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Caribbean Series
Sport	Baseball
First season	1949; 76 years ago
Director	Juan Francisco Puello Herrera
Organizing body	Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation
Countries	Colombia; Dominican Republic; Mexico; Panama; Puerto Rico; Venezuela
Region	Caribbean and Latin America
Most recent; champion(s)	Tiburones de La Guaira ; (1st title) ; (2024)
Most titles	Tigres del Licey ; (11 titles)
TV partner(s)	United States:; ESPN Deportes; Bally Sports
Related; competitions	LPB; LIDOM; LMP; PROBEIS; LBPRC; LVBP
Official website	seriedelcaribe.net
	2024 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 (22), with Tigres del Licey being the most successful team in the tournament's history. The series has been won by 29 teams from seven different 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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.^[3]^[4]

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.^[5]

Participants

Key

Member of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation

Country	League	First edition
Curaçao	Curaçao Professional Baseball League	2023
Dominican Republic	Dominican Professional Baseball League	1970
Mexico	Mexican Pacific League	1971
Nicaragua	Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League	2024
Panama	Panamanian Professional Baseball League^[a]	1949
Puerto Rico	Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente	1949
Venezuela	Venezuelan Professional Baseball League^[b]	1949

Previous participants

Country	League	First edition	Latest edition
Cuba	Cuban League	1949	1960
	Cuban National Series	2014	2019
	Cuban Elite League	2023
Colombia	Colombian Professional Baseball League	2020	2023

Notes

^a After the 1960 tournament, Panama would not appear in another Caribbean Series until 2019.
^b Venezuela's LVBP was replaced by the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional for the 1960 tournament

Series

Year	Venue	Champion	Manager	Record
1949	Havana	Alacranes del Almendares	Fermin Guerra	6–0
1950	San Juan	Carta Vieja Yankees	Wayne Blackburn	5–1
1951	Caracas	Cangrejeros de Santurce	George Scales	5–1
1952	Panama City	Leones del Habana	Mike González	5–0
1953	Havana	Cangrejeros de Santurce (2)	Buster Clarkson	5–0
1954	San Juan	Criollos de Caguas	Mickey Owen	4–2
1955	Caracas	Cangrejeros de Santurce (3)	Herman Franks	5–1
1956	Panama City	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	Oscar Rodríguez	5–1
1957	Havana	Tigres de Marianao	Napoleón Reyes	5–1
1958	San Juan	Tigres de Marianao (2)	Napoleón Reyes (2)	4–2
1959	Caracas	Alacranes del Almendares (2)	Clemente Carreras	5–1
1960	Panama City	Elefantes de Cienfuegos (2)	Tony Castaño	6–0
1961–1969	None held
1970	Caracas	Navegantes del Magallanes	Carlos Pascual	7–1
1971	San Juan	Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	6–0
1972	Santo Domingo	Leones de Ponce	Frank Verdi	5–1
1973	Caracas	Tigres del Licey (2)	Tommy Lasorda	5–1
1974	Hermosillo	Criollos de Caguas (2)	Bobby Wine	4–2
1975	San Juan	Vaqueros de Bayamón	José Pagán	5–1
1976	Santo Domingo & Santiago	Naranjeros de Hermosillo	Cananea Reyes	5–1
1977	Caracas	Tigres del Licey (3)	Buck Rodgers	6–0
1978	Mazatlán	Indios de Mayagüez	Rene Lachemann	5–1
1979	San Juan	Navegantes del Magallanes (2)	Willie Horton	5–1
1980	Santo Domingo	Tigres del Licey (4)	Del Crandall	4–2
1981	None held
1982	Hermosillo	Leones del Caracas	Chico Carrasquel	5–1
1983	Caracas	Lobos de Arecibo	Ron Clark	5–1
1984	San Juan	Águilas del Zulia	Rubén Amaro	5–1
1985	Mazatlán	Tigres del Licey (5)	Terry Collins	5–1
1986	Maracaibo	Águilas de Mexicali	Cananea Reyes (2)	4–2
1987	Hermosillo	Criollos de Caguas (3)	Ramón Avilés	5–2
1988	Santo Domingo	Leones del Escogido	Phil Regan	4–2
1989	Mazatlán	Águilas del Zulia (2)	Pete Mackanin	5–1
1990	Miami	Leones del Escogido (2)	Felipe Alou	5–1
1991	Miami	Tigres del Licey (6)	John Roseboro	5–0
1992	Hermosillo	Indios de Mayagüez (2)	Pat Kelly	5–1
1993	Mazatlán	Cangrejeros de Santurce (4)	Mako Oliveras	5–2
1994	Puerto la Cruz	Tigres del Licey (7)	Casey Parsons	5–1
1995	San Juan	Senadores de San Juan	Luis Meléndez	6–0
1996	Santo Domingo	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	5–1
1997	Hermosillo	Águilas Cibaeñas	Mike Quade	4–2
1998	Puerto la Cruz	Águilas Cibaeñas (2)	Tony Peña	6–0
1999	San Juan	Tigres del Licey (8)	Dave Jauss	5–2
2000	Santo Domingo	Cangrejeros de Santurce (5)	Mako Oliveras (2)	6–0
2001	Culiacán	Águilas Cibaeñas (3)	Félix Fermín	4–2
2002	Caracas	Tomateros de Culiacán (2)	Francisco Estrada (2)	5–1
2003	Carolina	Águilas Cibaeñas (4)	Félix Fermín (2)	6–1
2004	Santo Domingo	Tigres del Licey (9)	Manny Acta	5–1
2005	Mazatlán	Venados de Mazatlán	Juan José Pacho	5–1
2006	Valencia and Maracay	Leones del Caracas (2)	Carlos Subero	6–0
2007	Carolina	Águilas Cibaeñas (5)	Félix Fermín (3)	5–1
2008	Santiago	Tigres del Licey (10)	Héctor de la Cruz	5–1
2009	Mexicali	Tigres de Aragua	Buddy Bailey	5–1
2010	Margarita Island	Leones del Escogido (3)	Ken Oberkfell	5–1
2011	Mayagüez	Yaquis de Obregón	Eddie Díaz	4–2
2012	Santo Domingo	Leones del Escogido (4)	Ken Oberkfell (2)	4–2
2013	Hermosillo	Yaquis de Obregón (2)	Eddy Díaz (2)	4–3
2014	Margarita Island	Naranjeros de Hermosillo (2)	Matías Carrillo	4–2
2015	San Juan	Vegueros de Pinar del Río	Alfonso Urquiola	3–3
2016	Santo Domingo	Venados de Mazatlan (2)	Juan José Pacho	6–0
2017	Culiacán	Criollos de Caguas (4)	Luis Matos	3−3
2018	Guadalajara	Criollos de Caguas (5)	Luis Matos (2)	4−2
2019	Panama City	Toros de Herrera	Manuel Rodríguez	4−1
2020	San Juan	Toros del Este	Lino Rivera	6−1
2021	Mazatlán	Águilas Cibaeñas (6)	Félix Fermín (4)	7−0
2022	Santo Domingo	Caimanes de Barranquilla	José Mosquera	5−2
2023	Caracas and La Guaira	Tigres del Licey (11)	Jose Offerman	6−3
2024	Miami	Tiburones de La Guaira	Ozzie Guillén	7−1

