View source for 2008 Caribbean Series

{{Short description|2008 baseball tournament}}
The fiftieth edition of the '''[[Caribbean Series]]''' (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in {{by|2008}}. It was held from February 2 through February 7, featuring the champions teams from [[Mexico]], [[Yaquis de Obregón]]; [[Venezuela]], [[Tigres de Aragua]], and two teams from Dominican Republic: [[Águilas Cibaeñas]] [1] and [[Tigres del Licey]] [2]. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and was played at [[Estadio Cibao]], home of the Águilas. Licey finished second in the Dominican League, but made the Series due to the cancellation of the Puerto Rican League season due to financial problems. It was the first Series fully held in the city of [[Santiago de los Caballeros]] and the first round-robin of its kind to feature two teams from the Dominican Republic.

==Summary==
Licey, managed by [[Héctor de la Cruz]], finished with a 5–1 record to clinch the club's 10th Caribbean Series title since the country began participating in [[1970 Caribbean Series|1970]] and the 17th overall for the Dominican Republic. Pitcher and Series MVP [[Ramón Ortiz]] posted a 2–0 record with a 0.00 [[earned run average|ERA]] in {{frac|11|2|3}} scoreless [[innings pitched|IP]] against the Águilas, including five of [[relief pitcher|relief]]. RF [[Nelson Cruz]] provided the offensive support for the team, leading the Series hitters in [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] (.407), [[hit (baseball)|hits]] (11), [[Double (baseball)|doubles]] (3), [[slugging percentage|SLG]] (.630) and [[On-base plus slugging|OPS]] (1,037). Licey also got fine work off starters [[José Capellán]] (1-0, 3.37 ERA) and [[Francisco Rosario]] (0.00, five SO in 6.0 IP), as well from relievers [[Jailen Peguero]] (1-0) and [[Carlos Mármol]] (two [[save (sport)|saves]]). Other contributions came from 3B/OF [[José Bautista]] (.250, two [[home run]]s, four [[run batted in|RBI]], six [[run (baseball)|runs]], two [[stolen base]]s, .440 SLG), 2B [[Ronnie Belliard]] (.273 BA, four RBI, .455 SLG), LF [[Emilio Bonifacio]] (.250, five runs, two SB) and C [[Matt Tupman]], who batted .364 (8-for-23) and was the only of Licey's players with at least one hit in each game.

Managed by [[Félix Fermín]], the Dominican champions wasted home field advantage, ending in second place with a 3–3 mark. The Cibao's team was characterized by an ineffective pitching staff and a poor offense, while the defense committed crucial [[error (baseball)|errors]]. Two hitters carried much of the offensive weight – 2B [[Rafael Furcal]] (.400, 10 hits, five runs, four RBI, .560 SLG) and SS [[Tony Peña Jr.]] (.429 BA, .524 SLG), while DH [[Miguel Tejada]] provided a substantial (if discreet) contribution (.208, five runs, two HR, .318 SLG). Pitchers [[Joselo Díaz]] (1-0, eight [[strikeout]]s, 1.50 ERA in six IP) and [[Arnie Muñoz]] (1-0, one save, 0.00 in {{frac|1|2|3}} IP) headed the staff. Supporting them were [[Randy Choate]] (0.00 ERA, 4.0 IP), [[Joel Peralta]] (0.00, 2.0 IP) and [[Francisco Cruceta]] (1.69, {{frac|5|1|3}} IP), but [[Denny Bautista]] (1-0), [[Bartolo Colón]] (0-1), [[Sergio Ramírez]] and [[Alfredo Simón]], combined for an 8.00 ERA in 18 innings.

