Caribbean Series

For the similarly-named national team tournament, see Caribbean Baseball Cup.

Caribbean Series

Sport	Baseball
First season	1949;76 years ago (1949)
Director	Juan Francisco Puello Herrera
Organizing body	Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation
Countries	Dominican Republic Mexico Puerto Rico Venezuela
Region	Caribbean and Latin America
Most recent champion(s)	Leones del Escogido (5th title) (2025)
Most titles	Tigres del Licey (11 titles)
Broadcaster(s)	United States: ESPN Deportes (Spanish) MLB Network (English)
Related competitions	LPB LIDOM LMP PROBEIS LBPRC LVBP
Official website	seriedelcaribe.net
2025 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. ^[1]

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. ^[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

Permanent members

Key

•   Member of the Caribbean Professional Baseball Confederation

Country	League	First edition
Dominican Republic	Dominican Professional Baseball League	1970
Mexico	Mexican Pacific League	1971
Puerto Rico	Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente	1949
Venezuela	Venezuelan Professional Baseball League [b]	1949

Other participants

Country	League	First edition	Latest edition
Cuba	Cuban League	1949	1960
	Cuban National Series	2014	2019
	Cuban Elite League	2023
Curaçao	Curaçao Professional Baseball League	2023	2024
Colombia	Colombian Professional Baseball League	2020	2023
Nicaragua	Nicaraguan Professional Baseball League	2024	2024
Panama	Panamanian Professional Baseball League [a]	1949	2024
Japan	Japan Breeze	2025

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

• From 1949 to 2012 the winner was determined by win-loss record.
• In 2013 the winner was determined by championship game between the two teams with the best records.
• Since 2014 the winner has been determined by knockout round between the four teams with the best records.