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.

Year	Venue	Champion	Result	Runner-up	Manager
2013	Hermosillo	Yaquis de Obregón	4–3 (18)	Leones del Escogido	Eddie Díaz
2014	Isla de Margarita	Naranjeros de Hermosillo	7–1	Indios de Mayagüez	Matías Carrillo
2015	San Juan	Vegueros de Pinar del Río	3–2	Tomateros de Culiacán	Alfonso Urquiola
2016	Santo Domingo	Venados de Mazatlán	5–4	Tigres de Aragua	Juan José Pacho
2017	Culiacán	Criollos de Caguas	1–0 (10)	Águilas de Mexicali	Luis Matos
2018	Guadalajara	Criollos de Caguas	9–4	Águilas Cibaeñas	Luis Matos
2019	Panama City	Toros de Herrera	3–1	Leñadores de Las Tunas	Manuel Rodríguez
2020	San Juan	Toros del Este	9–3	Cardenales de Lara	Lino Rivera
2021	Mazatlán	Águilas Cibaeñas	4–1	Criollos de Caguas	Félix Fermín
2022	Santo Domingo	Caimanes de Barranquilla	4–1	Gigantes del Cibao	José Mosquera
2023	Caracas and La Guaira	Tigres del Licey	3–0	Leones del Caracas	José Offerman
2024	Miami	Tiburones de La Guaira	3–0	Tigres del Licey	Ozzie Guillén

Championships by team

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

Championships by country

Rank	Country	Wins	Years
1	Dominican Republic	22	1971, 1973, 1977, 1980,1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2020, 2021, 2023
2	Puerto Rico	16	1951, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1972, 1974, 1975, 1978, 1983, 1987, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2000, 2017, 2018
3	Mexico	9	1976, 1986, 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016
4	Cuba	8	1949, 1952, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 2015
4	Venezuela	8	1970, 1979, 1982, 1984, 1989, 2006, 2009, 2024
6	Panama	2	1950, 2019
7	Colombia	1	2022

Undefeated teams

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

Notes

^ Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela Exaltados 2008 – Oscar Prieto Ortiz Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine (Spanish).
^ Bjarkman, Peter (1994). Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0-89950-973-0.
^ "Caracas Grabs Latin Title Set, Cuban Loop Out". The Sporting News. 11 January 1961. p. 21. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
^ "Historia Serie del Caribe". LVBP.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
^ Rojas, Enrique (13 May 2022). "Oficial: Cuba y Curazao jugarán en próxima Serie del Caribe en Caracas 2023". ESPNdeportes.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2023.

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.