Mexico was guided by [[Homar Rojas]] and finished with a 2–4 record, tying for third place with Venezuela. DH [[Robert Saucedo]] (.346, seven runs, six RBI, .577 SLG), SS [[Alfredo Amézaga]] (.381, five runs, three SB, .435 [[on-base percentage|OBP]]) and OF [[Armando Ríos]] (.312, two SB, .375 SLG) paced the offense, while the top pitcher was [[Nelson Figueroa]] (1-0, 0.81, seven SO in 11.0 IP). The Obregón team also included players like [[Justin Lehr]] (P), [[Óscar Robles]] (2B), [[Dan Serafini]] (P) and [[Reggie Taylor]] (OF).

Venezuela, piloted by [[Buddy Bailey]], played with a depleted line-up. This year, 15 players from the Venezuelan finals roster were unavailable for the Series, including [[Miguel Cabrera]], [[Ronny Cedeño]] and [[Edgardo Alfonzo]], due to [[spring training|Spring Training]] reports. [[Luis Maza]], the man charged with filling Cabrera's shoes at third base, responded by hitting  .348 (8-for-23) with six runs and a .435 SLG. Other help came from outfielders [[Selwyn Langaigne]] (.357, four RBI) and [[Alberto Callaspo]] (.346, four runs), as well from pitchers [[Giovanni Carrara]] (1-0, four hits, four SO, 0.00 ERA in 5.0 IP) and [[Ramón García (1990s pitcher)|Ramón García]] (three hits, three SO, 0.00 ERA in 4.0 IP). The only homers were hit by sub-batters [[Alex Delgado]] (C, .100) and [[Luis Ugueto]] (OF, .222), while [[Andrew Lorraine]] was the only pitcher to lose two games in the Series that year. The Aragua club also featured RF [[Robert Pérez (baseball)|Robert Pérez]] and pitchers [[Orber Moreno]], [[Víctor Moreno]] and [[José Rafael Santiago Fuentes|José Santiago]], among others.

==Note==
Of 33 players on the Series rosters included on the 40-man Major League 2008 rosters, 30 were on the Dominican Republic teams. According to MLB, the Caribbean Confederation officials considered moving up the start of the 2009 tournament from the first week of February to the last week of January, because it gives the players at least 10 days before they are expected to report to their respective camps in Spring Training. This year's tournament ended six days before pitchers and catchers begin reporting. The change would encourage more participation for major leaguers from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. Adding new teams to the tournament could also be an option for the future of the Caribbean Series.

