1949 Caribbean Series

The first edition of the Caribbean Series ("Serie del Caribe") was played in 1949. It was held from February 20 through February 25 with the champions teams from Cuba (Almendares), Panama (Spur Cola), Puerto Rico (Mayaguez) and Venezuela (Caracas). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at the Del Cerro Stadium in Havana, Cuba, which boosted capacity to 35.000 seats. The first pitch was thrown by George Trautman, by then the president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues.

ummary

Cuba captured the competition with an undefeated record of 6-0, behind a strong pitching effort by Agapito Mayor, who posted a 3-0 record (2 as a starter, 1 in relief) and won Most Valuable Player honors. His three wins in the CBWS still a series record. The offensive support came from Monte Irvin, who hit .389 and led the hitters with two home runs and 11 RBI; Al Gionfriddo, the champion bat with a .533 average (8-for-15); Chuck Connors, who hit .409 with five runs and five RBI, and Sam Jethroe, a .320 hitter with three triples, six runs, and five RBI. Cuba, managed by Fermin Guerra, also collected a 4–0 shutout by Ed Wright (the first in Series history) and complete game wins from René Solís and Conrado Marrero.

Venezuela, managed by José Antonio Casanova, ended second with a 3-3 mark. The team was led by pitcher José Bracho (2-0), catcher Guillermo Vento (.375) and first baseman Dalmiro Finol (.333), who also hit the first home run in Series history.

Panama finished third with a 2-4 record. The team, managed by Leon Kellman, had a solid pitching staff that included Sam Jones and Pat Scantlebury but was victim of a low-run support.

Puerto Rico ended in fourth place with a 1-5 record. The team was led by shortstop-manager Artie Wilson (.346, three stolen bases), Quincy Trouppe (.444), Luke Easter (.400, 7 RBI), and Wilmer Fields, who hit the first grand slam in Series history and collected seven RBI.

coreboards

Game 1, February 20

Linescore|
Road=Panama|RoadAbr=PAN
R1=1|R2=1|R3=0|R4=1|R5=0|R6=10|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=13|RH=15|RE=4
Home=Puerto Rico|HomeAbr=PRI
H1=4|H2=0|H3=0|H4=1|H5=0|H6= 0|H7=1|H8=3|H9=0|HR= 9|HH=16|HE=2
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Pat Scantlebury (1-0)|LP=Wilmer Fields (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|HRH=|

Game 2, February 20

Linescore|
Road=Cuba|RoadAbr=CUB
R1=0|R2=1|R3=0|R4=1|R5=2|R6=7|R7=1|R8=4|R9=0|RR=16|RH=21|RE=0
Home=Venezuela|HomeAbr=VEN
H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=1|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR= 1|HH= 4|HE=4
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Conrado Marrero (1-0)|LP=Julio Bracho (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=Dalmiro Finol (1) [First HR of the Series] |

Game 3, February 21

Linescore|
Road=Panama|RoadAbr=PAN
R1=0|R2=1|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=1|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=2|RH=6|RE=1
Home=Venezuela|HomeAbr=VEN
H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=1|H7=3|H8=0|H9=0|HR=4|HH=8|HE=1
RSP=|HSP=
WP=José Bracho (1-0)|LP=Sam Jones (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|HRH=|

Game 4, February 21

Linescore|
Road=Puerto Rico|RoadAbr=PRI
R1=0|R2=0|R3=1|R4=0|R5=0|R6=3|R7=0|R8=1|R9=0|RR=5|RH=9|RE=4
Home=Cuba|HomeAbr=CUB
H1=0|H2=0|H3=4|H4=0|H5=0|H6=2|H7=0|H8=2|H9=x|HR=8|HH=9|HE=0
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Agapito Mayor (1-0)|LP=Bill Powell (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|HRH=|

Game 5, February 22

Linescore|
Road=Puerto Rico|RoadAbr=PRI
R1=1|R2=0|R3=0|R4=2|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=2|RH=11|RE=1
Home=Venezuela|HomeAbr=VEN
H1=0|H2=1|H3=1|H4=0|H5=1|H6=0|H7=2|H8=0|H9=x|HR=5|HH=11|HE=0
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Luis Zuloaga (1-0)|LP=Alonso Perry (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|HRH=|

Game 6, February 21

Linescore|
Road=Cuba|RoadAbr=CUB
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=3|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=4|RH=6|RE=0
Home=Panama|HomeAbr=PAN
H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=0|HH=8|HE=2
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Ed Wright (1-0) [First shutout of the Series] |LP=León Goicoechea (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|HRH=|

Game 7, February 23

Linescore|
Road=Puerto Rico|RoadAbr=PRI
R1=4|R2=1|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=6|R9=0|RR=11|RH=13|RE=2
Home=Panama|HomeAbr=PAN
H1=0|H2=2|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=2|H7=5|H8=0|H9=0|HR= 9|HH=13|HE=2
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Bill Powell (1-1)|LP=León Goicoechea (0-2)|SV=
RoadHR=Wilmer Fields (1) [First grand slam of the Series] |HomeHR=|HRH=yes|

Game 8, February 23

Linescore|
Road=Venezuela|RoadAbr=VEN
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=1|R8=1|R9=1|RR=3|RH= 8|RE=5
Home=Cuba|HomeAbr=CUB
H1=4|H2=0|H3=2|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=x|HR=6|HH=11|HE=1
RSP=|HSP=
WP=René Solís (1-0)|LP=Daniel Canónico (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|HRH=|

Game 9, February 24

Linescore|
Road=Venezuela|RoadAbr=VEN
R1=1|R2=0|R3=0|R4=1|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=2|RH=6|RE=1
Home=Panama|HomeAbr=PAN
H1=0|H2=1|H3=0|H4=2|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=x|HR=3|HH=6|HE=0
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Sam Jones (1-1)|LP=Domingo Barboza (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|HRH=yes|

Game 10, February 24

Linescore|
Road=Cuba|RoadAbr=CUB
R1=0|R2=0|R3=1|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=9|R9=1|RR=11|RH=11|RE=1
Home=Puerto Rico|HomeAbr=PRI
H1=2|H2=2|H3=0|H4=0|H5=2|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR= 4|HH=11|HE=4
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Agapito Mayor (2-0)|LP=Bill Powell (1-2)|SV=
RoadHR=Monte Irvin (1)|HomeHR=|HRH=|

Game 11, February 25

Linescore|
Road=Venezuela|RoadAbr=VEN
R1=6|R2=4|R3=1|R4=0|R5=0|R6=2|R7=1|R8=0|R9=0|RR=14|RH=17|RE=0
Home=Puerto Rico|HomeAbr=PRI
H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=0|H5=0|H6=3|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR= 4|HH= 8|HE=3
RSP=|HSP=
WP=José Bracho (2-0)|LP=Cefo Conde (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=Chico Carrasquel (1)|HomeHR=|HRH=yes|

Game 12, February 25

Linescore|
Road=Panama|RoadAbr=PAN
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=2|R8=0|R9=0|RR=2|RH=7|RE=3
Home=Cuba|HomeAbr=CUB
H1=0|H2=1|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=4|H8=0|H9=x|HR=5|HH=6|HE=0
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Agapito Mayor (3-0)|LP=León Goicoechea (0-3)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=Monte Irvin (2), Héctor Rodríguez (1)|

ee also

*Ballplayers who have played in the Series

ources

*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

* [http://www.ebeisbol.com Official site]
* [http://latinobaseball.com/cws-history.php Latino Baseball]
* [http://www.juanperez.com/baseball/series.htm Series del Caribe, Las (Spanish)]