1954 Caribbean Series

Template:Short description Template:Infobox international baseball tournament The sixth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1954. It was held from February 18 through February 23, featuring the champion baseball teams from Cuba (Alacranes del Almendares), Panama (Carta Vieja Yankees), Puerto Rico, (Criollos de Caguas) and Venezuela (Lácteos de Pastora). Lácteos de Pastora were the champion of the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional rather than the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Sixto Escobar in San Juan, P.R.

Summary

Puerto Rico won the Series with a 4-2 record en route for a second straight championship (third overall). The Caguas club was managed by Mickey Owen and led by center fielder and Series MVP Jim Rivera, who posted a .400 batting average to lead the hitters. Caguas also received offensive support from 1B Víctor Pellot Power (.348) and 2B Jack Cassini (.333). Meanwhile, the pitching staff surrendered only 10 earned runs (2.00 ERA), being led by starters Corky Valentine (1-0, 1.00 ERA, five hits), Brooks Lawrence (1-0, 1.00, six hits) and Rubén Gómez (1-0, 2.00, five hits), while reliever Luis Arroyo added depth coming out of the bullpen (three appearances, 1-0, 0.00, 7+1⁄3 innings). Puerto Rico also had Jack Sanford (P) in addition to Félix Mantilla (SS), Charlie Neal (IF) and Luis (Canena) Márquez.

Cuba, piloted by Bobby Bragan, had a 3-3 record to tie the second place with Panama. The Cuban squad got fine work of P Conrado Marrero (1-0, five-hit shutout), CF Sam Chapman (.391, homerun, .609 SLG) and RF Angel Scull (.391, .522 SLG). Other roster members included Julio Bécquer (1B), Joe Hatten (P), Cholly Naranjo (P) and Héctor Rodríguez (3B).

Panama was managed by Al Kubski and received a heroic pitching effort by starter Victor Stryska (2-0), who allowed just one earned run in 18 innings pitched. The attack was guided by 3B Joe Tuminelli (.391) and LF Bobby Prescott (.381), in an anemic lineup who batted a collective .255 average and scored 17 runs (fewest in the Series).

Venezuela was guided by Napoleón Reyes and finished in last place with a 2-4 record. Ramón Monzant (1-0, 3.00) and Ralph Beard (1-0, 7.20) got the victories, while Howie Fox collected a 2.58 ERA in two appearances but lose a decision. Bad luck starter Thornton Kipper dropped two decisions, losing his duels against Gómez (PR) and Stryska (PAN), while allowing four earned runs (2.12) in 17 innings. Besides, Emilio Cueche made two strong relief appearances and allowed just one earned run in 8+2⁄3 innings of work. 3B Luis García provided the lone offensive threat with a .348 BA and a .563 SLG, including nine RBI to lead the Series hitters. Venezuela included Ed Bailey (C), Vernon Benson (SS), Tommy Byrne (P/1B), Wally Moon (CF), Johnny Temple and rookie Luis Aparicio (SS), among others.

Participating teams

Team	Manager
Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares	Template:Flagicon Bobby Bragan
Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees	Template:Flagicon Al Kubski
Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	Template:Flagicon Mickey Owen
Template:Flagicon Lácteos de Pastora	Template:Flagicon Napoleón Reyes

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 18

Team	Template:Linescore/style | 1	Template:Linescore/style | 2	Template:Linescore/style | 3	Template:Linescore/style | 4	Template:Linescore/style | 5	Template:Linescore/style | 6	Template:Linescore/style | 7	Template:Linescore/style | 8	Template:Linescore/style | R	Template:Linescore/style | H	Template:Linescore/style | E
Venezuela	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	6	7	10	3
Cuba	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	5	10	1
Template:Br separated entries Game 2, February 18 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Panama 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 0 0 4 7 1 Puerto Rico 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 8 1 Template:Br separated entries Game 3, February 19 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Cuba 0 2 2 2 0 0 4 0 3 13 16 1 Panama 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   0   5 2 Template:Br separated entries Game 4, February 19 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Puerto Rico 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 3 7 0 Venezuela 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 5 3 Template:Br separated entries Game 5, February 20 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Panama 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 3 6 5 Venezuela 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 0 X 9 7 1 Template:Br separated entries Game 6, February 20 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Puerto Rico 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 3 6 0 Cuba 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 6 0 Template:Br separated entries Game 7, February 21 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Cuba 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 1 Venezuela 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 9 3 Template:Br separated entries Game 8, February 21 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | 10 Template:Linescore/style | 11 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Puerto Rico 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 6 12 0 Panama 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 3   8 3 Template:Br separated entries Game 9, February 22 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Panama 0 0 0 2 0 3 0 0 0 5 7 0 Cuba 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 2 Template:Br separated entries Game 10, February 22 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Venezuela 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 2 Puerto Rico 2 3 0 0 2 0 0 0 X 7 8 0 Template:Br separated entries Game 11, February 23 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Venezuela 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1   1 1 Panama 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 2 10 2 Template:Br separated entries Game 12, February 23 Team Template:Linescore/style | 1 Template:Linescore/style | 2 Template:Linescore/style | 3 Template:Linescore/style | 4 Template:Linescore/style | 5 Template:Linescore/style | 6 Template:Linescore/style | 7 Template:Linescore/style | 8 Template:Linescore/style | 9 Template:Linescore/style | R Template:Linescore/style | H Template:Linescore/style | E Cuba 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 7 1 Puerto Rico 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 2 6 4 Template:Br separated entries Statistics leaders Statistic Player Team Total Batting average Template:Flagicon Jim Rivera Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas .450 Home runs Template:Flagicon Ray Orteig Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares 2 Runs batted in Template:Flagicon Luis García Template:Flagicon Lácteos de Pastora 9 Runs Template:Flagicon Angel Scull Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares 5 Hits Template:Flagicon Jim Rivera Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas 9 Doubles Template:Flagicon Vic Power Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas 3 Template:Flagicon Bobby Prescott Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees Triples Five players tied 1 Stolen bases Template:Flagicon Jack Cassini Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas 2 Wins Template:Flagicon Vic Stryska Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees 2 Earned run average Template:Flagicon Vic Stryska Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees 0.50 Strikeouts Template:Flagicon Joe Hatten Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares 12 Saves Template:Flagicon Howie Fox Template:Flagicon Lácteos de Pastora 1 Innings pitched Template:Flagicon Vic Stryska Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees 18.0 Awards Tournament Awards Award Player Team MVP Template:Flagicon Jim Rivera Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Best manager Template:Flagicon Mickey Owen Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas All Star Team Position Player Team First base Template:Flagicon Vic Power Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Second base Template:Flagicon Jack Cassini Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Third base Template:Flagicon Luis García Template:Flagicon Lácteos de Pastora Shortstop Template:Flagicon Vern Benson Template:Flagicon Lácteos de Pastora Left field Template:Flagicon Bobby Prescott Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees Center field Template:Flagicon Jim Rivera Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Right field Template:Flagicon Sam Chapman Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares Catcher Template:Flagicon Ray Orteig Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares Pitcher Template:Flagicon Vic Stryska Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees See also Ballplayers who have played in the Series References 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 Official site Latino Baseball Series del Caribe, Las (Spanish)