The twenty-fifth 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 . It was held from February 4 through February 9 with the champion teams from

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

(

Tigres del Licey Tigres del Licey (English: Licey Tigers) is a professional baseball team in the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM). The team was founded in 1907 and based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. It is one of two LIDOM franchises based in ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(

Tomateros de Culiacán The Tomateros de Culiacán ( en, Culiacán Tomato Growers) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican Pacific League based in Culiacán, Sinaloa. The ''Tomateros'' have won thirteen league titles and two Caribbean World Series in and . The ...

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 ...

(

Lobos de Arecibo Lobos de Arecibo ( en, Wolves) were a professional baseball team in the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, based in Arecibo. The Lobos won the 1983 national baseball championship and the 1983 Caribbean World Series, the only time the fran ...

) 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 ...

(

Tiburones de La Guaira The Tiburones de La Guaira ( en, La Guaira Sharks) are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in the city of La Guaira, they play their home games in Estadio Fórum La Guaira and have won seven national champions ...

). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Universitario 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 ...

Bowie Kuhn Bowie Kent Kuhn (; October 28, 1926 – March 15, 2007) was an American lawyer and sports administrator who served as the fifth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from February 4, 1969, to September 30, 1984. He served as legal counsel for Ma ...

, the

Commissioner of Major League Baseball The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as "organized baseball". Under the direction of the Commiss ...

, attended the Series, and the first pitch was thrown by Oscar Prieto,

Leones del Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A. or better known by its commercial name as the ''Leones del Caracas'', is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In its creation, its headquarters are the University Stadium of C ...

majority owner and one of the series brainchild.

Summary

The Puerto Rico team was piloted by Ron Clark. After being mauled by the Dominicans in the opening, 17-2, Arecibo crushed the Mexicans 9-1 and defeated Venezuela, 7-6, in 11 innings. Later, a solid effort came from

Kevin Hagen Kevin Hagen (April 3, 1928 – July 9, 2005) was an American actor best known for his role as Dr. Hiram Baker on NBC's ''Little House on the Prairie.'' Early life Hagen was born in Chicago, Illinois, to professional ballroom dancers, Haakon O ...

and

Rich Bordi Richard Albert Bordi (born April 18, 1959) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played from to . He played for the Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles. Bordi threw and batted ...

, both pitching complete games, to beat Mexico and the Dominican Republic. By beating Venezuela and Mexico in their last two games, the Lobos ended with a 5-1 mark en route to winning one of the most celebrated victories in Puerto Rican baseball history. Outfielder Glenn Walker was selected as Most Valuable Player and was chosen for the All-Star Team along

Candy Maldonado Cándido Maldonado Guadarrama (born September 5, 1960) is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from to for the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Toronto Blue Jays, Chi ...

and

Dickie Thon Richard William Thon (born June 20, 1958) is a Puerto Rican-American former professional baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the California Angels, Houston Astros, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, Texas Range ...

. Other significant members of the roster included pitchers

John Hobbs John Hobbs may refer to: *John Hobbs (ornithologist) (1920–1990), police officer and ornithologist *John Hobbs (baseball) (born 1956), Major League Baseball pitcher *John Raymond Hobbs (1929–2008), professor of chemical immunology *John Hobbs (m ...

Gary Lance Gary Dean Lance (born September 21, 1948) is a former baseball pitcher. He played briefly for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) in its 1977 season. Listed at 6' 3", 195 lb., Lance batted and threw right handed. He was born i ...

and

Edwin Núñez Edwin Núñez Martínez (born May 27, 1963) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six different teams from 1982 to 1994; he spent 1982 to 1988 with the Seattle Mariners, his longest t ...

; catcher

Orlando Mercado Orlando Mercado Rodríguez (born November 7, 1961) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball with the Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Los Angeles D ...

; infielders

Ramón Avilés Ramón Antonio Avilés Miranda (January 22, 1952 – January 27, 2020) was a Puerto Rican backup infielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1977) and Philadelphia Phillies (1979–1981). He batted and threw right-han ...

Onix Concepción Onix Cardona Concepción Cardona (born October 5, 1957), is a Puerto Rican former Major League Baseball (MLB) shortstop. He is the cousin of former MLB player José Lind. Career Concepcion played for two teams during his seven-year career: the ...

and

Wayne Tolleson Jimmy Wayne Tolleson (born November 22, 1955) is an American former professional baseball infielder who played for the Texas Rangers, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). Western Carolina University A star hig ...

