Caribbean Series

The Caribbean Series (Spanish: Serie del Caribe) is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation (CPBC). The series is normally played in February, after the various winter leagues have ended their national tournaments.

The Dominican Republic has won the most Caribbean Series championships (23), with Tigres del Licey being the most successful team in the tournament's history. The series has been won by 29 teams from seven countries. Only two teams have won the tournament two consecutive years, the most recent being Criollos de Caguas from Puerto Rico in 2017 and 2018.

History The competition was the brainchild of Venezuelan baseball entrepreneur Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto Ortiz, who devised the idea after seeing the success of the 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.Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela Exaltados 2008 – Oscar Prieto Ortiz (Spanish).

Inspired by the Interamerican Series 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.Bjarkman, Peter (1994). Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game. McFarland & Company. . 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 suspended in 1961, as a result of the Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro dissolved all professional baseball in Cuba, and MLB Commissioner Ford Frick ruled that American major leaguers were barred from playing in Havana, where the 1961 series had been scheduled.

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. Curaçao was invited as a guest in 2023.

Participants Permanent members Key Member of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation

Country League First edition Dominican Professional Baseball League1970 Mexican Pacific League1971Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente1949 Venezuelan Professional Baseball League1949

Other participants Country League First edition Latest edition Cuban League19491960Cuban National Series20142019Cuban Elite League2023 Curaçao Professional Baseball League20232024 Colombian Professional Baseball League20202023 Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League20242024 Panamanian Professional Baseball League19492026 Japan Breeze2025

Notes After the 1960 tournament, Panama would not appear in another Caribbean Series until 2019. Venezuela's LVBP was replaced by the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional for the 1960 tournament

Series

YearChampionManagerRecordFinalsScoreRunners-upLocation1949 Alacranes del Almendares Fermin Guerra 6–0 Cerveceria Caracas Havana1950 Carta Vieja Yankees Wayne Blackburn 5–1 Criollos de Caguas San Juan1951 Cangrejeros de Santurce George Scales5–1 Leones del Habana Caracas1952 Leones del Habana Mike González 5–0 Carta Vieja Yankees Panama City1953 Cangrejeros de Santurce Buster Clarkson 5–0 Leones del Habana Havana1954 Criollos de Caguas Mickey Owen 4–2 Alacranes del Almendares San Juan1955 Cangrejeros de Santurce Herman Franks 5–1 Navegantes del Magallanes Caracas1956 Elefantes de Cienfuegos Oscar Rodríguez 5–1 Chesterfield Smokers Caracas1957 Tigres de Marianao Napoleón Reyes 5–1 Cerveza Balboa Havana1958 Tigres de Marianao Napoleón Reyes 4–2 Criollos de Caguas San Juan1959 Alacranes del Almendares Clemente Carreras 5–1 Indios de Oriente Caracas1960 Elefantes de Cienfuegos Tony Castaño 6–0 Marlboro Smokers Panama City Not held from 1961–1969; see Interamerican Series1970 Navegantes del Magallanes Carlos Pascual 7–1 Leones de Ponce Caracas1971 Tigres del Licey Manny Mota 6–0 Tied San Juan1972 Leones de Ponce Frank Verdi 5–1 Tied Santo Domingo1973 Tigres del Licey Tommy Lasorda 5–1 Tied Caracas1974 Criollos de Caguas Bobby Wine 4–2 Tied Hermosillo1975 Vaqueros de Bayamón José Pagán 5–1 Tied San Juan1976 Naranjeros de Hermosillo Cananea Reyes 5–1 Tigres de Aragua Santo Domingo & Santiago1977 Tigres del Licey Buck Rodgers 6–0 Navegantes del Magallanes Caracas1978 Indios de Mayagüez Rene Lachemann 5–1 Tied Mazatlán1979 Navegantes del Magallanes Willie Horton 5–1 Águilas Cibaeñas San Juan1980 Tigres del Licey Del Crandall 4–2 Tied Santo Domingo1981 Not held1982 Leones del Caracas Chico Carrasquel 5–1 Leones de Ponce Hermosillo1983 Lobos de Arecibo Ron Clark 5–1 Tiburones de La Guaira Caracas1984 Águilas del Zulia Rubén Amaro 5–1 Cañeros de Los Mochis San Juan1985 Tigres del Licey Terry Collins 5–1 Tomateros de Culiacán Mazatlán1986 Águilas de Mexicali Cananea Reyes 4–2 Tied Maracaibo1987 Criollos de Caguas Ramón Avilés 5–2 Águilas Cibaeñas Hermosillo1988 Leones del Escogido Phil Regan 4–2 Tied Santo Domingo1989 Águilas del Zulia Pete Mackanin 5–1 Indios de Mayagüez Mazatlán1990 Leones del Escogido Felipe Alou 5–1 Tied Miami1991 Tigres del Licey John Roseboro 5–0 Cardenales de Lara Miami1992 Indios de Mayagüez Pat Kelly 5–1 Águilas del Zulia Hermosillo1993 Cangrejeros de Santurce Mako Oliveras 5–2 Águilas Cibaeñas Mazatlán 1994 Tigres del Licey Casey Parsons 5–1 Navegantes del Magallanes Puerto la Cruz1995 Senadores de San Juan Luis Meléndez 6–0 Azucareros del Este San Juan1996 Tomateros de Culiacán Francisco Estrada 5–1 Lobos de Arecibo Santo Domingo1997 Águilas Cibaeñas Mike Quade 4–2 Tied Hermosillo1998 Águilas Cibaeñas Tony Peña 6–0 Indios de Mayagüez Puerto la Cruz1999 Tigres del Licey Dave Jauss 5–2 Indios de Mayagüez San Juan2000 Cangrejeros de Santurce Mako Oliveras 6–0 Águilas Cibaeñas Santo Domingo2001 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín 4–2 Tied Culiacán2002 Tomateros de Culiacán Francisco Estrada 5–1 Tied Caracas2003 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín 6–1 Indios de Mayagüez Carolina2004 Tigres del Licey Manny Acta 5–1 Tomateros de Culiacán Santo Domingo2005 Venados de MazatlánJuan José Pacho 5–1 Tied Mazatlán2006 Leones del Caracas Carlos Subero 6–0 Tigres del Licey Valencia and Maracay2007 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín 5–1 Gigantes de Carolina Carolina2008 Tigres del Licey Héctor de la Cruz 5–1 Venados de Mazatlán Santiago2009 Tigres de Aragua Buddy Bailey 5–1 Águilas Cibaeñas Mexicali2010 Leones del Escogido Ken Oberkfell 5–1 Indios de Mayagüez Margarita Island2011 Yaquis de ObregónEddie Díaz 4–2 Tied Mayagüez2012 Leones del Escogido Ken Oberkfell 4–2 Tied Santo Domingo2013 Yaquis de Obregón Eddie Díaz 4–3 4–3 Leones del Escogido Hermosillo2014 Naranjeros de Hermosillo Matías Carrillo 4–2 7–1 Indios de Mayagüez Margarita Island2015 Vegueros de Pinar del Río Alfonso Urquiola 3–3 3–2 Tomateros de Culiacán San Juan2016 Venados de Mazatlan Juan José Pacho 6–0 5–4 Tigres de Aragua Santo Domingo2017 Criollos de Caguas Luis Matos 3−3 1–0 Águilas de Mexicali Culiacán2018 Criollos de Caguas Luis Matos 4−2 9–4 Águilas Cibaeñas Guadalajara2019 Toros de Herrera Manuel Rodríguez 4−1 3–1 Leñadores de Las Tunas Panama City2020 Toros del Este Lino Rivera 6−1 9–3 Cardenales de Lara San Juan2021 Águilas Cibaeñas Félix Fermín 7−0 4–1 Criollos de Caguas Mazatlán2022 Caimanes de Barranquilla José Mosquera 5−2 4–1 Gigantes del Cibao Santo Domingo2023 Tigres del Licey Jose Offerman 6−3 3–0 Leones del Caracas Caracas and La Guaira2024 Tiburones de La Guaira Ozzie Guillén 7−1 3–0 Tigres del Licey Miami2025 Leones del Escogido Albert Pujols 4–2 1–0 Charros de Jalisco Mexicali 2026 Charros de Jalisco Benjamin Gil 5-1 12-11 Tomateros de Culiacán Guadalajara 2027 Hermosillo 2028 Miami