Year	Champion	Manager	Record	Finals Score	Runners-up	Location
1949	Alacranes del Almendares	Fermin Guerra	6–0	—	Cerveceria Caracas	Havana
1950	Carta Vieja Yankees	Wayne Blackburn	5–1	—	Criollos de Caguas	San Juan
1951	Cangrejeros de Santurce	George Scales	5–1	—	Leones del Habana	Caracas
1952	Leones del Habana	Mike González	5–0	—	Carta Vieja Yankees	Panama City
1953	Cangrejeros de Santurce (2)	Buster Clarkson	5–0	—	Leones del Habana	Havana
1954	Criollos de Caguas	Mickey Owen	4–2	—	Alacranes del Almendares	San Juan
1955	Cangrejeros de Santurce (3)	Herman Franks	5–1	—	Navegantes del Magallanes	Caracas
1956	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	Oscar Rodríguez	5–1	—	Chesterfield Smokers	Caracas
1957	Tigres de Marianao	Napoleón Reyes	5–1	—	Cerveza Balboa	Havana
1958	Tigres de Marianao (2)	Napoleón Reyes (2)	4–2	—	Criollos de Caguas	San Juan
1959	Alacranes del Almendares (2)	Clemente Carreras	5–1	—	Indios de Oriente	Caracas
1960	Elefantes de Cienfuegos (2)	Tony Castaño	6–0	—	Marlboro Smokers	Panama City
Not held from 1961–1969; see Interamerican Series
1970	Navegantes del Magallanes	Carlos Pascual	7–1	—	Leones de Ponce	Caracas
1971	Tigres del Licey	Manny Mota	6–0	—	Tied [n 1]	San Juan
1972	Leones de Ponce	Frank Verdi	5–1	—	Tied [n 2]	Santo Domingo
1973	Tigres del Licey (2)	Tommy Lasorda	5–1	—	Tied [n 3]	Caracas
1974	Criollos de Caguas (2)	Bobby Wine	4–2	—	Tied [n 4]	Hermosillo
1975	Vaqueros de Bayamón	José Pagán	5–1	—	Tied [n 5]	San Juan
1976	Naranjeros de Hermosillo	Cananea Reyes	5–1	—	Tigres de Aragua	Santo Domingo & Santiago
1977	Tigres del Licey (3)	Buck Rodgers	6–0	—	Navegantes del Magallanes	Caracas
1978	Indios de Mayagüez	Rene Lachemann	5–1	—	Tied [n 6]	Mazatlán
1979	Navegantes del Magallanes (2)	Willie Horton	5–1	—	Águilas Cibaeñas	San Juan
1980	Tigres del Licey (4)	Del Crandall	4–2	—	Tied [n 7]	Santo Domingo
1981	Not held
1982	Leones del Caracas	Chico Carrasquel	5–1	—	Leones de Ponce	Hermosillo
1983	Lobos de Arecibo	Ron Clark	5–1	—	Tiburones de La Guaira	Caracas
1984	Águilas del Zulia	Rubén Amaro	5–1	—	Cañeros de Los Mochis	San Juan
1985	Tigres del Licey (5)	Terry Collins	5–1	—	Tomateros de Culiacán	Mazatlán
1986	Águilas de Mexicali (2)	Cananea Reyes	4–2	—	Tied [n 8]	Maracaibo
1987	Criollos de Caguas (3)	Ramón Avilés	5–2	—	Águilas Cibaeñas	Hermosillo
1988	Leones del Escogido	Phil Regan	4–2	—	Tied [n 9]	Santo Domingo
1989	Águilas del Zulia (2)	Pete Mackanin	5–1	—	Indios de Mayagüez	Mazatlán
1990	Leones del Escogido (2)	Felipe Alou	5–1	—	Tied [n 10]	Miami
1991	Tigres del Licey (6)	John Roseboro	5–0	—	Cardenales de Lara	Miami
1992	Indios de Mayagüez (2)	Pat Kelly	5–1	—	Águilas del Zulia	Hermosillo
1993	Cangrejeros de Santurce (4)	Mako Oliveras	5–2	—	Águilas Cibaeñas	Mazatlán
1994	Tigres del Licey (7)	Casey Parsons	5–1	—	Navegantes del Magallanes	Puerto la Cruz
1995	Senadores de San Juan	Luis Meléndez	6–0	—	Azucareros del Este	San Juan
1996	Tomateros de Culiacán	Francisco Estrada	5–1	—	Lobos de Arecibo	Santo Domingo
1997	Águilas Cibaeñas	Mike Quade	4–2	—	Tied [n 11]	Hermosillo
1998	Águilas Cibaeñas (2)	Tony Peña	6–0	—	Indios de Mayagüez	Puerto la Cruz
1999	Tigres del Licey (8)	Dave Jauss	5–2	—	Indios de Mayagüez	San Juan
2000	Cangrejeros de Santurce (5)	Mako Oliveras (2)	6–0	—	Águilas Cibaeñas	Santo Domingo
2001	Águilas Cibaeñas (3)	Félix Fermín	4–2	—	Tied [n 12]	Culiacán
2002	Tomateros de Culiacán (2)	Francisco Estrada (2)	5–1	—	Tied [n 13]	Caracas
2003	Águilas Cibaeñas (4)	Félix Fermín (2)	6–1	—	Indios de Mayagüez	Carolina
2004	Tigres del Licey (9)	Manny Acta	5–1	—	Tomateros de Culiacán	Santo Domingo
2005	Venados de Mazatlán	Juan José Pacho	5–1	—	Tied [n 14]	Mazatlán
2006	Leones del Caracas (2)	Carlos Subero	6–0	—	Tigres del Licey	Valencia and Maracay
2007	Águilas Cibaeñas (5)	Félix Fermín (3)	5–1	—	Gigantes de Carolina	Carolina
2008	Tigres del Licey (10)	Héctor de la Cruz	5–1	—	Venados de Mazatlán	Santiago
2009	Tigres de Aragua	Buddy Bailey	5–1	—	Águilas Cibaeñas	Mexicali
2010	Leones del Escogido (3)	Ken Oberkfell	5–1	—	Indios de Mayagüez	Margarita Island
2011	Yaquis de Obregón	Eddie Díaz	4–2	—	Tied [n 15]	Mayagüez
2012	Leones del Escogido (4)	Ken Oberkfell (2)	4–2	—	Tied [n 16]	Santo Domingo
2013	Yaquis de Obregón (2)	Eddie Díaz (2)	4–3	4–3 (F/18)	Leones del Escogido	Hermosillo
2014	Naranjeros de Hermosillo (2)	Matías Carrillo	4–2	7–1	Indios de Mayagüez	Margarita Island
2015	Vegueros de Pinar del Río	Alfonso Urquiola	3–3	3–2	Tomateros de Culiacán	San Juan
2016	Venados de Mazatlan (2)	Juan José Pacho	6–0	5–4	Tigres de Aragua	Santo Domingo
2017	Criollos de Caguas (4)	Luis Matos	3−3	1–0 (F/10)	Águilas de Mexicali	Culiacán
2018	Criollos de Caguas (5)	Luis Matos (2)	4−2	9–4	Águilas Cibaeñas	Guadalajara
2019	Toros de Herrera	Manuel Rodríguez	4−1	3–1	Leñadores de Las Tunas	Panama City
2020	Toros del Este	Lino Rivera	6−1	9–3	Cardenales de Lara	San Juan
2021	Águilas Cibaeñas (6)	Félix Fermín (4)	7−0	4–1	Criollos de Caguas	Mazatlán
2022	Caimanes de Barranquilla	José Mosquera	5−2	4–1	Gigantes del Cibao	Santo Domingo
2023	Tigres del Licey (11)	Jose Offerman	6−3	3–0	Leones del Caracas	Caracas and La Guaira
2024	Tiburones de La Guaira	Ozzie Guillén	7−1	3–0	Tigres del Licey	Miami
2025	Leones del Escogido (5)	Albert Pujols	4–2	1–0	Charros de Jalisco	Mexicali
2026						Puerto Rico
2027						Hermosillo
2028						Dominican Republic
2029						Venezuela

