The sixth 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 1954. It was held from February 18 through February 23, featuring the champion baseball teams from

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 ...

( Alacranes del Almendares),

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 Co ...

( Carta Vieja Yankees),

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 ...

,( Criollos de Caguas) 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 ...

(

Lácteos de Pastora There have been four different professional baseball clubs in Venezuela that have played under the name Pastora. These teams have been established in the northwest of the country, particularly in the states of Zulia and Acarigua, and have played in ...

). Lácteos de Pastora were the champion of the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional rather than the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Sixto Escobar Stadium in San Juan, P.R.

Summary

Puerto Rico won the Series with a 4-2 record en route for a second straight championship (third overall). The Caguas club was managed by Mickey Owen and led by center fielder and Series MVP

Jim Rivera Manuel Joseph "Jim" Rivera (July 22, 1921 – November 13, 2017) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He played for three Major League Baseball (MLB) teams over ten seasons: St. Louis Browns (1952), Chicago White Sox (1952–1961), a ...

, who posted a .400

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 ...

to lead the hitters. Caguas also received offensive support from 1B Víctor Pellot Power (.348) and 2B

Jack Cassini Jack Dempsey Cassini (October 26, 1919 – September 20, 2010) was an Americans, American professional baseball infielder, manager (baseball), manager and scout (sports), scout. Born in Dearborn, Michigan, he was a six-time stolen base champion du ...

(.333). Meanwhile, the pitching staff surrendered only 10

earned run In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an erro ...

s (2.00

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

), being led by starters Corky Valentine (1-0, 1.00 ERA, five hits),

Brooks Lawrence Brooks Ulysses Lawrence (January 30, 1925 – April 27, 2000) was a Major League Baseball All-Star pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1954–1955), Cincinnati Redlegs (1956–1959), and Cincinnati Reds (1960). Lawrence was born in Springfie ...

(1-0, 1.00, six hits) and Rubén Gómez (1-0, 2.00, five hits), while reliever

Luis Arroyo Luis Enrique "Tite" Arroyo, (February 18, 1927 – January 13, 2016) was a Major League Baseball pitcher from 1955 to 1963. Arroyo was the first Puerto Rican player to appear for the New York Yankees and was a key part of their pennant winning s ...

added depth coming out of the bullpen (three appearances, 1-0, 0.00, innings). Puerto Rico also had

Jack Sanford John Stanley Sanford (May 18, 1929 – March 7, 2000) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from through . Sanford was notable for the meteoric start to his career when, he led ...

(P) in addition to Félix Mantilla (SS),

Charlie Neal Charles Lenard Neal (January 30, 1931 – November 18, 1996) was an American professional baseball baseball player, player, a second baseman and shortstop who had an eight-season career (1956–1963) in Major League Baseball. Signed by the Brookl ...

(IF) and Luis (Canena) Márquez. Cuba, piloted by

Bobby Bragan Robert Randall Bragan (October 30, 1917 – January 21, 2010) was an American shortstop, catcher, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball and an influential minor league executive. His professional baseball career encompassed 73 years, fro ...

, had a 3-3 record to tie the second place with Panama. The Cuban squad got fine work of P Conrado Marrero (1-0, five-hit

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

), CF

Sam Chapman Samuel Blake Chapman (April 11, 1916 – December 22, 2006) was an American two-sport athletic star who played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball, spending nearly his entire career with the Philadelphia Athletics (1938–1941, 1945–1 ...

(.391, homerun, .609 SLG) and RF Angel Scull (.391, .522 SLG). Other roster members included Julio Bécquer (1B),

Joe Hatten Joseph Hilarian Hatten (November 7, 1916 – December 16, 1988) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 233 games pitched in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs from to mid-. Born in Bancroft ...

(P),

Cholly Naranjo Lázaro Ramón Gonzalo Naranjo ah-RAHN-ho(25 November 1934 – 13 January 2022) was a Cuban baseball player who was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. Listed at , , he batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Biography A native of Havana, C ...

(P) and Héctor Rodríguez (3B). Panama was managed by Al Kubski and received a heroic pitching effort by starter

Victor Stryska The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

(2-0), who allowed just one earned run in 18 innings pitched. The attack was guided by 3B Joe Tuminelli (.391) and LF

Bobby Prescott George Bertrand "Bobby" Prescott (March 27, 1931 – August 2, 2020) was a Panamanian professional baseball player, an outfielder, first baseman and third baseman who had a 19-year career, from 1952–1970, in North American minor league baseball ...

(.381), in an anemic lineup who batted a collective .255 average and scored 17 runs (fewest in the Series). Venezuela was guided by Napoleón Reyes and finished in last place with a 2-4 record. Ramón Monzant (1-0, 3.00) and

Ralph Beard Ralph Milton Beard Jr. (December 2, 1927 – November 29, 2007) was an American collegiate and professional basketball player. He won two NCAA national Basketball, basketball championships at the University of Kentucky and played two years in t ...

(1-0, 7.20) got the victories, while Howie Fox collected a 2.58 ERA in two appearances but lose a decision. Bad luck starter

Thornton Kipper Thornton John Kipper (September 27, 1928 – March 29, 2006) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from 1953 through 1955 for the Philadelphia Phillies. Listed at , , Kipper batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Bagley, Wiscons ...

dropped two decisions, losing his duels against Gómez (PR) and Stryska (PAN), while allowing four earned runs (2.12) in 17 innings. Besides,

Emilio Cueche Emilio Cueche h-mee'-leo / coo-eh'-chay/small> (October 20, 1927 – July 31, 2006) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He was nicknamed ″Indio″. (Spanish) Born in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, the righthander Cueche was one of the mos ...

made two strong relief appearances and allowed just one earned run in innings of work. 3B Luis García provided the lone offensive threat with a .348 BA and a .563 SLG, including nine RBI to lead the Series hitters. Venezuela included

Ed Bailey Lonas Edgar Bailey, Jr. (April 15, 1931 – March 23, 2007) was an American professional baseball player and later served on the Knoxville, Tennessee city council. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from through . A six-time All-S ...

(C), Vernon Benson (SS), Tommy Byrne (P/1B),

Wally Moon Wallace Wade MoonSteve Springer"Dodgers' Moon found success in Coliseum" ''Los Angeles Times'', March 23, 2008. (April 3, 1930 – February 9, 2018) was an American professional baseball outfielder in Major League Baseball. Moon played his 12-yea ...

(CF),

Johnny Temple John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was a Major League Baseball second baseman who played for the Redlegs/Reds (1952–59; 1964); Cleveland Indians (1960–61), Baltimore Orioles (1962) and Houston Colt .45s (1962–63). Tem ...

and rookie

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

(SS), among others.

Participating teams

Final standings

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 18

Game 2, February 18

Game 3, February 19

Game 4, February 19

Game 5, February 20

Game 6, February 20

Game 7, February 21

Game 8, February 21

Game 9, February 22

Game 10, February 22

Game 11, February 23

Game 12, February 23

Statistics leaders

Awards

References

Sources

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

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 ...

: 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 Caribbean Series International baseball competitions hosted by Puerto Rico 1954 in Puerto Rican sports 1954 in Caribbean sport

Sports in San Juan, Puerto Rico