2022 | Santo Domingo
|
Caimanes de Barranquilla
|
4–1 | Gigantes del Cibao
|
José Mosquera
|
| 2023 | CaracasandLa Guaira
|
Tigres del Licey
|
3–0 | Leones del Caracas
|
José Offerman
|
| 2024 |  Miami
|
Tiburones de La Guaira
|
3–0 | Tigres del Licey
|
Ozzie Guillén
|
Championships by team[edit]
Championships by country[edit]
| Rank | Country | Wins | Years |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dominican Republic
|
22 | 1971, 1973, 1977, 1980,1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2020, 2021, 2023 |
| 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 |
| Venezuela
|
1970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2006, 2009, 2024 | ||
| 6 | Panama
|
2 | 1950, 2019 |
| 7 | Colombia
|
1 | 2022 |
Undefeated teams[edit]
| 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 |
| 2 | Águilas Cibaeñas
|
6–0 7–0 |
1998 2021 |
| 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 | Venados de Mazatlán
|
6–0 | 2016 |
See also[edit]
- 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[edit]
- ^Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela Exaltados 2008 – Oscar Prieto OrtizArchived31 December 2013 at theWayback Machine(Spanish).
- ^Bjarkman, Peter (1994).Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game.McFarland & Company.ISBN978-0-89950-973-0.
- ^"Caracas Grabs Latin Title Set, Cuban Loop Out".The Sporting News. 11 January 1961. p. 21.Retrieved20 February2024.
- ^"Historia Serie del Caribe".LVBP(in Spanish).Retrieved14 June2023.
- ^Rojas, Enrique (13 May 2022)."Oficial: Cuba y Curazao jugarán en próxima Serie del Caribe en Caracas 2023".ESPNdeportes(in Spanish).Retrieved14 June2023.
Sources[edit]
- 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[edit]
- Béisbol en Cuba(Spanish)
- Cuban Teams in the Caribbean Series
- Historia de las Series del Caribe(Spanish)
- Las Series del Caribe(Spanish)
- Sobre el Diamante(Spanish)
International clubbaseballcompetitions | ||
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| Americas |  | |
| Europe | ||
| Defunct | ||
| Exhibitions | ||
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