Caribbean Series

The Caribbean Series (Spanish: Serie del Caribe) is an annual club tournament contested by professional baseball teams in Latin America. It is organized by the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation. The series is normally played in February, after the various winter leagues have ended their national tournaments.

The Dominican Republic has won the most Caribbean Series championships (23), with Tigres del Licey being the most successful team in the tournament's history. The series has been won by 29 teams from seven countries. Only two teams have won the tournament two consecutive years, the most recent being Criollos de Caguas from Puerto Rico in 2017 and 2018.

History

The competition was the brainchild of Venezuelan baseball entrepreneur Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto Ortiz, who devised the idea after seeing the success of the 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.<ref>Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela Exaltados 2008 – Oscar Prieto Ortiz Template:Webarchive (Spanish).</ref>

Pablo Morales and Oscar Prieto founded the Caribbean Series

Inspired by the Interamerican Series 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.<ref>Bjarkman, Peter (1994). Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game. McFarland & Company. Template:ISBN.</ref> 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 suspended in 1961, as a result of the Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro dissolved all professional baseball in Cuba, and MLB Commissioner Ford Frick ruled that American major leaguers were barred from playing in Havana, where the 1961 series had been scheduled.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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. Curaçao was invited as a guest in 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Participants

Permanent members

Key

• Template:Color box Member of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation

Country	League	First edition
Template:Flag	Dominican Professional Baseball League	1970
Template:Flag	Mexican Pacific League	1971
Template:Flag	Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente	1949
Template:Flag	Venezuelan Professional Baseball LeagueTemplate:Ref label	1949

Other participants

Country	League	First edition	Latest edition
Template:Flag	Cuban League	1949	1960
	Cuban National Series	2014	2019
	Cuban Elite League	2023
Template:Flag	Curaçao Professional Baseball League	2023	2024
Template:Flag	Colombian Professional Baseball League	2020	2023
Template:Flag	Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League	2024	2024
Template:Flag	Panamanian Professional Baseball LeagueTemplate:Ref label	1949	2024
Template:Flag	Japan Breeze	2025

Notes

• Template:Note label After the 1960 tournament, Panama would not appear in another Caribbean Series until 2019.
• Template:Note label Venezuela's LVBP was replaced by the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional for the 1960 tournament

