Caribbean Series

The Caribbean Series (Spanish: Serie del Caribe) is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in February, after the various winter leagues have ended their national tournaments.

The Dominican Republic has won the most Caribbean Series championships (23), with Tigres del Licey being the most successful team in the tournament's history. The series has been won by 29 teams from seven different countries. Only two teams have won the tournament two consecutive years, the most recent being Criollos de Caguas from Puerto Rico in 2017 and 2018.

History

The competition was the brainchild of Venezuelan baseball entrepreneur Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto Ortiz, who devised the idea after seeing the success of the Serie Interamericana in 1946, which featured the clubs Brooklyn Bushwicks from the United States, Cervecería Caracas from Venezuela, Sultanes de Monterrey from Mexico, and an All-Star team composed of Cuban players.<ref>Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela Exaltados 2008 – Oscar Prieto Ortiz Template:Webarchive (Spanish).</ref>

File:Pablo Morales and Negro Prieto.jpg

Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto founded the Caribbean Series

Inspired by the Interamerican Series and his experience as a former president of the International Baseball Federation, Morales joined Prieto and presented the idea to baseball representatives of Cuba, Panama, and Puerto Rico during a meeting held in Havana on August 21, 1948.<ref>Bjarkman, Peter (1994). Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game. McFarland & Company. Template:ISBN.</ref> The representatives then agreed to stage a four-country, round-robin tournament 12-game to be known as the Serie del Caribe, to be launched in Cuba from February 20–25 of 1949.

The Series ran annually from 1949 through 1960, with Cuba winning seven times. However, the event was suspended in 1961, as a result of the Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro dissolved all professional baseball in Cuba, and MLB Commissioner Ford Frick ruled that American major leaguers were barred from playing in Havana, where the 1961 series had been scheduled.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

It was not until 1970 that the Caribbean Series was revived. Moreover, the 1981 Caribbean Series was not held due to a Venezuelan League player's strike.

The tournament featured the champions of the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela for over 40 years. Cuba returned in 2014. Panama returned to host the 2019 edition. Colombia was added for the 2020 edition, replacing Cuba who could not participate due to visa issues. Curaçao was invited as a guest in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Participants

Key

• Template:Color box Member of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation

Country	League	First edition
Template:Flag	Dominican Professional Baseball League	1970
Template:Flag		2025
Template:Flag	Mexican Pacific League	1971
Template:Flag	Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente	1949
Template:Flag	Venezuelan Professional Baseball LeagueTemplate:Ref label	1949

Previous participants

Country	League	First edition	Latest edition
Template:Flag	Cuban League	1949	1960
	Cuban National Series	2014	2019
	Cuban Elite League	2023
Template:Flag	Curaçao Professional Baseball League	2023	2024
Template:Flag	Colombian Professional Baseball League	2020	2023
Template:Flag	Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League	2024	2024
Template:Flag	Panamanian Professional Baseball LeagueTemplate:Ref label	1949	2024

Notes

• Template:Note label After the 1960 tournament, Panama would not appear in another Caribbean Series until 2019.
• Template:Note label Venezuela's LVBP was replaced by the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional for the 1960 tournament

