1959 Caribbean Series

The XI edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1959. It was held from February 10 through February 15 with the champions teams from Cuba (Almendares), Panama (Coclé), Puerto Rico (Santurce) and Venezuela (Oriente). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at UCV Stadium in Caracas, Venezuela, which boosted capacity to 35.000 seats, and the first pitch was thrown by Edgar Sanabria, by then the President of Venezuela.

Summary

Cuba won the Series with a 5-1 record for a fourth straight championship. The Almendares club won for the second time guided by manager Sungo Carrera and led by 1B Rocky Nelson (.320 BA, six RBI), LF Carlos Paula (.462), 2B Tony Taylor (.346, .462 SLG) and RF Sandy Amorós (.333). The pitching staff included starters Camilo Pascual (2-0, 16 strikeouts, 1.50 ERA, 18 innings), Orlando Peña (1-1, 17⅔ innings) Art Fowler (1-0, 1.00, nine innings) and reliever Mike Cuellar (1-0, 0.00). Other players for Cuba included pitchers Tommy Lasorda, Cholly Naranjo and Carlos Pascual in addition to Bob Allison (OF), Jim Baxes (3B), Dick Brown (C), Miguel de la Hoz (2B), Enrique Izquierdo (C), Willy Miranda (SS), Leonardo Posada (OF) and Angel Scull (OF).

Venezuela, with a low-profile team, finished an honourable second place after going 4-2. Managed by Kerby Farrell, the offense was anchored by RF/1B and Series MVP Norman Cash, who finished with a .360 BA (9-for-25), 11 RBI and a .680 SLG. Oriente also received a considerable support from 3B Luis García and LF Jesús Mora, who tied for first place in the batting race with a .417 average (10-for-24). García added six runs, three doubles and slugged .625, while Mora collected four runs and a .583 SLG. Werner Birrer was the top pitcher with a 2-0 record, including a 13-inning victory, a 1.25 ERA and 18 SO in 21⅔ innings. He also set a Series record with 13 innings pitched in a single game (#2), while Cash set a new mark with six RBI in a single game (#8). Other players included Elio Chacón (SS), Jim Owens (P), Ramón Monzant (P) and Jerry Snyder (2B).

Puerto Rico, managed by Ramón Concepción, disappointed with a 3-3 mark to finish in third place. C Valmy Thomas (.381) and 1B Orlando Cepeda (.333) led the attack, while Marion Fricano and Julio Navarro each pitched 1–0 shutouts. Santurce also featured Luis Arroyo (P), Joe Black (P), Jackie Brandt (CF), Orlando Cepeda (1B), Nino Escalera (1B/OF), Rubén Gómez (P), Willie Kirkland (RF), Bob Lennon (LF), Félix Maldonado (LF), Lloyd Merritt (P), José Pagán (3B), Victor Pellot Power (2B), José Santiago (P) and Pete Wojey (P).

Panama finished in last place with a 0-6 record, to become the first winless team in Series history. The Coclé club was managed by Lester Peden and benefited from a solid effort by RF Ken Hunt, who hit .304 with five RBI, home run, triple and a .609 SLG. Other players included P Bud Black, IF Owen Friend, SS Pumpsie Green, OF Gail Henley and IF/OF Joe Tuminelli, among others.

Final standings
	Club	W	L	W/L %	GB
	Cuba	5	1	.833	–
	Venezuela	4	2	.667	1.0
	Puerto Rico	3	3	.500	2.0
	Panama	0	6	.000	5.0

Individual leaders
Player/Club	Statistic
Luis García / VEN Jesús Mora / VEN	Batting average	.417
Norman Cash / VEN	Home runs	2
Norman Cash / VEN	Runs batted in	11
Luis García / VEN	Runs	6
Luis García / VEN Jesús Mora / VEN	Hits	10
Luis García / VEN	Doubles	3
Seven tied	Triples	1
Tony Taylor / CUB	Stolen bases	3
Werner Birrer / VEN Camilo Pascual / CUB	Wins	2
Werner Birrer / VEN	Strikeouts	18
Werner Birrer / VEN	Earned run average	1.25
Ramón Monzant / VEN	Saves	1
Werner Birrer / VEN	Innings pitched	21⅔
Awards
Norman Cash / VEN	Most Valuable Player
Sungo Carrera / CUB	Manager

All-Star Team
Name/Club	Position
Valmy Thomas / PRI	catcher
Rocky Nelson / CUB	first baseman
Tony Taylor / CUB	second baseman
Luis García / VEN	third baseman
Willy Miranda / CUB	shortstop
Jesús Mora / VEN	left fielder
Jackie Brandt / PRI	center fielder
Norman Cash / VEN	right fielder
Werner Birrer / VEN Camilo Pascual / CUB	pitchers
Sungo Carrera / CUB	manager

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 10


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	2	5	0
WP: Rubén Gómez (1-0) LP: Orlando Peña (0-1)

Game 2, February 10


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	7	2
Venezuela	0	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	14	1
WP: Werner Birrer (1-0) LP: Stanley Arthur Wall (0-1)

Game 3, February 11


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	4	11	1
Panama	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	2
WP: Camilo Pascual (1-0) LP: Bud Black (0-1)

Game 4, February 11


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	2	0	0	0	2	0	0	1	5	13	1
Venezuela	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	4	6	10	1
WP: Marcelino Sánchez (1-0) LP: Pete Wojey (0-1) Home runs: PRI: Orlando Cepeda (1) VEN: Norman Cash 2 (2)

Game 5, February 12


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	3	0	2	1	0	0	3	0	0	9	16	3
Panama	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	5	2
WP: Marion Fricano (1-0) LP: Alberto Osorio (0-1)

Game 6, February 12


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	4	3	11	12	2
Venezuela	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2
WP: Art Fowler (1-0) LP: Ramón Monzant (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Tony Taylor (1) VEN: None

Game 7, February 13


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1
Cuba	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	X	1	7	1
WP: Orlando Peña (1-0) LP: Lloyd Merritt (0-1)

Game 8, February 13


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	4	1	0	0	6	0	2	0	1	14	22	2
Panama	0	1	3	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	13	1
WP: Dave Hoskins (1-0) LP: Richard Donnelly (0-1) Home runs: VEN: None PAN: Ken Hunt (1)

Game 9, February 14


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	8	0
Cuba	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	2	X	5	8	0
WP: Mike Cuellar (1-0) LP: Pete Meza (0-1)

Game 10, February 14


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	1	1	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	5	10	1
Puerto Rico	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	3	7	2
WP: Werner Birrer (2-0) LP: Rubén Gómez (1-1)

Game 11, February 15


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	3	3
Cuba	2	0	0	0	0	2	3	1	X	8	10	1
WP: Camilo Pascual (2-0) LP: Jim Owens (0-1) Notes: It was the fourth win by Pascual in his Series career, surpassing the previous record of three wins set by Agapito Mayor in 1949.

Game 12, February 15


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	X	1	4	1
WP: Julio Navarro (1-0) LP: Bud Black (0-2)

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

Caribbean Series

Years	1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Circuits	Dominican Professional Baseball League Mexican Pacific League Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Related articles	Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame Caribbean Series Most Valuable Player Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame List of players who have played in the Series Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame

1961 to 1969 - The Series was not held during these years following the dissolution of Cuba's professional league. 1981 - The Series was not held due to a Venezuelan player's strike.

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