1951 Caribbean Series

1951 Caribbean Series

Tournament details
Country	Venezuela
City	Caracas
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	22–26 February
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Cangrejeros de Santurce (1st title)
Runners-up	Leones del Habana
Awards
MVP	Luis Olmo
←  1950 1952  →

The third edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1951. The Series inauguration on February 21 was delayed due to heavy rain and it was held from February 22 through February 26, including two double-headers on February 25, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Leones del Habana; Panama, Spur Cola Colonites; Puerto Rico, Cangrejeros de Santurce, and Venezuela, Navegantes del Magallanes. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at Cervecería Caracas Stadium in Caracas, Venezuela.

Summary

The Puerto Rico team won the Series with a 5-1 record and was managed by George Scales. Their only defeat came from Cuba. The team was led by OF Luis Rodríguez Olmo, who was named Most Valuable Player after hitting .423 (11-for-26) with three home runs and nine RBI. Other contributions came from pitchers Pantalones Santiago (two complete-game wins), Rubén Gómez (two wins, one save), 1B George Crowe (.333, one grand slam, 7 RBI), and SS Stan Breard (.423, seven runs, 4 doubles, 8 RBI). Also in the Puerto Rican roster were Jim Gilliam (2B), Buster Clarkson (3B), Bob Thurman (OF) and Willard Brown (OF).

Managed by Mike González, Cuba finished in second place with a 4-2 mark. 1B Lorenzo Cabrera led the Series hitters with an astronomical .619 batting average (13-for-23), while the pitching staff was led by Adrián Zabala (2-0), Hoyt Wilhelm (1-1) and Bill Ayers (1 win, 1 save). Also included in the roster were Sandy Amorós (OF), Pedro Formental (OF), Bert Haas (3B), Spider Jorgensen (2B), Ed Mierkowicz (OF), Jiquí Moreno (P) and Carlos Pascual (P).

Venezuela was managed by Lázaro Salazar and finished 2-4, with both victories over Panama. The team was led by 1B René González, who hit .316 (6-for-19), including two doubles, two home runs and a Series-leading 11 RBI. Pitcher José Bracho posted a 1-0 record and a 0.71 earned run average in 12+2⁄3 innings pitched, helping himself with the bat while hitting .500 (3-for-6) with a double, one run and four RBIs. Other significant players in the roster included Luis García (3B), Vidal López (LF), Jim Pendleton (SS), Chucho Ramos (1B) and Ken Staples (C), as well as pitchers Frank Biscan, Julio Bracho, Alex Carrasquel and Clem Labine.

Panama ended with a 1-5 mark and was managed by catcher León Kellman. The team's only victory came behind a strong pitching effort from starter Connie Johnson over the Cuban team, while 1B Archie Ware paced the offense in average (.348), hits (8) and RBI (4).

Participating teams

Team	Manager
Cangrejeros de Santurce	George Scales
Leones del Habana	Mike González
Navegantes del Magallanes	Lázaro Salazar
Spur Cola Colonites	León Kellman

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB
1	Cangrejeros de Santurce	6	5	1	46	20	+26	.833	—
2	Leones del Habana	6	4	2	25	35	−10	.667	1
3	Navegantes del Magallanes (H)	6	2	4	40	34	+6	.333	3
4	Spur Cola Colonites	6	1	5	21	43	−22	.167	4

Source: CBPC
(H) Hosts

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 22

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	1	0	0	2	4	6	0	13	18	0
Cuba	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	9	1
WP: José Santiago (1-0)   LP: Hoyt Wilhelm (0-1)

Game 2, February 22

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	0	2	5	2
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	4	3	3	0	x	10	8	2
WP: Clem Labine (1-0)   LP: Webbo Clarke (0-1) Home runs: PAN: None VEN: René González (1)

Game 3, February 23

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	8	4
Panama	3	0	0	2	5	0	2	0	x	12	16	1
WP: Connie Johnson (1-0)   LP: Eddie Yuhas (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Gilberto Valdivia (1) PAN: None

