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 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 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.

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 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. 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.

Final standings[]


Country	Club	W	L	W/L %	GB	Managers
Cuba	Alacranes del Almendares	6	0	1.000	–	Fermin Guerra
Venezuela	Cervecería Caracas	3	3	.500	3.0	José Antonio Casanova
Panama	Carta Vieja Yankees	2	4	.333	4.0	León Kellman
Puerto Rico	Indios de Mayagüez	1	5	.167	5.0	Artie Wilson

Individual leaders
Player/Club	Statistic
Al Gionfriddo/CUB	Batting average	.533
Monte Irvin/CUB	Home runs	2
Monte Irvin/CUB	Runs batted in	11
Agapito Mayor/CUB	Victories	3
Awards
Agapito Mayor/CUB	Most Valuable Player
Fermín Guerra/CUB	Manager

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: (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: (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: (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: (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: (0-1) Sv: (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: (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.

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.

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Years	1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Circuits	Colombian Professional Baseball League Cuban National Series Dominican Professional Baseball League Mexican Pacific League Panamanian Professional Baseball League Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Related articles	Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame Caribbean Series Most Valuable Player Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame List of players who have played in the Series Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame
1961 to 1969 - The Series was not held during these years following the dissolution of Cuba's professional league. 1981 - The Series was not held due to a Venezuelan player's strike.