==Final standings==
{| cellpadding="1" width="450px" style="font-size: 80%; border: 1px solid gray;"
|- align="center" style="font-size: larger;"
| colspan=6 | 
|- style="background:lightblue;"
| '''Country''' || '''Club''' || '''W''' || '''L''' || '''W/L %''' || '''GB''' || '''Managers'''
|- align="center" style="vertical-align: middle;" style="background:lightblue;"
|-
| [[Image:Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg|25px]]&nbsp;[[Dominican Republic]] || [[Tigres del Licey]] || 5 || 1 || .833 || – || [[Héctor de la Cruz]]  
|-
| [[Image:Flag of the Dominican Republic.svg|25px]]&nbsp; [[Dominican Republic]] || [[Águilas Cibaeñas]] || 3 || 3 || .500 || 2.0 || [[Félix Fermín]] 
|-
| [[Image:Flag of Mexico.svg|25px]]&nbsp; [[Mexico]] || [[Yaquis de Obregón]] || 2 || 4 || .333 || 3.0 || [[Homar Rojas]] 
|-
| [[Image:Flag of Venezuela.svg|25px]]&nbsp; [[Venezuela]] || [[Tigres de Aragua]] || 2 || 4 || .333 || 3.0 || [[Buddy Bailey]] 
|-
|}
<br />
{| cellpadding="1" width="350px" style="font-size: 80%; border: 1px solid gray;"
|- align="center" style="font-size: larger;"
| colspan=6 | '''Individual leaders'''
|- style="background:lightblue;"
|'''Player/Club''' || '''Statistic''' ||
|- align="center" style="vertical-align: middle;" style="background:lightblue;"
|-
|  [[Nelson Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]] || .407 
|-
| [[José Bautista]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] <br /> [[Robert Saucedo]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] <br /> [[Miguel Tejada]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]] || [[Home run]]s || &nbsp; &nbsp;  2
|-
| [[Robert Saucedo]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] || [[Runs batted in|RBI]] || &nbsp;  &nbsp; 6 
|-
| [[Robert Saucedo]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] || [[Run (baseball)|Runs]] || &nbsp;  &nbsp; 7
|-
| [[Nelson Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Hit (baseball)|Hits]] || &nbsp; 11
|-
| [[Nelson Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]]  || [[Double (baseball)|Doubles]] || &nbsp; &nbsp;  3
|-
| [[Richard Paz]] / [[Venezuela|VEN]] <br /> [[Tony Peña (shortstop)|Tony Peña]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]] <br /> [[Reggie Taylor]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] <br /> Carlos Valencia / [[Mexico|MEX]] || [[Triple (baseball)|Triples]] || &nbsp; &nbsp; 1
|-
| [[Alfredo Amézaga]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] || [[Stolen base]]s || &nbsp;  &nbsp; 3
|-
| [[Luis Maza]] / [[Venezuela]] || [[On-base percentage|OBP]] ||&nbsp;.483
|-
| [[Nelson Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Slugging percentage|SLG]] ||&nbsp;.630
|-
| [[Nelson Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[On-base plus slugging|OPS]] || 1.037
|-
| [[Ramón Ortiz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Win (baseball)|Wins]] || &nbsp; &nbsp;  2
|-
| [[Joselo Díaz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Strikeout]]s || &nbsp; &nbsp; 8  
|-
| [[Ramón Ortiz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Earned run average|ERA]] || 0.00
|-
| [[Ramón Ortiz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]]  || [[Innings pitched]] || {{frac|11|1|3}}
|-
| [[Carlos Mármol]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] <br> [[Arnie Muñoz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]] || [[Save (sport)|Saves]] || &nbsp; &nbsp;  2
|-
| [[Denny Bautista]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]] <br /> [[Randy Choate]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]] <br /> [[Víctor Moreno]] / [[Venezuela|VEN]] <br /> [[Adrián Ramírez]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] || [[Games pitched]] || &nbsp; &nbsp;  4
|- 
| '''Awards'''
|- 
| [[Ramón Ortiz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Most Valuable Player]]
|-
|  [[Héctor de la Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Manager (baseball)|Manager]] 
|-
|-
|}
<br>
{| cellpadding="1" width="350px" style="font-size: 80%; border: 1px solid gray;"
|- align="center" style="font-size: larger;"
| colspan=6 | '''All-Star Team'''
|- style="background:lightblue;"
|'''Name/Club''' || '''Position''' ||
|- align="center" style="vertical-align: middle;" style="background:lightblue;"
|-
| [[Matt Tupman]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[catcher]]
|- 
| [[Mendy López]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]]  || [[first baseman]]
|-
| [[Rafael Furcal]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]] || [[second baseman]]
|-
| [[Luis Maza]] / [[Venezuela|VEN]]  || [[third baseman]]
|-
| [[Tony Peña (shortstop)|Tony Peña]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 1]]  || [[shortstop]]
|-
| [[Albino Contreras]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] || [[left fielder]]
|-
| [[Selwyn Langaigne]] / [[Venezuela|VEN]] || [[center fielder]]
|-
| [[Nelson Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[right fielder]]
|-
| [[Robert Saucedo]] / [[Mexico|MEX]] || [[designated hitter]]
|-
| [[Ramón Ortiz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Pitcher|RH pitcher]]
|-
| [[Arnaldo Muñoz]] / [[Dominicana Republic|DOM]] || [[Pitcher|LH pitcher]]
|-
|  [[Héctor de la Cruz]] / [[Dominican Republic|DOM 2]] || [[Manager (baseball)|manager]]
|-
|}

