2007 Caribbean Series
The forty-ninth edition of the Caribbean Series was played held from February 2 through February 7 of, featuring the champion teams from Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina, Puerto Rico.Summary
Dominican Republic clinched the Series with a 5-1 record and was managed by Félix Fermín, who became the first manager in series history to win three titles. In their only defeat, the Dominicans were shut out, by Puerto Rico, 1–0, on three hits. Series MVP Tony Batista led the team with three home runs and eight RBIs. Also helping out were Miguel Tejada and Anderson Hernández. The offense led the tournament with 37 runs, while the pitching staff provided a strong support by limiting opponents to eight runs in 62 ⅓ innings pitched for a.087 ERA. José Acevedo, Fabio Castro, Julián Tavárez, Héctor Almonte, Julio De Paula, José Capellán, José Vargas, and José Lima headed the staff. Also on the roster were Alberto Castillo, Bernie Castro, Nelson Cruz, Pablo Ozuna and Luis Polonia. Overall, the Dominican Republic won the Series for the 16th time, one more than Puerto Rico. This was the fifth time that the Águilas Cibaeñas represented the Dominicans and took the title.
The Puerto Rican team, managed by Lino Rivera, finished second with a 4-2 mark. The offense was clearly guided by Armando Ríos, who led the Series hitters in batting average, hits, stolen bases, SLG, OBS and OPS. Other contributions came from Juan González, Javier Valentín and Alex Cora. Other than starters Giancarlo Alvarado and Brian Edwards, the pitching rotation proved ineffective. Relievers Pedro Feliciano, Bubbie Buzachero and Fernando Cabrera provided some support. Other players in the roster included Hiram Bocachica, Rubén Gotay, Luis Matos, José Santiago, and the brothers José and Yadier Molina.
Venezuela was guided by Buddy Bailey and finished 2-4 in third place. The two victories came at the expense of Mexico and Puerto Rico. The offense was guided by Oscar Salazar, who led the series batters with nine RBI, while hitting.346 with two home runs and a.654 SLG. Two other hitters carried much of the offensive weight: José Castillo and Ronny Cedeño. Despite a 2.18 collective ERA, the pitching staff was victim of a lousy defense that committed 11 errors. Starters Josmir Romero, Tim McClaskey and Horacio Estrada each turned in fine efforts, while Yohan Pino and Kevin Tolar did the job out of the bullpen. The Venezuelan team also featured players such as Cory Bailey, Alex Delgado, Ramón Hernández, Luis Rodríguez, Randall Simon and Steve Torrealba.
Piloted by Lorenzo Bundy, Mexico was outscored by their opponents 45-13 and finished in last place with a 1-5 record, getting its only victory against Venezuela. A one-man offensive performance was led by Luis Alfonso García, who finished second in the batting race with a.458 average and hit four doubles with four RBI; Juan Cañizalez batted.333, Alfredo Amézaga hit the team's only home run, and Pablo Ortega was the only pitcher to lose two games in the Series that year. The team also included veterans such as Vinny Castilla, Elmer Dessens, Erubiel Durazo, Karim García, Gerónimo Gil and Derrick White.Final standings
Scoreboards
Game 1, February 2
Game 4, February 3
Game 8, February 5
Game 10, February 6
Game 11, February 7
Game 12, February 7
