The third edition of the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

(''Serie del Caribe'') was played in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

. The Series inauguration on February 21 was delayed due to heavy rain and it was held from February 22 through February 26, including two double-headers on February 25, featuring the champion baseball teams of

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, Leones del Habana;

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

, Spur Cola Colonites;

Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...

, Cangrejeros de Santurce, and

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at ''Cervecería Caracas Stadium'' in

Caracas, Venezuela Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Summary

The Puerto Rico team won the Series with a 5-1 record and was managed by

George Scales George Louis Scales (August 16, 1900 - April 15, 1976), nicknamed "Tubby", was an American second baseman and manager in Negro league baseball, most notably with the New York Lincoln Giants and Baltimore Elite Giants. Born in Talladega, Alabam ...

. Their only defeat came from Cuba. The team was led by OF Luis Rodríguez Olmo, who was named

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

after hitting .423 (11-for-26) with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and nine RBI. Other contributions came from

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

s Pantalones Santiago (two complete-game wins), Rubén Gómez (two wins, one save), 1B

George Crowe George Daniel Crowe (March 22, 1921 – January 18, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who appeared in 702 games in the major leagues as a first baseman and pinch hitter between and . Before joining minor league baseball in 19 ...

(.333, one

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

, 7 RBI), and SS Stan Breard (.423, seven runs, 4 doubles, 8 RBI). Also in the Puerto Rican roster were

Jim Gilliam James William "Junior" Gilliam (October 17, 1928 – October 8, 1978) was an American second baseman, third baseman, and coach in Negro league and Major League Baseball who spent his entire major league career with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dod ...

( 2B), Buster Clarkson ( 3B),

Bob Thurman Robert Burns Thurman (May 14, 1917 – October 31, 1998) was a professional baseball pitcher, outfielder and pinch-hitter. He played in the Negro leagues, the Puerto Rican winter league (where he was a star), and for a few years at the end o ...

(OF) and

Willard Brown Willard Jessie Brown (June 26, 1915 – August 4, 1996), nicknamed "Home Run" Brown, was an American baseball player who played outfielder in the Negro leagues for the Kansas City Monarchs and in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Brown ...

(OF). Managed by Mike González, Cuba finished in second place with a 4-2 mark. 1B

Lorenzo Cabrera Lorenzo Cabrera (born April 30, 1920), nicknamed "Chiquitín", is a Cuban former professional baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game oc ...

led the Series hitters with an astronomical .619

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(13-for-23), while the pitching staff was led by

Adrián Zabala Adrián Zabala Rodríguez (August 26, 1916 – January 4, 2002) was a Cuban-born professional baseball pitcher. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants in 1945 and 1949. The , left-hander was a native of ...

(2-0),

Hoyt Wilhelm James Hoyt Wilhelm (July 26, 1922 – August 23, 2002), nicknamed "Old Sarge", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the New York Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, Cleveland Indians, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago White Sox, California Angel ...

(1-1) and Bill Ayers (1 win, 1 save). Also included in the roster were Sandy Amorós (OF), Pedro Formental (OF), Bert Haas (3B),

Spider Jorgensen John Donald "Spider" Jorgensen (November 3, 1919 – November 6, 2003) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played from 1947 through 1951 for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1947–50) and New York Giants (1950–51). Jorgensen made his MLB de ...

(2B),

Ed Mierkowicz Edward Frank Mierkowicz (March 6, 1924 – May 19, 2017), nicknamed "Butch" and "Mouse," was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1950 as an outfielder for the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardi ...

(OF), Jiquí Moreno (P) and Carlos Pascual (P). Venezuela was managed by

Lázaro Salazar Lázaro Salazar Vázquez (February 4, 1912 – April 25, 1957) was a Cuban baseball outfielder, pitcher, and manager in the Negro leagues and the Mexican League. He played from 1924 to 1952 with several clubs, including the Cuban Stars (West), ...

and finished 2-4, with both victories over Panama. The team was led by 1B René González, who hit .316 (6-for-19), including two doubles, two home runs and a Series-leading 11 RBI. Pitcher

José Bracho José de la Trinidad Bracho (July 23, 1928 – June 16, 2011) was a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 6' 1", 185 lb., he batted and threw right handed. His friends and fans affectionately called him '' Carrao'', a moniker th ...

posted a 1-0 record and a 0.71 ERA in 12⅔ IP, helping himself with the bat while hitting .500 (3-for-6) with a double, one run and four RBIs. Other significant players in the roster included Luis García (3B),

Vidal López Vidal López Ascanio (April 19, 1918 – February 20, 1971) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and manager. He batted and threw right handed. (Spanish) López starred as a starting pitcher and Slugging percentage, slugging outfielder ...

(LF),

Jim Pendleton James Edward Pendleton (January 7, 1924 — March 20, 1996) was an American professional baseball player, an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1953 and 1962. He played for the Milwaukee Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds ...

(SS),

Chucho Ramos Jesús Manuel Ramos García (April 12, 1918 – September 2, 1977) was an outfielder/first baseman in Major League Baseball who played briefly during the season. Listed at 5' 10.5", 167 lb., Ramos batted right-handed and threw left-handed. ...

(1B) and

Ken Staples Kenneth Arthur Staples (November 9, 1926 – September 8, 2014) was a minor league baseball player and manager. Early life Staples attended Humboldt High School in St. Paul, Minnesota. He was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. Career ...

(C), as well as pitchers

Frank Biscan Frank Stephen Biscan (March 13, 1920 – May 22, 1959) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher who appeared in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Browns in parts of three seasons (1942; 1946; 1948). Nicknamed "Pork ...

Julio Bracho Julio Bracho Gavilán (17 July 1909 – 26 April 1978) was a Mexican film director and screenwriter. Bracho was born as ninth of eleven children of Julio Bracho y Zuloaga and his wife Luz Pérez Gavilán. His sister Guadalupe Bracho Pérez- ...

, Alex Carrasquel and

Clem Labine Clement Walter Labine (August 6, 1926 – March 2, 2007) was an American right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) best known for his years with the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers from 1950 to 1960. As a key member of the Dodger ...

. Panama ended with a 1-5 mark and was managed by catcher

León Kellman Edric León Kellman (September 4, 1924 – September 13, 1981) was a Panamanian professional baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 11", 160 lb., Kellman batted and threw right handed. He was born in Gatún, Panama Canal Zone. Although ...

. The team's only victory came behind a strong pitching effort from starter Connie Johnson over the Cuban team, while 1B Archie Ware paced the offense in average (.348), hits (8) and RBI (4).

Participating teams

Final standings

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 22

Game 2, February 22

Game 3, February 23

Game 4, February 23

Game 5, February 24

Game 6, February 24

Game 7, February 25

Game 8, February 25

Game 9, February 25

Game 10, February 25

Game 11, February 26

Game 12, February 26

Statistics leaders

Awards

References

Sources

*Antero Núñez, José. ''Series del Caribe''. Jefferson,

: Impresos Urbina, C.A., 1987. *Gutiérrez, Daniel. ''Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela – 1895-2006 ''. Caracas, Venezuela: Impresión Arte, C.A., 2007.

External links

Official siteLatino Baseball
{{Caribbean Series , state=collapsed

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Caribbean Series International baseball competitions hosted by Venezuela Sports competitions in Caracas 1951 in Venezuelan sport 1951 in Caribbean sport

20th century in Caracas