1958 Caribbean Series

The tenth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1958. It was held from February 8 through February 13 with the champions teams from Cuba, Tigres de Marianao; Panama, Carta Vieja Yankees; Puerto Rico, Criollos de Caguas and Venezuela, Industriales de Valencia. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Sixto Escobar Stadium in San Juan, P.R.

Summary[]

Cuba won the Series with a 4-2 record en route for a third straight championship (fifth overall). Managed by Napoleón Reyes, the team received offensive support from 2B Casey Wise (.407 BA), CF Solly Drake (.333) and LF Minnie Miñoso (.318). The pitching staff was led by Pedro Ramos (2-1, 18 strikeouts) and Bob Shaw (1-0, 1.69 ERA and no walks in 16 innings). The Cubans, who failed to hit a home run in the Series, also had 1B Julio Bécquer and C Ray Noble in addition to pitchers Mike Fornieles and Bill Werle. The Marianao club became the first repeat champions in the Series history.

Panama, led by catcher/manager Wilmer Shantz, posted a 3-3 record to tie the second place with Puerto Rico. The Panamanian squad got fine work of pitchers Humberto Robinson (2-0, 1.00 ERA, including a four-hit shutout) and Carl Duser (1-0, 3.00), while 3B Héctor López hit .474 with a .609 SLG.

Puerto Rico was guided by Ted Norbert and received a strong pitching performance from Juan Pizarro (1-0, 2.76 16⅓ innings), who set two strikeout records with 17 in a game (#2) and 29 overall (12 in game 10). The Caguas attack was guided by 1B Víctor Pellot Power (.458 BA, eight RBI, .583 SLG) and CF Roberto Clemente (.391, six runs, .609 SLG), while P (1-1, 0.00 ERA) allowed three unearned runs over 18 innings. Other roster members included Mike Goliat (2B), Luis [Canena] Márquez (OF), Félix Mantilla (SS), José [Pantalones] Santiago (P) and Valmy Thomas (C).

Venezuela, piloted by Regino Otero, finished in last place with a 2-4 record. The offensive was anchored by catcher and Series MVP Earl Battey (.435 BA, four RBI, .739 SLG), 1B Lou Limmer (.381, two HR, five RBI, .762 SLG) and RF Bob Wilson, who won the batting title with a .500 BA (12-for-24) while collecting one home run, five runs, four RBI and a .708 SLG. For the second time, Limmer led the tournament in home runs. Pitchers Ramón Monzant (1-1, 3.95) and José Bracho (1-2, 4.37) got the victories for Valencia. OF Elio Chacón (.217, four runs, 3B, one RBI) and SS Chico Carrasquel (.240, four runs, two RBI) also homered in the Series. Besides, Julián Ladera made two relief appearances and struck out 10 batters in 10⅔ innings of work.

Final standings[]

Final standings
	Club	W	L	W/L %	GB
	Cuba	4	2	.667	–
	Puerto Rico	3	3	.500	1.0
	Panama	3	3	.500	1.0
	Venezuela	2	4	.333	2.0

Scoreboards[]

Game 1, February 8[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	2	0	0	0	3	5	0	0	10	13	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	7	5
WP: Mike Fornieles (1-0) LP: Emilio Cueche (0-1) Home runs: CUB: None VEN: Elio Chacón (1)

Game 2, February 8[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2
Puerto Rico	2	0	3	0	0	3	0	0	X	8	16	0
WP: Juan Pizarro (1-0) LP: Jerry Davie (0-1)

Game 3, February 9[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
Panama	0	0	0	0	5	0	0	0	X	5	9	0
WP: Humberto Robinson (1-0) LP: Pedro Ramos (0-1)

Game 4, February 9[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	4	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	6	9	1
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	8	0
WP: (1-0) LP: Ramón Monzant (0-1)

Game 5, February 10[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	1
Venezuela	0	1	0	2	2	0	0	0	X	5	10	0
WP: José Bracho (1-0) LP: (0-1) Home runs: PAN: None VEN: Bob Wilson (1), Earl Battey (1), Chico Carrasquel (1) Notes: Bracho pitched a complete game and set an all-time Series record with his sixth win in the tournament.

Game 6, February 10[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	4	6	0
Cuba	1	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	5	10	1
WP: Pedro Ramos (1-0) LP: Marion Fricano (0-1) Home runs: PRI: Roberto Clemente (1) CUB: * The game was suspended after a brawl occurred in the bottom of the ninth inning with no outs, one run scored and bases loaded. The game would be completed the next day.

Game 7, February 11[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	4	4	0	0	0	0	0	0		8	13	0
Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	8	1
WP: Ramón Monzant (1-1) LP: Mike Fornieles (1-1)

Game 8, February 11[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	9	4
Panama	0	1	0	0	3	3	1	3	X	11	11	1
WP: Carl Duser (1-0) LP: Marion Fricano (0-2) Home runs: PRI: None PAN: (1) * After completion of Game 6, Fricano became the first and only pitcher in Series history to collect two losses in the same day.

Game 9, February 12[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	8	4
Cuba	5	3	3	0	1	1	2	0	X	15	17	0
WP: Pedro Ramos (2-1) LP: Jim Umbricht (0-1)

Game 10, February 12[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	3	0	6	7	1
Puerto Rico	0	0	3	0	3	0	0	0	1	7	13	1
WP: José Santiago (1-0) LP: José Bracho (1-1) Home runs: : Lou Limmer (1) PRI: None

Game 11, February 13[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	10	0
Panama	1	0	3	0	1	0	0	0	X	5	11	0
WP: Humberto Robinson (2-0) LP: José Bracho (1-2) Home runs: : Lou Limmer (2) PAN: None

Game 12, February 13[]


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	6	1
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1
WP: Bob Shaw (1-0) LP: (1-1)

Statistics[]

Individual leaders
Player/Club	Statistic
Bob Wilson / VEN	Batting average	.500
Lou Limmer / VEN	Home runs	2
Víctor Pellot Power / PRI	RBI	8
Earl Battey / VEN Roberto Clemente PRI	Runs	6
Bob Wilson / VEN	Hits	12
Earl Battey / VEN Víctor Pellot Power / PRI Valmy Thomas / PRI	Doubles	4
Nine tied	Triples	1
Six tied	Stolen bases	1
Pedro Ramos / CUB Humberto Robinson / PAN	Wins	2
Juan Pizarro / PRI	Strikeouts	29
/ PRI	ERA	0.00
/ PRI Humberto Robinson / PAN	Innings pitched	18
Awards
Earl Battey / VEN	Most Valuable Player
Napoleón Reyes / CUB	Manager

All-Star Team
Name/Club	Position
Earl Battey / VEN	catcher
Víctor Pellot Power / PRI	first baseman
Casey Wise / CUB	second baseman
Héctor López / PAN	third baseman
Chico Carrasquel / VEN	shortstop
Minnie Miñoso / CUB	left fielder
Roberto Clemente PRI	center fielder
Bob Wilson / VEN	right fielder
Humberto Robinson / PAN	pitcher
Napoleón Reyes / CUB	manager

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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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.