Series

Year	Champion	Manager	Record	Finals Score	Runners-up	Location
1949	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares	Fermin Guerra	6–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Cerveceria Caracas	Template:Flagicon Havana
1950	Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees	Wayne Blackburn	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1951	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce	George Scales	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1952	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana	Mike González	5–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees	Template:Flagicon Panama City
1953	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce Template:Small	Buster Clarkson	5–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana	Template:Flagicon Havana
1954	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	Mickey Owen	4–2	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1955	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce Template:Small	Herman Franks	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1956	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos	Oscar Rodríguez	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Chesterfield Smokers	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1957	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Marianao	Napoleón Reyes	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Cerveza Balboa	Template:Flagicon Havana
1958	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Marianao Template:Small	Napoleón Reyes Template:Small	4–2	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1959	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares Template:Small	Clemente Carreras	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Indios de Oriente	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1960	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos Template:Small	Tony Castaño	6–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Marlboro Smokers	Template:Flagicon Panama City
Not held from 1961–1969; see Interamerican Series
1970	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes	Carlos Pascual	7–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Leones de Ponce	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1971	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	6–0	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1972	Template:Flagicon Leones de Ponce	Frank Verdi	5–1	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
1973	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Tommy Lasorda	5–1	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1974	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Template:Small	Bobby Wine	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo
1975	Template:Flagicon Vaqueros de Bayamón	José Pagán	5–1	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1976	Template:Flagicon Naranjeros de Hermosillo	Cananea Reyes	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Aragua	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo & Santiago
1977	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Buck Rodgers	6–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1978	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Rene Lachemann	5–1	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán
1979	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes Template:Small	Willie Horton	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1980	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Del Crandall	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
1981	Not held
1982	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas	Chico Carrasquel	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Leones de Ponce	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo
1983	Template:Flagicon Lobos de Arecibo	Ron Clark	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Tiburones de La Guaira	Template:Flagicon Caracas
1984	Template:Flagicon Águilas del Zulia	Rubén Amaro	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Cañeros de Los Mochis	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1985	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Terry Collins	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán
1986	Template:Flagicon Águilas de Mexicali Template:Small	Cananea Reyes	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Maracaibo
1987	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Template:Small	Ramón Avilés	5–2	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo
1988	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido	Phil Regan	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
1989	Template:Flagicon Águilas del Zulia Template:Small	Pete Mackanin	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán
1990	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido Template:Small	Felipe Alou	5–1	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Miami
1991	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	John Roseboro	5–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Cardenales de Lara	Template:Flagicon Miami
1992	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez Template:Small	Pat Kelly	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Águilas del Zulia	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo
1993	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce Template:Small	Mako Oliveras	5–2	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán
1994	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Casey Parsons	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes	Template:Flagicon Puerto la Cruz
1995	Template:Flagicon Senadores de San Juan	Luis Meléndez	6–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Azucareros del Este	Template:Flagicon San Juan
1996	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Lobos de Arecibo	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
1997	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Mike Quade	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo
1998	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas Template:Small	Tony Peña	6–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon Puerto la Cruz
1999	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Dave Jauss	5–2	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon San Juan
2000	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce Template:Small	Mako Oliveras Template:Small	6–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
2001	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas Template:Small	Félix Fermín	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Culiacán
2002	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán Template:Small	Francisco Estrada Template:Small	5–1	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Caracas
2003	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas Template:Small	Félix Fermín Template:Small	6–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon Carolina
2004	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Manny Acta	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
2005	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán	Juan José Pacho	5–1	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán
2006	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas Template:Small	Carlos Subero	6–0	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	Template:Flagicon Valencia and Maracay
2007	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas Template:Small	Félix Fermín Template:Small	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Gigantes de Carolina	Template:Flagicon Carolina
2008	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Héctor de la Cruz	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán	Template:Flagicon Santiago
2009	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Aragua	Buddy Bailey	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Template:Flagicon Mexicali
2010	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido Template:Small	Ken Oberkfell	5–1	Template:—	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon Margarita Island
2011	Template:Flagicon Yaquis de Obregón	Eddie Díaz	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Mayagüez
2012	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido Template:Small	Ken Oberkfell Template:Small	4–2	Template:—	Tied Template:Refn	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
2013	Template:Flagicon Yaquis de Obregón Template:Small	Eddie Díaz Template:Small	4–3	4–3 Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido	Template:Flagicon Hermosillo
2014	Template:Flagicon Naranjeros de Hermosillo Template:Small	Matías Carrillo	4–2	7–1	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez	Template:Flagicon Margarita Island
2015	Template:Flagicon Vegueros de Pinar del Río	Alfonso Urquiola	3–3	3–2	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán	Template:Flagicon San Juan
2016	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlan Template:Small	Juan José Pacho	6–0	5–4	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Aragua	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
2017	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Template:Small	Luis Matos	3−3	1–0 Template:Small	Template:Flagicon Águilas de Mexicali	Template:Flagicon Culiacán
2018	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas Template:Small	Luis Matos Template:Small	4−2	9–4	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	Template:Flagicon Guadalajara
2019	Template:Flagicon Toros de Herrera	Manuel Rodríguez	4−1	3–1	Template:Flagicon Leñadores de Las Tunas	Template:Flagicon Panama City
2020	Template:Flagicon Toros del Este	Lino Rivera	6−1	9–3	Template:Flagicon Cardenales de Lara	Template:Flagicon San Juan
2021	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas Template:Small	Félix Fermín Template:Small	7−0	4–1	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas	Template:Flagicon Mazatlán
2022	Template:Flagicon Caimanes de Barranquilla	José Mosquera	5−2	4–1	Template:Flagicon Gigantes del Cibao	Template:Flagicon Santo Domingo
2023	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey Template:Small	Jose Offerman	6−3	3–0	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas	Template:Flagicon Caracas and La Guaira
2024	Template:Flagicon Tiburones de La Guaira	Ozzie Guillén	7−1	3–0	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	Template:Flagicon Miami
2025	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido Template:Small	Albert Pujols	4–2	1–0	Template:Flagicon Charros de Jalisco	Template:Flagicon Mexicali
2026						Template:Flagicon Caracas
2027						Template:Flagicon Hermosillo
2028						Template:Flagicon Miami