Series

Year	Venue	Champion	Manager	Record
1949	Template:Flagicon Havana	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares	Fermin Guerra	6–0
1950	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees	Wayne Blackburn	5–1
1951	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce	George Scales	5–1
1952	Template:Flagicon Panama City	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana	Mike González	5–0
1953	Template:Flagicon Havana	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce (2)	Buster Clarkson	5–0
1954	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	Mickey Owen	4–2
1955	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce (3)	Herman Franks	5–1
1956	Template:Flagicon Panama City	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos	Oscar Rodríguez	5–1
1957	Template:Flagicon Havana	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Marianao	Napoleón Reyes	5–1
1958	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Marianao (2)	Napoleón Reyes (2)	4–2
1959	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares (2)	Clemente Carreras	5–1
1960	Template:Flagicon Panama City	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos (2)	Tony Castaño	6–0
1961–1969	None held
1970	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes	Carlos Pascual	7–1
1971	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	6–0
1972	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Leones de Ponce	Frank Verdi	5–1
1973	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (2)	Tommy Lasorda	5–1
1974	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas (2)	Bobby Wine	4–2
1975	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Vaqueros de Bayamón	José Pagán	5–1
1976	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo & Santiago	Template:Flagicon Naranjeros de Hermosillo	Cananea Reyes	5–1
1977	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (3)	Buck Rodgers	6–0
1978	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Rene Lachemann	5–1
1979	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes (2)	Willie Horton	5–1
1980	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (4)	Del Crandall	4–2
1981	None held
1982	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas	Chico Carrasquel	5–1
1983	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Lobos de Arecibo	Ron Clark	5–1
1984	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Águilas del Zulia	Rubén Amaro	5–1
1985	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (5)	Terry Collins	5–1
1986	Template:Flagicon Maracaibo	Template:Flagicon Águilas de Mexicali	Cananea Reyes (2)	4–2
1987	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas (3)	Ramón Avilés	5–2
1988	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido	Phil Regan	4–2
1989	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Águilas del Zulia (2)	Pete Mackanin	5–1
1990	Template:Flagicon Miami	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido (2)	Felipe Alou	5–1
1991	Template:Flagicon Miami	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (6)	John Roseboro	5–0
1992	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez (2)	Pat Kelly	5–1
1993	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce (4)	Mako Oliveras	5–2
1994	Template:Flagicon Puerto la Cruz	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (7)	Casey Parsons	5–1
1995	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Senadores de San Juan	Luis Meléndez	6–0
1996	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	5–1
1997	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Mike Quade	4–2
1998	Template:Flagicon Puerto la Cruz	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas (2)	Tony Peña	6–0
1999	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (8)	Dave Jauss	5–2
2000	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce (5)	Mako Oliveras (2)	6–0
2001	Template:Flagicon Culiacán	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas (3)	Félix Fermín	4–2
2002	Template:Flagicon Caracas	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán (2)	Francisco Estrada (2)	5–1
2003	Template:Flagicon Carolina	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas (4)	Félix Fermín (2)	6–1
2004	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (9)	Manny Acta	5–1
2005	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán	Juan José Pacho	5–1
2006	Template:Flagicon Valencia and Maracay	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas (2)	Carlos Subero	6–0
2007	Template:Flagicon Carolina	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas (5)	Félix Fermín (3)	5–1
2008	Template:Flagicon Santiago	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (10)	Héctor de la Cruz	5–1
2009	Template:Flagicon Mexicali	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Aragua	Buddy Bailey	5–1
2010	Template:Flagicon Margarita Island	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido (3)	Ken Oberkfell	5–1
2011	Template:Flagicon Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon Yaquis de Obregón	Eddie Díaz	4–2
2012	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido (4)	Ken Oberkfell (2)	4–2
2013	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo	Template:Flagicon Yaquis de Obregón (2)	Eddy Díaz (2)	4–3
2014	Template:Flagicon Margarita Island	Template:Flagicon Naranjeros de Hermosillo (2)	Matías Carrillo	4–2
2015	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Vegueros de Pinar del Río	Alfonso Urquiola	3–3
2016	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlan (2)	Juan José Pacho	6–0
2017	Template:Flagicon Culiacán	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas (4)	Luis Matos	3−3
2018	Template:Flagicon Guadalajara	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas (5)	Luis Matos (2)	4−2
2019	Template:Flagicon Panama City	Template:Flagicon Toros de Herrera	Manuel Rodríguez	4−1
2020	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Toros del Este	Lino Rivera	6−1
2021	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas (6)	Félix Fermín (4)	7−0
2022	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Caimanes de Barranquilla	José Mosquera	5−2
2023	Template:Flagicon Caracas and La Guaira	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey (11)	Jose Offerman	6−3
2024	Template:Flagicon Miami	Template:Flagicon Tiburones de La Guaira	Ozzie Guillén	7−1
2025	Template:Flagicon Mexicali	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido (5)	Albert Pujols	4−2

Championship games

Starting with the 2013 Caribbean Series, a championship game was introduced where the two teams with the best win–loss record from the round-robin first stage would meet to determine the champion. In 2013 the first round consisted of 12 games and each team faced the other teams twice, one as home club and the other as an away team; from 2014 on, with the return of Cuban teams to the tournament, the first stage was changed to a round robin of 10 games where each team faced the other teams once.