===Scoreboards===

====Game 1, February 2====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Tigres del Licey Dom 2'''|RoadAbr=DOM 2
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=2|R4=2|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=1|RR=6|RH=11|RE=1
|Home=Venezuela|HomeAbr=VEN
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=0|H5=0|H6=3|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=4|HH=&nbsp; 8|HE=4
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[José Capellán]] (1-0)|LP=[[José Rafael Santiago Fuentes|José Santiago]] (0-1)|SV=[[Carlos Mármol]] (1)
|RoadHR=[[Rafael Belliard]] (1) |HomeHR=
|}}

====Game 2, February 2====
{{Linescore| 
|Road=Mexico|RoadAbr=MEX
|R1=0|R2=2|R3=0|R4=0|R5=2|R6=2|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|RR=&nbsp; 6|RH=10|RE=1
|Home='''Dominican Republic 1'''|HomeAbr=DOM 1
|H1=6|H2=2|H3=0|H4=1|H5=0|H6=0|H7=4|H8=0|H9=x|HR=13|HH=17|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Denny Bautista]] (1-0)|LP=[[Alberto Castillo (pitcher)|Alberto Castillo]] (0-1)|SV=
|RoadHR=||HomeHR=[[Miguel Tejada]] 2 (2), [[Brayan Peña]] (1) |HRH=
|}}
* Note: With his two homers (12 and 13), Tejada became the all-time home run leader in the Series, surpassing the 11 homers hit by Venezuelan [[Tony Armas]].

====Game 3, February 3====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Tigres del Licey Dom 2'''|RoadAbr=DOM 2
|R1=0|R2=1|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=0|R10=0|R11=1|RR=2|RH=9|RE=2
|Home=Mexico|HomeAbr=MEX
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|H10=0|H11=0|HR=1|HH=8|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Jailen Peguero]] (1-0)|LP=[[Adrián Ramírez]] (0-1)|SV=
|RoadHR=[[José Bautista]] (1) |HomeHR=
|}}

====Game 4, February 3====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Dominican Republic 1'''|RoadAbr=DOM 1
|R1=2|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=1|R8=0|R9=0|RR=3|RH=&nbsp; 7|RE=1
|Home=Venezuela|HomeAbr=VEN
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=1|HH=10|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Francisco Cruceta]] (1-0)|LP=[[Andrew Lorraine]] (0-1)|SV=[[Arnie Muñoz]] (1)
|RoadHR=||HomeHR=[[Luis Ugueto]] (1)|HRH=
|}}

====Game 5, February 4====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Venezuela'''|RoadAbr=VEN
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=2|R4=0|R5=1|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=2|RR=5|RH=11|RE=0
|Home=Mexico|HomeAbr=MEX
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=0|HH=7|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Giovanni Carrara]] (1-0)|LP=[[Justin Lehr]] (0-1)
|}}

====Game 6, February 4====
{{Linescore| 
|Road=Dominican Republic 1|RoadAbr=DOM 1
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=2|RR=2|RH=8|RE=0
|Home='''Tigres del Licey Dom 2'''|HomeAbr=DOM 2
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=1|H5=0|H6=0|H7=4|H8=0|H9=0|HR=5|HH=8|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Ramón Ortiz]] (1-0)|LP=[[Fabio Castro]] (0-1)|SV=[[Jailen Peguero]] (1)
|RoadHR=||HomeHR=[[Yordany Ramírez]] (1)|HRH=
|}}

====Game 7, February 5====
{{Linescore| 
|Road=Venezuela|RoadAbr=VEN
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=1|R9=0|RR=1|RH=6|RE=1
|Home='''Tigres del Licey Dom 2'''|HomeAbr=DOM 2
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=1|H8=1|H9=X|HR=2|HH=5|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Jesús Colomé]] (1-0)|LP=[[Víctor Moreno]] (0-1)|SV=[[Carlos Mármol]] (2)
|RoadHR=[[Alex Delgado]] (1)||HomeHR=[[Nelson Cruz]] (1)|HRH=
|}}