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.

Notes

Championships by team

RankTeamWinsYears1 Tigres del Licey111971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008, 20232 Águilas Cibaeñas61997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2007, 20213 Cangrejeros de Santurce51951, 1953, 1955, 1993, 2000 Criollos de Caguas1954, 1974, 1987, 2017, 2018 Leones del Escogido1988, 1990, 2010, 2012, 20254 Tigres de Marianao21957, 1958 Alacranes del Almendares1949, 1959 Elefantes de Cienfuegos1956, 1960 Navegantes del Magallanes1970, 1979 Águilas del Zulia1984, 1989 Indios de Mayagüez1978, 1992 Tomateros de Culiacán1996, 2002 Leones del Caracas1982, 2006 Yaquis de Obregón2011, 2013 Naranjeros de Hermosillo1976, 2014 Venados de Mazatlán2005, 20165 Carta Vieja Yankees11950 Leones del Habana1952 Leones de Ponce1972 Vaqueros de Bayamón1975 Lobos de Arecibo1983 Águilas de Mexicali1986 Senadores de San Juan1995 Tigres de Aragua2009 Vegueros de Pinar del Río2015 Toros de Herrera2019 Toros del Este2020 Caimanes de Barranquilla2022 Tiburones de La Guaira2024 Charros de Jalisco2026

Championships by country

RankCountryWinsYears1231971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2020, 2021, 2023, 20252161951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2017, 20183101976, 1986, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016, 20264 81949, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 20151970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2006, 2009, 2024621950, 2019712022

Undefeated teams No.TeamRecordYears3 Tigres del Licey6–06–05–01971197719912 Cangrejeros de Santurce6–06–0195320002 Águilas Cibaeñas6–07–0199820211 Alacranes del Almendares  6–019491 Leones del Habana5–019521 Elefantes de Cienfuegos6–019601 Senadores de San Juan6–019951 Leones del Caracas6–020061 Venados de Mazatlán6–02016

See also List of baseball players who have played in the Caribbean Series Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame Caribbean Series MVPs Serie de las Américas Baseball Champions League Americas Latin American Series Interamerican Series Asia Series European Cup Caribbean Series Awards

Notes

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) Cuban Teams in the Caribbean Series Historia de las Series del Caribe (Spanish) Las Series del Caribe (Spanish) (Spanish)