Year	Venue	Champion	Result	Runner-up	Manager
2013	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo	Template:Flagicon Yaquis de Obregón	4–3 (18)	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido	Template:Flagicon Eddie Díaz
2014	Template:Flagicon Isla de Margarita	Template:Flagicon Naranjeros de Hermosillo	7–1	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon Matías Carrillo
2015	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Vegueros de Pinar del Río	3–2	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán	Template:Flagicon Alfonso Urquiola
2016	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán	5–4	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Aragua	Template:Flagicon Juan José Pacho
2017	Template:Flagicon Culiacán	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	1–0 (10)	Template:Flagicon Águilas de Mexicali	Template:Flagicon Luis Matos
2018	Template:Flagicon Guadalajara		9–4	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas
2019	Template:Flagicon Panama City	Template:Flagicon Toros de Herrera	3–1	Template:Flagicon Leñadores de Las Tunas	Template:Flagicon Manuel Rodríguez
2020	Template:Flagicon San Juan	Template:Flagicon Toros del Este	9–3	Template:Flagicon Cardenales de Lara	Template:Flagicon Lino Rivera
2021	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	4–1	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	Template:Flagicon Félix Fermín
2022	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo	Template:Flagicon Caimanes de Barranquilla	4–1	Template:Flagicon Gigantes del Cibao	Template:Flagicon José Mosquera
2023	Template:Flagicon Caracas and La Guaira	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	3–0	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas	Template:Flagicon José Offerman
2024	Template:Flagicon Miami	Template:Flagicon Tiburones de La Guaira	3–0	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	Template:Flagicon Ozzie Guillén
2025	Template:Flagicon Mexicali	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido	1–0	Template:Flagicon Charros de Jalisco	Template:Flagicon Albert Pujols

Championships by team

Rank	Team	Wins	Years
1	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	11	1971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2023
2	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	6	1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2021
4	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce	5	1951, 1953, 1955, 1993, 2000
	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas		1954, 1974, 1987, 2017, 2018
	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido		1988, 1990, 2010, 2012, 2025
5	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Marianao	2	1957, 1958
	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares		1949, 1959
	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos		1956, 1960
	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes		1970, 1979
	Template:Flagicon Águilas del Zulia		1984, 1989
	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez		1978, 1992
	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán		1996, 2002
	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas		1982, 2006
	Template:Flagicon Yaquis de Obregón		2011, 2013
	Template:Flagicon Naranjeros de Hermosillo		1976, 2014
	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán		2005, 2016
6	Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees	1	1950
	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana		1952
	Template:Flagicon Leones de Ponce		1972
	Template:Flagicon Vaqueros de Bayamón		1975
	Template:Flagicon Lobos de Arecibo		1983
	Template:Flagicon Águilas de Mexicali		1986
	Template:Flagicon Senadores de San Juan		1995
	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Aragua		2009
	Template:Flagicon Vegueros de Pinar del Río		2015
	Template:Flagicon Toros de Herrera		2019
	Template:Flagicon Toros del Este		2020
	Template:Flagicon Caimanes de Barranquilla		2022
	Template:Flagicon Tiburones de La Guaira		2024

Championships by country

Rank	Country	Wins	Years
1	Template:Flag	23	1971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025
2	Template:Flag	16	1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2017, 2018
3	Template:Flag	9	1976, 1986, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
4	Template:Flag	8	1949, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 2015
	Template:Flag		1970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2006, 2009, 2024
6	Template:Flag	2	1950, 2019
7	Template:Flag	1	2022

Undefeated teams

No.	Team	Record	Years
3	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	6–0 6–0 5–0	1971 1977 1991
2	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce	6–0 6–0	1953 2000
2	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	6–0 7–0	1998 2021
1	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares	6–0	1949
1	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana	5–0	1952
1	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos	6–0	1960
1	Template:Flagicon Senadores de San Juan	6–0	1995
1	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán	6–0	2016

See also

• List of baseball players who have played in the Caribbean Series
• Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame
• Caribbean Series MVPs
• Serie de las Américas
• Latin American Series
• Interamerican Series
• Asia Series
• European Cup
• Caribbean Series Awards

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

• Béisbol en Cuba (Spanish)
• Cuban Teams in the Caribbean Series
• Historia de las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
• Las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
• Template:Usurped (Spanish)