Game 4, February 23

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	1	0	5	0	0	0	2	8	5	3
Venezuela	0	0	0	3	1	0	0	1	2	7	11	2
WP: Roberto Vargas (1-0)   LP: Frank Biscan (0-1)   Sv: Rubén Gómez (1) Home runs: PUR: George Crowe (1) VEN: René González (2)

Game 5, February 24

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

Game 6, February 24

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	0	3	0	2	1	3	9	10	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	9	2
WP: Bill Ayers (1-0)   LP: Alex Carrasquel (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Pedro Formental (1) VEN: Luis García (1)

Game 7, February 25

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	7	0
Puerto Rico	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	0	3	10	1
WP: Adrián Zabala (1-0)   LP: Mike Clark (0-1)

Game 8, February 25

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	4	3	0	0	4	2	0	0	13	14	3
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	5	2
WP: José Bracho (1-0)   LP: Gentry Jessup (0-1) Home runs: VEN: Eddie Knoblauch (1) PAN: None Notes: Bracho hurled a complete game and went 3-for-5 with a double, driving in four runs while scoring one more.

Game 9, February 25

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	1	4	0
Cuba	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	x	2	7	2
WP: Hoyt Wilhelm (1-1)   LP: Connie Johnson (1-1) Home runs: PAN: None CUB: Spider Jorgensen (1)

Game 10, February 25

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	1	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	6	2
Puerto Rico	0	0	3	0	0	0	2	1	x	6	9	0
WP: José Santiago (2-0)   LP: Clem Labine (1-1)

Game 11, February 26

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	3	0	2	3	0	4	0	x	x	12	8	0
Panama	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	x	x	1	6	2
WP: Rubén Gómez (2-0)   LP: Webbo Clarke (0-2) Home runs: PUR: None PAN: Luis Rodríguez Olmo 2 (3), Buster Clarkson (1), Willard Brown (1)

Game 12, February 26

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	x	x	5	6	1
Cuba	3	0	0	0	1	3	x	x	x	7	9	0
WP: Adrián Zabala (2-0)   LP: José Bracho (1-1)   Sv: Bill Ayers (1)

Statistics leaders

Statistic	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Lorenzo Cabrera	Leones del Habana	.615
Home runs	Luis Olmo	Cangrejeros de Santurce	3
Runs batted in	René González	Navegantes del Magallanes	11
Runs	Stan Breard	Cangrejeros de Santurce	8
Hits	Lorenzo Cabrera	Leones del Habana	13
Doubles	Stan Breard	Cangrejeros de Santurce	4
Triples	Sandy Amorós	Leones del Habana	1
	Jim Gilliam	Cangrejeros de Santurce
	Bob Thurman	Cangrejeros de Santurce
Stolen bases	Charles Douglas	Spur Cola Colonites	3
Wins	Rubén Gómez	Cangrejeros de Santurce	2
	José Santiago	Cangrejeros de Santurce
	Adrián Zabala	Leones del Habana

Awards

Tournament Awards [1] Award Player Team MVP Luis Olmo Cangrejeros de Santurce Best manager George Scales Cangrejeros de Santurce

All Star Team [2] Position Player Team First base Lorenzo Cabrera Leones del Habana Second base Spook Jacobs Spur Cola Colonites Third base Jimmy Dicks Navegantes del Magallanes Shortstop Stan Breard Cangrejeros de Santurce Left field Pedro Formental Leones del Habana Center field Luis Olmo Cangrejeros de Santurce Right field Bob Thurman Cangrejeros de Santurce Catcher Güigüí Lucas Cangrejeros de Santurce Pitcher José Santiago Cangrejeros de Santurce

See also

• Ballplayers who have played in the Series

References

1. "Posiciones de los Equipos". seriedelcaribe.net (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
2. "Anuario Serie del Caribe 2024" (PDF). Serie del Caribe (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. p. 28. Retrieved 3 October 2025.

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

• Official site
• Latino Baseball
• Series del Caribe, Las (Spanish)