1949 Caribbean Series

1949 Caribbean Series
Tournament details
Country	Cuba
City	Havana
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	20–25 February
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Alacranes del Almendares (1st title)
Runner-up	Cervecería Caracas
Tournament statistics
MVP	Agapito Mayor
	1950 →

The 1949 Caribbean Series was the first edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe). It was held from February 20 through February 25 with the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Alacranes del Almendares; Panama, Spur Cola Colonites; Puerto Rico, Indios de Mayagüez and Venezuela, Cervecería Caracas.

The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at the Estadio del Cerro 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.

Summary

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 Fermín 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. Other roster members were Santos Amaro, Andrés Fleitas and René González.

Venezuela, managed by José Antonio Casanova, ended second with a 3-3 mark. José Bracho led the pitching staff with a 2-0 record and a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings. He also contributed to his own cause by going 5-for-6 (.833) with a double and two RBI. Luis Zuloaga won a complete-game pitching duel against Puerto Rico's Alonzo Perry for the other Venezuelan victory. The offense was paced by catcher Guillermo Vento (.375) and first baseman Dalmiro Finol (.333), who also hit the first home run in Series history. Veteran slugger Vidal López reinforced the team, going 1-for-2 in a pitch-hitting role.

Panama finished third with a 2-4 record. The team, managed by catcher León Kellman, had a solid pitching staff that included Sam Jones and Pat Scantlebury, but was victim of a low-run support. Lester Lockett went 9-for-22 with two doubles, while leading the team in both average (.409) and runs scored (six). Kellman batted only .238, but stole four bases to tie teammate Sam Bankhead and Cuba's Chuck Connors for the Series lead.

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 specially Wilmer Fields, who hit the first grand slam in Series history and drove in seven runs.

Participating teams

Team	Manager	Means of qualifications
Alacranes del Almendares	Fermín Guerra	Winners of the 1948–49 Cuban League
Cervecería Caracas	José Antonio Casanova	Winners of the 1948–49 Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Refresqueros de Spur Cola	León Kellman	Winners of the 1948–49 Panamanian Professional Baseball League
Indios de Mayagüez	Artie Wilson	Winners of the 1948–48 Puerto Rico Professional Baseball League

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB
1	Alacranes del Almendares (H)	6	6	0	50	17	+33	1.000	—
2	Cervecería Caracas	6	3	3	29	34	−5	.500	3
3	Carta Vieja Yankees	6	2	4	29	35	−6	.333	4
4	Indios de Mayagüez	6	1	5	38	60	−22	.167	5

Source: CBPC
(H) Hosts

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 20


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	1	1	0	1	0	10	0	0	X	13	15	4
Puerto Rico	4	0	0	1	0	0	1	3	X	9	16	2
WP: Pat Scantlebury (1-0) LP: Wilmer Fields (0-1)

Game 2, February 20


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	1	0	1	2	7	1	4	0	16	21	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	4
WP: Conrado Marrero (1-0) LP: Julio Bracho (0-1) Home runs: CUB: None VEN: Dalmiro Finol (1) [First HR of the Series]

Game 3, February 21


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	6	1
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	4	8	1
WP: José Bracho (1-0) LP: Sam Jones (0-1) Notes: Bracho tossed a complete game and batted a two-RBI double to break a tie in the 7th inning.

Game 4, February 21


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	1	0	5	9	4
Cuba	0	0	4	0	0	2	0	2	x	8	9	0
WP: Agapito Mayor (1-0) LP: Bill Powell (0-1)

Game 5, February 22


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	3	11	1
Venezuela	0	1	1	0	1	0	2	0	x	5	11	0
WP: Luis Zuloaga (1-0) LP: Alonso Perry (0-1)

Game 6, February 21


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	4	6	0
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	2
WP: Ed Wright (1-0) [First shutout of the Series] LP: León Goicoechea (0-1)

Game 7, February 23


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	4	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	11	13	2
Panama	0	2	0	0	0	2	5	0	0	9	13	2
WP: Bill Powell (1-1) LP: León Goicoechea (0-2) Home runs: PUR: Wilmer Fields (1) [First grand slam of the Series] PAN: None

Game 8, February 23


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	3	8	5
Cuba	4	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	x	6	11	1
WP: René Solís (1-0) LP: Daniel Canónico (0-1)

Game 9, February 24


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	2	6	1
Panama	0	1	0	2	0	0	0	0	x	3	6	0
WP: Sam Jones (1-1) LP: Domingo Barboza (0-1)

Game 10, February 24


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	9	1	11	11	1
Puerto Rico	2	2	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	6	11	4
WP: Agapito Mayor (2-0) LP: Bill Powell (1-2) Home runs: CUB: Monte Irvin (1) PUR: None

Game 11, February 25


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	6	4	1	0	0	2	1	0	0	14	17	0
Puerto Rico	0	0	1	0	0	3	0	0	0	4	8	3
WP: José Bracho (2-0) LP: Cefo Conde (0-1) Sv: Julio Bracho (1) Home runs: VEN: Chico Carrasquel (1) PUR: None Notes: Jo. Bracho allowed three runs over five-plus innings and went 3-for-3. Ju. Bracho earned the save in a four-inning stint.

Game 12, February 25


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	7	3
Cuba	0	1	0	0	0	0	4	0	x	5	6	0
WP: Agapito Mayor (3-0) LP: León Goicoechea (0-3) Home runs: PAN: None CUB: Monte Irvin (2), Héctor Rodríguez (1) Notes: Mayor's three victories record still as the longest in Series history.

Statistics leaders

Statistic	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Al Gionfriddo	Alacranes del Almendares	.533
Home runs	Monte Irvin	Alacranes del Almendares	2
Runs batted in	Monte Irvin	Alacranes del Almendares	11
Wins	Agapito Mayor	Alacranes del Almendares	3

Awards

Tournament Awards^[1]
Award	Player	Team
MVP	Agapito Mayor	Alacranes del Almendares
Best manager	Fermín Guerra	Alacranes del Almendares

All Star Team^[2]
Position	Player	Team
First base	Alonzo Perry	Indios de Mayagüez
Second base	Garvin Hamner	Alacranes del Almendares
Third base	Wilmer Fields	Indios de Mayagüez
Shortstop	Alfonso Carrasquel	Cervecería Caracas
Left field	Al Gionfriddo	Alacranes del Almendares
Center field	Sam Jethroe	Alacranes del Almendares
Right field	Monte Irvin	Alacranes del Almendares
Catcher	Guillermo Vento	Cervecería Caracas
Pitcher	Agapito Mayor	Alacranes del Almendares

References

^ "Posiciones de los Equipos". seriedelcaribe.net (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
^ "Anuario oficial Serie Del Caribe 2022" (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. p. 26. Retrieved 11 December 2022. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)

Sources

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

[1] "Posiciones de los Equipos". seriedelcaribe.net (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. Retrieved 28 December 2022.

[awards-2] "Anuario oficial Serie Del Caribe 2022" (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. p. 26. Retrieved 11 December 2022. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)

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