1970 Caribbean Series

After nine years of absence, the XIII edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was revived in 1970 without Panama or Cuba. It was held in Caracas, Venezuela from February 5 to February 10 at Estadio Universitario and featured three teams from Dominican Republic (Licey), Puerto Rico (Ponce), and Venezuela (Magallanes). The format consisted of 12 games, with each team facing the other teams three times. Because the series was so small, each team had to face each other in one night.

Summary

For the first time, Venezuela captured the competition with a record of 7-1 behind strong pitching performances by Orlando Peña (2-0, 2.00 ERA in 18.0 innings pitched), Aurelio Monteagudo (2-0, one shutout, 16 SO, 0.00 in 12 2⁄3 IP), Jay Ritchie (one-hit, nine-SO shutout), and Larry Jaster (1-0, 3.30 ERA in 16 1⁄3 IP). With Carlos Pascual as manager, 1B Gonzalo Márquez was voted Most Valuable Player after led series hitters with a .478 batting average (11-for-25). Other contributions came from 2B Gustavo Gil (.387, four runs, seven RBI), CF César Tovar (.349, five runs, three stolen bases), C Ray Fosse (.391, four runs), and 3B Dámaso Blanco (five runs, five RBI). Also in the roster were infielder Chico Ruiz, outfielder Jim Holt, and pitchers Mike Hedlund and Luis Peñalver.

The team of Puerto Rico, with Jim Fregosi at the helm, finished second with 4-4 mark. The pitching staff was led by Wayne Simpson, who went 2-0 with a 1.12 ERA and two complete games, including a four-hit shutout. Also in the roster were pitchers Mike Cuellar and Clyde Wright; catcher Pat Corrales; infielders José Cruz (1B), Sandy Alomar (2B), Tony Pérez (3B) and Jackie Hernández (SS), and outfielders Julio Roque (LF), Luis Meléndez (CF) and Bernie Carbo (RF). Meléndez led the offensive with one home run, six runs and six RBI.

Dominican Republic, led by outfielder/manager Manny Mota, ended in last place with a 1-7 record. The team's only victory came behind a strong pitching effort from Reggie Cleveland, who threw nine innings of one-hit, one run ball against Puerto Rico. The team featured players as Matty Alou, Rico Carty, César Cedeño and Freddie Velázquez.

Final standings Club W L W/L % GB Venezuela 7 1 .875   -- Puerto Rico 4 4 .500 4.0 Dominican Republic 1 7 .125 6.0 Individual leaders Player/Club Statistic Gonzalo Márquez/Venezuela Batting average .440 Rico Carty/DOM Pat Corrales/PRI Luis Meléndez/PRI Armando Ortiz/VEN Tony Pérez/PRI Freddie Velázquez/DOM Home runs      1 Gustavo Gil/VEN Runs batted in      7 Luis Meléndez/PRI Manny Mota/DOM Runs      6 Gustavo Gil/VEN Hits    12 Bernie Carbo/PRI César Cedeño/DOM Ray Fosse/VEN César Tovar/VEN Doubles      2 Ray Fosse/VEN César Tovar/VEN Triples      1 Gonzalo Márquez/Venezuela Stolen bases      4 Aurelio Monteagudo/VEN Orlando Peña/VEN Wayne Simpson/PRI Wins      2 Aurelio Monteagudo/VEN Strikeouts    16 Aurelio Monteagudo/VEN ERA 0.00 Orlando Peña/VEN Innings pitched 18.0 All-Star Team Name/Club Position Ray Fosse/VEN Catcher Gonzalo Márquez/VEN First baseman Gustavo Gil/VEN Second baseman Tony Pérez/PRI Third baseman Jesús Aristimuño/VEN Shortstop César Cedeño/DOM Left fielder César Tovar/VEN Center fielder Luis Meléndez/PRI Right fielder Aurelio Monteagudo/VEN Orlando Peña/VEN Pitchers Carlos Pascual/VEN Manager Scoreboards Game 1, February 5 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Puerto Rico 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 7 0 Dominican Republic 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 1 WP: Wayne Simpson (1-0)   LP: Santiago Guzmán (0-1) Home runs: PRI: Tony Pérez (1) DOM: Freddie Velázquez (1) Game 2, February 5 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Puerto Rico 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 6 0 Venezuela 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 x 3 4 1 WP: Orlando Peña (1-0)   LP: Mike Cuellar (0-1) Home runs: PRI: None VEN: Armando Ortiz Game 3, February 6 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 R H E Dominican Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 13 1 Puerto Rico 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 13 0 WP: Félix Roque (1-0)   LP: Reggie Cleveland (0-1) Game 4, February 6 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Dominican Republic 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0   4   9 2 Venezuela 0 0 4 0 0 6 0 0 x 10 17 0 WP: Larry Jaster (1-0)   LP: Silvano Quezada (0-1) Home runs: DOM: Rico Carty (1) VEN: None Game 5, February 7 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Venezuela 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 12 0 Dominican Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   1 2 WP: Jay Ritchie (1-0)   LP: Milcíades Olivo (0-1) Game 6, February 7 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Venezuela 3 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 4 11 1 Puerto Rico 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 1 5 12 0 WP: Paul Doyle (1-0)   LP: Don Eddy (0-1) Home runs: VEN: None PRI: Pat Corrales (1), Luis Meléndez (1) Game 7, February 8 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Dominican Republic 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 12 0 Puerto Rico 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1   1 2 WP: Reggie Cleveland (1-1)   LP: Rickey Clark (0-1) Game 8, February 8 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Venezuela 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 4 7 0 Puerto Rico 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 WP: Aurelio Monteagudo (1-0)   LP: Raúl Mercado (0-1) Game 9, February 9 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Puerto Rico 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 10 0 Dominican Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   4 2 WP: Wayne Simpson (2-0)   LP: Danilo Rivas (0-1) Game 10, February 9 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Venezuela 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 2 0 4 10 1 Dominican Republic 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 3 11 1 WP: Orlando Peña (2-0)   LP: Santiago Guzmán (0-2) Game 11, February 10 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 R H E Puerto Rico 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 3 12 2 Venezuela 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 4 11 1 WP: Aurelio Monteagudo (2-0)   LP: Ron Kline (0-1) Home runs: PRI: Frank Rivera (1) VEN: None Game 12, February 10 Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E Dominican Republic 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 2 7 1 Venezuela 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 x 3 5 1 WP: Gregorio Machado (1-0)   LP: David Hernández (0-1)   Sv: Gilberto Marcano (1)   See also Ballplayers who have played in the Series 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 Latino Baseball Series del Caribe, Las (Spanish)     v t e Caribbean Series Years 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961–1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Circuits Dominican Professional Baseball League - Mexican Pacific League - Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League - Venezuelan Professional Baseball League - Cuban National Series Related articles Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame - Caribbean Series Most Valuable Player - Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame - List of players who have played in the Series - Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame - Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame 1961 to 1969 - The Series was not held during these years following the dissolution of Cuba's professional league. 1981 - The Series was not held due to a Venezuelan player's strike.