Caribbean Series

The Caribbean Series (Spanish: Serie del Caribe), also called the Caribbean World Series (CWS) is the highest baseball tournament at club level in Latin America. The league winners from the Winter Leagues of Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela participate in the tournament. The tournament is hosted at each country every four year and is normally played in February after all the leagues have ended their national tournaments.

The 2011 Caribbean Series was held in Isidoro García Stadium in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, in February 2011 with Mexico's Obregon Yaquis obtaining their first Caribbean Series championship. ^[1][2]

History

The competition was the brainchild of Pablo Morales, who devised the idea after the seeing the success of the Serie Interamericana in 1946, which featured the Monterrey Sultans from Mexico; the All Cubans from Cuba; the Brooklyn Bushwicks from the United States; and Cervecería Caracas from Venezuela. The Bushwicks won each year from 1946 to 1949, but Cervecería Caracas won the final Serie Interamericana in 1950.

Inspired by the Serie Interamericana and his experience as a former president of the FIBA 1946–1947, Morales presented his idea for a Serie del Caribe to the Confederación de Béisbol del Caribe (CBC, Caribbean Baseball Confederation) conference in Miami on August 21, 1948. Cuba agreed to host the first series, which would feature the top team from each of the nations that were then CBC members – Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela – in a six-game round robin series to determine the winner.

The series ran annually from 1949 to 1960, with Cuba winning seven times. However, the Serie del Caribe was cancelled after Fidel Castro dissolved all professional baseball in Cuba in 1961 and it wasn't until 1970 that the CWS was revived.

Leagues participating

Currently, the Serie del Caribe is affiliated with the Winter League programs of Major League Baseball, featuring MLB players and prospects from the Dominican Winter League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In 2008 Puerto Rico failed to field a team for the series due to a one-year hiatus in their professional winter league. As a result the host country, the Dominican Republic, was able to field a second team – the eventual champion Licey Tigers.

Series

Championships by team

• Tigres del Licey, 10 times: 1971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008
• Cangrejeros de Santurce, 5 times: 1951, 1953, 1955, 1993, 2000
• Águilas Cibaeñas, 5 times: 1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2007
• Criollos de Caguas, 3 times: 1954, 1974, 1987
• Leones del Escogido, 3 times: 1988, 1990, 2010

Championships by country

• Dominican Republic, 18 times: 1971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1990–91, 1994, 1997–99, 2001, 2003–04, 2007–08, 2010
• Puerto Rico, 14 times: 1951, 1953–55, 1972, 1974–75, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992–93, 1995, 2000
• Cuba, 7 times: 1949, 1952, 1956–60
• Venezuela, 7 times: 1970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2006, 2009
• Mexico, 6 times: 1976, 1986, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011
• Panama, 1 time: 1950

See also

• Ballplayers who have played in the Series
• Caribbean Series Most Valuable Player
• Americas Baseball awards
• Asia Series
• World Series

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

• Official site
• Series del Caribe, Las (Spanish)
• CWS History
• Cuba at the CWS
• Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-07-26.