, as well as utilities

Henry Cruz Henry (Acosta) Cruz (born February 27, 1952, in Christiansted, United States Virgin Islands) is a former professional baseball outfielder who currently works as the director of the Los Angeles Dodgers Dominican baseball academy. Career Cruz wa ...

Carmelo Martínez Carmelo Martínez Salgado (born July 28, 1960) is a former professional baseball player who has been a member of the Chicago Cubs organization since 1997. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as a first basem ...

and

Ken Phelps Kenneth Allan Phelps (born August 6, 1954) is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman. He played for six different Major League Baseball (MLB) teams from 1980 to 1990, primarily with the Seattle Mariners. Baseb ...

. Venezuela, managed by Ozzie Virgil, finished in second place with a 4-2 record and also had the only shutout in the Series, by Rick Anderson, who limited the Mexicans to five hits while striking out nine. Second baseman

Derrel Thomas Derrel Osbon Thomas (born January 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman and utility player from to . Thomas was a member of the 1981 World Series winning ...

paced the Tiburones offense, hitting .476 (10-for-21) to win the batting title and slugged .714. Other contributions came from right fielder

Tony Armas Antonio Rafael Armas Machado (born July 2, 1953) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder from 1976 to 1989. He is the father of pitcher Tony Armas Jr. and the older brother of ...

(.269 BA, 3 HR, 6 RBI, .654 SLG), first baseman Ron Jackson (.360, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .680 SLG) and reliever Luis Aponte (1-0, one save, six SO in 6.0 innings of work). Other roster members included pitchers

Bryan Clark Bryan Emmett Clark (born March 14, 1964) is an American retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with World Championship Wrestling, the World Wrestling Federation and All Japan Pro Wrestling under the ring names The N ...

, Luis Leal, Luis Sánchez, Albert Williams and

Matt Young Matthew John Young (born August 9, 1958) is an American former professional baseball player. Young played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball for a variety of teams over his career, and is best known for his unofficial no-hitter against the ...

; catchers

Bruce Bochy Bruce Douglas Bochy (; born April 16, 1955), nicknamed "Boch" and "Headly", is an American professional baseball manager and former catcher who is the current manager of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He managed the San Diego ...

and Baudilio (Bo) Díaz; infielders

Dave Concepción David Ismael Concepción Benitez (born June 17, 1948) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National Lea ...

and

Leo Hernández Leonardo Jesús Hernández (born November 6, 1959), commonly known as Leo Hernandez (er-NAN-dez), is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and right-handed batter who played for the Baltimore Orioles (1982–83, 1985) and New York Yankees ( ...

; outfielders Robert Marcano and

Luis Salazar Luis Ernesto Salazar Garcia (born May 19, 1956) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball from 1980 to 1992 as a third baseman and outfielder for the San Diego Padres (1980–84, 19 ...

, and utilities

Ozzie Guillén Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (; born January 20, 1964) is a former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for 16 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox, from 1985 to 2000. During tha ...

, Argenis Salazar and

Manny Trillo Jesús Manuel Marcano Trillo (born December 25, 1950), also nicknamed "Indio", is a Venezuelan people, Venezuelan former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics (–), Chicago Cub ...

. The Dominican Republic, guided by

Manny Mota Manuel Rafael Mota Geronimo, more commonly known as Manny Mota (born February 18, 1938), is a Dominican former Major League Baseball outfielder who played 20 seasons for the San Francisco Giants, Pittsburgh Pirates and Montreal Expos, as well a ...

, finished 3-3 and had to settle for a modest third place. The most prominent players were catcher

Luis Pujols Luis Bienvenido Pujols Toribio (born November 18, 1955) is a Dominican former professional baseball player coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros whe ...

, third baseman Howard Johnson and outfielder César Gerónimo, who were included in the All-Star Team. Meanwhile, pitchers

Alejandro Peña Alejandro Peña Vásquez (born June 25, 1959) is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. Listed at 6' 1" , 200 lb. , he batted and threw right-handed. Peña made his Major League debut on August 13, 1981 (in time to be included on t ...