====Game 8, February 5====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Dominican Republic 1'''|RoadAbr=DOM 1
|R1=0|R2=2|R3=0|R4=0|R5=1|R6=0|R7=1|R8=0|R9=0|RR=4|RH=12|RE=3
|Home=Mexico|HomeAbr=MEX
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=1|HH=&nbsp; 6|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Joselo Díaz]] (1-0)|LP=[[Dan Serafini]] (0-1)|SV=[[Arnie Muñoz]] (2)
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=
|}}

====Game 9, February 6====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Mexico'''|RoadAbr=MEX
|R1=0|R2=1|R3=0|R4=0|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=3|R10=3|RR=7|RH=12|RE=1
|Home='''Tigres del Licey Dom 2'''|HomeAbr=DOM 2
|H1=1|H2=0|H3=0|H4=2|H5=0|H6=1|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|H10=0|HR=4|HH=&nbsp; 8|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Nelson Figueroa]] (1-0)|LP=[[Oneli Pérez]] (0-1)|SV=
|RoadHR=[[Robert Saucedo]] 2 (2)|HomeHR=[[José Bautista]] (2)
|}}

====Game 10, February 6====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Venezuela'''|RoadAbr=VEN
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=1|R5=1|R6=1|R7=3|R8=2|R9=0|RR=8|RH=15|RE=0
|Home=Dominican Republic 1|HomeAbr=DOM 1
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=4|H9=0|HR=5|HH=10|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Iván Blanco]] (1-0)|LP=[[Bartolo Colón]] (0-1)|SV=[[Francisco Butto|Francisco Buttó]] (1)
|RoadHR=[[Ramón A. Castro]] (1)|HomeHR=[[Edwin Encarnación]] (1)
|}}

====Game 11, February 7====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Mexico'''|RoadAbr=MEX
|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=2|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=5|RR=7|RH=13|RE=1
|Home=Venezuela|HomeAbr=VEN
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=1|H4=1|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=3|HR=5|HH=13|HE=1
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Rolando Valdez]] (1-0)|LP=[[Andrew Lorraine]] (0-2)|SV=[[Francisco Rodríguez (Mexican pitcher)|Francisco Rodríguez]] (1)
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=
|}}

====Game 12, February 7====
{{Linescore| 
|Road='''Tigres del Licey Dom 2'''|RoadAbr=DOM 2
|R1=0|R2=1|R3=1|R4=4|R5=0|R6=0|R7=0|R8=0|R9=2|RR=8|RH=15|RE=0
|Home=Dominican Republic 1|HomeAbr=DOM 1
|H1=0|H2=0|H3=2|H4=0|H5=0|H6=0|H7=0|H8=0|H9=0|HR=2|HH=&nbsp; 7|HE=0
|RSP=|HSP=
|WP=[[Ramón Ortiz]] (2-0)|LP=[[Alfredo Simón]] (0-1)|SV=
|RoadHR=|HomeHR=[[Rafael Furcal]] (1)
|}}

==See also==
*[[List of baseball players who have played in the Caribbean Series|Ballplayers who have played in the Series]]

==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==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080323050912/http://www.ebeisbol.com/ Official site]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071213080732/http://www.latinobaseball.com/cws-history.php Latino Baseball]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071026021916/http://www.juanperez.com/baseball/series.htm Series del Caribe, Las (Spanish)]
 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

{{CaribbeanWorldSeries}}

[[Category:Caribbean Series]]
[[Category:2008 in baseball|Caribbean]]
[[Category:2008 in Caribbean sport]]
[[Category:2008 in Dominican Republic sport]]
[[Category:International baseball competitions hosted by the Dominican Republic]]
[[Category:February 2008 sports events in North America]]