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

1. Mexico's Naranjeros de Hermosillo, Puerto Rico's Cangrejeros de Santurce, and Venezuela's Tiburones de La Guaira all tied for second place, with a 2-4 record.
2. The Dominican Republic's Águilas Cibaeñas and Venezuela's Tigres de Aragua tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
3. Puerto Rico's Cangrejeros de Santurce and Venezuela's Leones del Caracas tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
4. The Dominican Republic's Tigres del Licey and Mexico's Venados de Mazatlán tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
5. The Dominican Republic's Águilas Cibaeñas and Mexico's Naranjeros de Hermosillo tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
6. The Dominican Republic's Águilas Cibaeñas and Venezuela's Leones del Caracas tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
7. Puerto Rico's Vaqueros de Bayamón and Venezuela's Leones del Caracas tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
8. The Dominican Republic's Águilas Cibaeñas and Venezuela's Tiburones de La Guaira tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
9. Puerto Rico's Indios de Mayagüez and Mexico's Potros de Tijuana tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
10. Puerto Rico's Senadores de San Juan and Venezuela's Leones del Caracas tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
11. Mexico's Tomateros de Culiacán and Venezuela's Navegantes del Magallanes tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
12. Venezuela's Cardenales de Lara and Mexico's Naranjeros de Hermosillo tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
13. Puerto Rico's Vaqueros de Bayamón and the Dominican Republic's Tigres del Licey tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
14. The Dominican Republic's Águilas Cibaeñas and Venezuela's Tigres de Aragua tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
15. The Dominican Republic's Toros del Este and Puerto Rico's Criollos de Caguas tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.
16. Puerto Rico's Indios de Mayagüez and Venezuela's Tigres de Aragua tied for second place, with a 3-3 record.

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
4	Cangrejeros de Santurce	5	1951, 1953, 1955, 1993, 2000
	Criollos de Caguas		1954, 1974, 1987, 2017, 2018
	Leones del Escogido		1988, 1990, 2010, 2012, 2025
5	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
6	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	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	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
	Venezuela		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

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

Notes

1. Salón de la Fama y Museo del Béisbol de Venezuela Exaltados 2008 – Oscar Prieto Ortiz Archived 31 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine (Spanish).
2. Bjarkman, Peter (1994). Baseball with a Latin Beat: A History of the Latin American Game. McFarland & Company. ISBN   978-0-89950-973-0.
3. "Caracas Grabs Latin Title Set, Cuban Loop Out". The Sporting News. 11 January 1961. p. 21. Retrieved 20 February 2024.
4. "Historia Serie del Caribe". LVBP.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 June 2023.
5. 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.

External links

• Béisbol en Cuba (Spanish)
• Cuban Teams in the Caribbean Series
• Historia de las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
• Las Series del Caribe (Spanish)
• Sobre el Diamante ^{[ usurped ]} (Spanish)