Caribbean Series


The Caribbean Series, also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is normally played in February after all of the leagues have ended their national tournaments.

History

The competition was the brainchild of Venezuelan baseball entrepreneur Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto Ortiz, his business partner since 1936, who devised the idea after seeing the success of the now extinct :es:Serie Interamericana|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.
Inspired by the Serie Interamericana 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. 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 cancelled after Fidel Castro dissolved all professional baseball in Cuba in 1961. 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.

Leagues participating

Current

Series

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.
YearVenueChampionResultRunner-upManager
2013 Hermosillo Yaquis de Ciudad Obregón4–3 Leones del Escogido Eddie Díaz
2014 Isla de Margarita Naranjeros de Hermosillo7–1 Indios de Mayagüez Matías Carrillo
2015 San Juan Vegueros de Pinar del Río3–2 Tomateros de Culiacán Alfonso Urquiola
2016 Santo Domingo Venados de Mazatlán5–4 Tigres de Aragua Juan José Pacho
2017 Culiacán Criollos de Caguas1–0 Águilas de Mexicali Luis Matos
2018 Guadalajara Criollos de Caguas9–4 Águilas Cibaeñas Luis Matos
2019 Panama City Toros de Herrera3–1 Leñadores de Las Tunas Manuel Rodríguez
2020 San Juan Toros del Este9–3 Cardenales de Lara Lino Rivera

Championships by team

RankTeamWinsYears
1 Tigres del Licey 101971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008
2 Cangrejeros de Santurce 51951, 1953, 1955, 1993, 2000
2 Águilas Cibaeñas 51997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2007
2 Criollos de Caguas 51954, 1974, 1987, 2017, 2018
5 Leones del Escogido 41988, 1990, 2010, 2012
6 Tigres de Marianao 21957, 1958
7 Alacranes del Almendares 21949, 1959
7 Elefantes de Cienfuegos 21956, 1960
7 Navegantes del Magallanes 21970, 1979
7 Águilas del Zulia 21984, 1989
7 Indios de Mayagüez 21978, 1992
7 Tomateros de Culiacán 21996, 2002
7 Leones del Caracas 21982, 2006
7 Yaquis de Obregón 22011, 2013
7 Naranjeros de Hermosillo 21976, 2014
7 Venados de Mazatlán 22005, 2016
16 Carta Vieja Yankees 11950
16 Leones del Habana 11952
16 Leones de Ponce 11972
16 Vaqueros de Bayamón 11975
16 Lobos de Arecibo 11983
16 Águilas de Mexicali 11986
16 Senadores de San Juan 11995
16 Tigres de Aragua 12009
16 Vegueros de Pinar del Río 12015
16 Toros de Herrera 12019
16 Toros del Este 12020

Championships by country

RankCountryWinsYears
1 201971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985,
1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997,
1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004,
2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2020
2 161951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1972,
1974, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1987,
1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2017,
2018
3 91976, 1986, 1996, 2002, 2005,
2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
4 81949, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958,
1959, 1960, 2015
5 71970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989,
2006, 2009
6 21950, 2019

Undefeated teams