The forty-ninth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played held from February 2 through February 7 of , featuring the champion teams from Dominican Republic (Aguilas Cibaeñas), Mexico (Naranjeros de Hermosillo), Puerto Rico (Gigantes de Carolina) and Venezuela (Tigres de Aragua). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico.
Summary Dominican Republic clinched the Series with a 5-1 record and was managed by Félix Fermín, who became the first manager in series history to win three titles. In their only defeat, the Dominicans were shut out, by Puerto Rico, 1–0, on three hits. Series MVP Tony Batista led the team with three home runs and eight RBIs. Also helping out were Miguel Tejada (.304, one HR, five RBI) and Anderson Hernández (.310, six runs, two doubles). The offense led the tournament with 37 runs, while the pitching staff provided a strong support by limiting opponents to eight runs (two unearned) in 62 innings pitched for a .087 ERA. José Acevedo (1-0, six strikeouts, 0.00 ERA, 8.0 IP), Fabio Castro (1-0, four SO, 0.00, 5.0 IP), Julián Tavárez (1-0, six SO, 1.69, 5 IP), Héctor Almonte (1-0, .214, five SO, 3 IP), Julio De Paula (1-0, 0.00, three SO, 4 ), José Capellán (.217 ERA, five SO, 6 IP), José Vargas (one save, .267, two SO), and José Lima (0-1, 10 SO, 1.32 ERA, 13 IP) headed the staff. Also on the roster were Alberto Castillo, Bernie Castro, Nelson Cruz, Pablo Ozuna and Luis Polonia. Overall, the Dominican Republic won the Series for the 16th time, one more than Puerto Rico. This was the fifth time that the Águilas Cibaeñas (Cibao Eagles) represented the Dominicans and took the title.
The Puerto Rican team, managed by Lino Rivera, finished second with a 4-2 mark. The offense was clearly guided by Armando Ríos, who led the Series hitters in batting average (.545), hits (12), stolen bases (2), SLG (.682), OBS (.667) and OPS (1.349). Other contributions came from Juan González (.385, three runs, two RBI), Javier Valentín (.368) and Alex Cora (.364, two doubles, two runs, four RBI). Other than starters Giancarlo Alvarado (1-0, 0.73, 10 SO, 12 IP) and Brian Edwards (1-0, 4.50, 6.0 IP), the pitching rotation proved ineffective. Relievers Pedro Feliciano (2-0, 0.00, 5.0 IP, four SO), Bubbie Buzachero (1.80, one save, five SO, five IP) and Fernando Cabrera (0.00 ERA, 0.00 OBA, two SO, three IP) provided some support. Other players in the roster included Hiram Bocachica, Rubén Gotay, Luis Matos, José Santiago, and the brothers José and Yadier Molina.
Venezuela was guided by Buddy Bailey and finished 2-4 in third place. The two victories came at the expense of Mexico and Puerto Rico. The offense was guided by Oscar Salazar, who led the series batters with nine RBI, while hitting .346 (9-for-26) with two home runs and a .654 SLG. Two other hitters carried much of the offensive weight: José Castillo (.321, six doubles, four runs, three RBI) and Ronny Cedeño (.440, 11 hits, .481 OBP). Despite a 2.18 collective ERA, the pitching staff was victim of a lousy defense that committed 11 errors. Starters Josmir Romero (1-0, 0.00), Tim McClaskey (1-0, 3.60, five SO, five IP) and Horacio Estrada (0-0, 2.25, 12 IP) each turned in fine efforts, while Yohan Pino (0.00, 10 SO, 7 IP) and Kevin Tolar (0.00, five SO, 3 IP) did the job out of the bullpen. The Venezuelan team also featured players such as Cory Bailey, Alex Delgado, Ramón Hernández, Luis Rodríguez, Randall Simon and Steve Torrealba.
Piloted by Lorenzo Bundy, Mexico was outscored by their opponents 45-13 and finished in last place with a 1-5 record, getting its only victory against Venezuela. A one-man offensive performance was led by Luis Alfonso García, who finished second in the batting race with a .458 average (11-for-24) and hit four doubles with four RBI; Juan Cañizalez batted .333 (6-for-18), Alfredo Amézaga hit the team's only home run, and Pablo Ortega was the only pitcher to lose two games in the Series that year. The team also included veterans such as Vinny Castilla, Elmer Dessens, Erubiel Durazo, Karim García, Gerónimo Gil and Derrick White.
Final standings Country Club W L W/L % GB Managers Dominican Republic Aguilas Cibaeñas 5 1 .833 – Félix Fermín Puerto Rico Gigantes de Carolina 4 2 .667 1.0 Lino Rivera Venezuela Tigres de Aragua 2 4 .333 3.0 Buddy Bailey Mexico Naranjeros de Hermosillo 1 5 .167 4.0 Lorenzo Bundy
Individual leadersPlayer/Club Statistic Armando Ríos/PUR Batting average .545 Tony Batista/DOM Home runs 3 Oscar Salazar/VEN Runs batted in 11 Anderson Hernández/DOM Miguel Tejada/DOM Runs 6 Armando Ríos/PUR Hits 12 José Castillo/VEN Doubles 6 Gregor Blanco/VEN José Fernández/DOM Luis Polonia/DOM Armando Ríos/PUR Oscar Salazar/VEN Triples 1 José Fernández/DOM Armando Ríos/PUR Stolen bases 2 Pedro Feliciano/PUR Wins 2 Giancarlo Alvarado/PUR José Lima/DOM Yohan Pino/VEN Strikeouts 10 Giancarlo Alvarado/PUR Earned run average 0.73 José Lima/DOM Innings pitched Jorge Sosa/DOM Saves 2 Kevin Tolar/VEN Games pitched 4 Awards Tony Batista/DOM Most Valuable Player Félix Fermín/DOM Manager
All-Star TeamName/Club Position Alberto Castillo/DOM catcher Javier Valentín/PUR first baseman Anderson Hernández/PUR second baseman Tony Batista/DOM third baseman Miguel Tejada/DOM shortstop Oscar Salazar/VEN left fielder Alex Fernández/DOM center fielder Armando Ríos/PUR right fielder Juan González/PUR designated hitter José Acevedo/DOM right-handed pitcher Fabio Castro/DOM left-handed pitcher Félix Fermín/DOM manager
Scoreboards
Game 1, February 2
Game 2, February 2
Game 3, February 3
Game 4, February 3
Game 5, February 4
Game 6, February 4
Game 7, February 5
Game 8, February 5
Game 9, February 6
Game 10, February 6
Game 11, February 7
Game 12, February 7
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)