Cliff Speck Robert Clifford Speck (born August 8, 1956) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Atlanta Braves in its 1986 season. Listed at 6' 4", 195 lb., Speck batted and threw right handed. He was born in Portland, Oregon.

and

David Grier David Grier is an American acoustic guitarist. He is considered to be one of the premier flatpicking guitarists in the world. His crosspicking, unique phrasing, and his ability to create multiple variations on a theme are hallmarks of his play ...

got the victories. The Licey team also featured players such as Steve Baker (P),

Tony Fernández Octavio Antonio Fernández Castro (June 30, 1962 – February 16, 2020), better known as Tony Fernández, was a Dominican baseball player who played as a shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven teams from 1983 to 2001, most notably ...

(SS),

Alfredo Griffin Alfredo Claudino Baptist Read Griffin (born October 6, 1957) is a Dominican former professional baseball player. He played shortstop in Major League Baseball (MLB) for four teams from 1976 to 1993. Playing career Griffin began his career as a m ...

(2B), Pedro Guerrero (1B),

Mike Howard Michael Frederic Howard (born April 2, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets. He was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. ...

(IF/OF),

Rafael Landestoy Rafael Silvaido Landestoy Santana (born May 28, 1953) is a retired Major League Baseball player. Landestoy played eight major league seasons with the Houston Astros, Cincinnati Reds, and Los Angeles Dodgers. He amassed 291 hits, a .237 batting a ...

(OF),

Ted Martínez Teodoro Noel Martínez Encarnación (born December 10, 1947) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Los Angeles Dodgers ...

(IF),

Orlando Peña Orlando Gregorio Peña Guevara (born November 17, 1933) is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher. The right-hander played in Major League Baseball for all or parts of 14 seasons between and for the Cincinnati Reds, Kansas City Athletic ...

(P) and

Rafael Santana Rafael Francisco Santana de la Cruz (born January 31, 1958) is a former Major League Baseball shortstop who won a World Series ring with the 1986 New York Mets. He currently serves as the Dominican Republic scouting and player development superv ...

(IF). Tomateros de Culiacán, led by catcher/manager

Francisco Estrada Francisco "Paquín" Estrada Soto (February 12, 1948 – December 9, 2019) was a Mexican Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets. Estrada, a catcher, appeared in one game for the Mets in 1971. Estrada was at the time of his death the ...

, presented an All-Mexican squad which included local legends such as Cy Acosta (P),

Salomé Barojas Salomé Barojas Romero (born June 16, 1957, in Córdoba, Veracruz) is a Mexican former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox, Seattle Mariners, and Philadelphia Phillies from to . Career Barojas was an in ...

(P),

Nelson Barrera Nelson Barrera Romellón (17 October 1957 in Ciudad del Carmen – 14 July 2002 in Campeche City) was a Mexican professional baseball player, who at the time of his death led the Mexican League in career home runs (455) and RBIs (1,927). He wa ...

(1B), Bobby Cuellar (P), Maximino León (P), Aurelio López (3B),

Mario Mendoza Mario Mendoza Aizpuru (born December 26, 1950) is a Mexican former professional baseball infielder. Mendoza, a lifetime .215 hitter, is best known for being the source of the name for the threshold for batting ineptitude, the " Mendoza Line", ...

(SS),

Vicente Romo Vicente is an Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese name. Like its French variant, Vincent, it is derived from the Latin name ''Vincentius'' meaning "conquering" (from Latin ''vincere'', "to conquer"). Vicente may refer to: Location *São Vicente, Ca ...

(P) and Jesús Sommers (DH). But the opportune hitting and strong defense were undermined by below average running speed and poor bullpen support. Mexico finished with a 0-6 record, to become the second winless team in Series history. ----

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 4

Game 2, February 4

Game 3, February 5

Game 4, February 5

Game 5, February 6

Game 6, February 6

Game 7, February 7

Game 8, February 7

Game 9, February 8

Game 10, February 8

Game 11, February 9

Game 12, February 9

Sources

*Antero Núñez, José. ''Series del Caribe''. Impresos Urbina, Caracas, Venezuela *Araujo Bojórquez, Alfonso. ''Series del Caribe: Narraciones y estadísticas, 1949-2001''. Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Sinaloa, Mexico *Figueredo, Jorge S. ''Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878 - 1961''. Macfarland & Co., United States *González Echevarría, Roberto. ''The Pride of Havana''. Oxford University Express *Gutiérrez, Daniel. ''Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela'', Caracas, Venezuela

External links

Official siteLatino Baseball
{{Caribbean Series , state=collapsed

Caribbean Series International baseball competitions hosted by Venezuela Sports competitions in Caracas 1983 in Caribbean sport 1983 in Venezuelan sport

20th century in Caracas