1956 Caribbean Series

The VIII edition of the Caribbean Series ("Serie del Caribe") was played in 1956. It was held from February 10 through February 15 with the champions teams from Cuba (Cienfuegos), Panama (Chesterfield), Puerto Rico (Caguas) and Venezuela (Valencia). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played in Panama City, Panama.

ummary

In this edition, Cienfuegos won the first of five consecutive Series titles for the Cuban team. Cienfuegos was managed by Oscar Rodríguez and finished with a 5-1 record. The pitching staff was guided by Camilo Pascual (2-0, 11 strikeouts, 2.50 ERA), Pedro Ramos (2-0, 1.59 ERA) and René Gutiérrez (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 9⅓ innings). The offensive was clearly led by catcher and Series MVP Ray Noble (.400 BA, one home run, .654 OBP and 1B Bob Boyd (.304 BA, one HR, 11 RBI, .522 SLG). The other notable offensive players were 2B Curt Roberts (.375, one HR, six runs, .542 SLG), Chico Fernández (.269, 10 runs, one HR) and 3B Milt Smith (two HR, .522 SLG). Other roster members included CF Archie Wilson and pitchers Sandalio Consuegra, Seth Morehead and Gene Bearden.

Panama, with Standford Graham at the helm, posted a 3-3 record to tie Puerto Rico for the second place. Pitchers Don Elston, Russ Grimsley and Wally Burnette got the victories and 1B Elías Osorio (.286, 3 HR, .762 SLG) led the offense. Puerto Rico was managed by Ben Ceragrhy and got wins from Taylor Philips, Roberto Vargas and Federico Olivo, while 1B Lou Limmer (.350, three HR, six runs, eighth RBI) provided the offensive punch.

Venezuela was managed by Regino Otero and finished in last place with a 1-5 mark. The team was outscored by their opponents 47-14. A bright spot was provided by pitchers Turk Farrell and Jim Pearce. Farrell recorded the lone win against Puerto Rico in one-run, one hit effort, while Pearce took a 11-inning, 2-1 loss to Panama, striking out nine batters without giving a walk. Valencia also featured C Ed Bailey, 1B Tommy Brown and CF Elio Chacón, among others.

coreboards

Game 1, February 10

Game 9, February 14

Linescore|
Road=Cuba|RoadAbr=CUB
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=3|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=4|RR=7|RH=7|RE=0
Home=Venezuela|HomeAbr=VEN
H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=0|HH=4|HE=2
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Camilo Pascual (2-0)|LP=Turk Farrell (0-1)|SV=
RoadHR=Ossie Alvarez (1), Bob Boyd (1)|HomeHR=|

Game 10, February 14

Linescore|
Road=Puerto Rico|RoadAbr=PRI
R1=0|R2=2|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=1|R7=0|R8=0|R9=2|RR= 5|RH= 9|RE=5
Home=Panama|HomeAbr=PAN
H1=2|H2=2|H3=5|H4=3|H5=0|H6=1|H7=0|H8=0|H9=X|HR=13|HH=16|HE=3
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Russ Grimsley (1-1)|LP=Federico Olivo (1-1)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=|

Game 11, February 15

Linescore|
Road=Puerto Rico|RoadAbr=PRI
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=1|R8=1|R9=0|RR=2|RH=7|RE=1
Home=Cuba|HomeAbr=CUB
H1=1|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=3|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=X|HR=4|HH=5|HE=1
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Pedro Ramos (2-0)|LP=Paul Stuffel (0-2)|SV=
RoadHR=Lou Limmer (3)|HomeHR=Chico Fernández (1)|

Game 12, February 15

Linescore|
Road=Venezuela|RoadAbr=VEN
R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR= 0|RH= 4|RE=1
Home=Panama|HomeAbr=PAN
H1=4|H2=5|H3=1|H4=0|H5=0|H6=3|H7=4|H8=1|H9=X|HR=18|HH=16|HE=2
RSP=|HSP=
WP=Wally Burnette (1-1)|LP=Ron Mrozinski (0-2)|SV=
RoadHR=|HomeHR=Elías Osorio 2 (3), Clyde Parris (1), Héctor López (2), Denny Schell (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)]