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.

Notes

Championships by team

Rank	Team	Wins	Years
1	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	11	1971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1991, 1994, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2023
2	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	6	1997, 1998, 2001, 2003, 2007, 2021
4	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce	5	1951, 1953, 1955, 1993, 2000
	Template:Flagicon Criollos de Caguas		1954, 1974, 1987, 2017, 2018
	Template:Flagicon Leones del Escogido		1988, 1990, 2010, 2012, 2025
5	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Marianao	2	1957, 1958
	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares		1949, 1959
	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos		1956, 1960
	Template:Flagicon Navegantes del Magallanes		1970, 1979
	Template:Flagicon Águilas del Zulia		1984, 1989
	Template:Flagicon Indios de Mayagüez		1978, 1992
	Template:Flagicon Tomateros de Culiacán		1996, 2002
	Template:Flagicon Leones del Caracas		1982, 2006
	Template:Flagicon Yaquis de Obregón		2011, 2013
	Template:Flagicon Naranjeros de Hermosillo		1976, 2014
	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán		2005, 2016
6	Template:Flagicon Carta Vieja Yankees	1	1950
	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana		1952
	Template:Flagicon Leones de Ponce		1972
	Template:Flagicon Vaqueros de Bayamón		1975
	Template:Flagicon Lobos de Arecibo		1983
	Template:Flagicon Águilas de Mexicali		1986
	Template:Flagicon Senadores de San Juan		1995
	Template:Flagicon Tigres de Aragua		2009
	Template:Flagicon Vegueros de Pinar del Río		2015
	Template:Flagicon Toros de Herrera		2019
	Template:Flagicon Toros del Este		2020
	Template:Flagicon Caimanes de Barranquilla		2022
	Template:Flagicon Tiburones de La Guaira		2024

Championships by country

Rank	Country	Wins	Years
1	Template:Flag	23	1971, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2020, 2021, 2023, 2025
2	Template:Flag	16	1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2017, 2018
3	Template:Flag	9	1976, 1986, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
4	Template:Flag	8	1949, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 2015
	Template:Flag		1970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2006, 2009, 2024
6	Template:Flag	2	1950, 2019
7	Template:Flag	1	2022

Undefeated teams

No.	Team	Record	Years
3	Template:Flagicon Tigres del Licey	6–0 6–0 5–0	1971 1977 1991
2	Template:Flagicon Cangrejeros de Santurce	6–0 6–0	1953 2000
2	Template:Flagicon Águilas Cibaeñas	6–0 7–0	1998 2021
1	Template:Flagicon Alacranes del Almendares	6–0	1949
1	Template:Flagicon Leones del Habana	5–0	1952
1	Template:Flagicon Elefantes de Cienfuegos	6–0	1960
1	Template:Flagicon Senadores de San Juan	6–0	1995
1	Template:Flagicon Venados de Mazatlán	6–0	2016

See also

• List of baseball players who have played in the Caribbean Series
• Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame
• Caribbean Series MVPs
• Serie de las Américas
• Latin American Series
• Interamerican Series
• Asia Series
• European Cup
• Caribbean Series Awards

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

• Béisbol en Cuba (Spanish)
• Cuban Teams in the Caribbean Series
• Historia de las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
• Las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
• Template:Usurped (Spanish)