External links
- es.Wikipedia.org – Historia del béisbol en Venezuela
- es.Wikipedia.org – Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional
- VI Serie del Caribe – 1954
There have been four different professional baseball clubs in Venezuela that have played under the name Pastora. These teams have been established in the northwest of the country, particularly in the states of Zulia and Acarigua, and have played in different leagues between 1931 and 2000. [1]
The Pastora team was based in the City of Maracaibo and was sponsored by a local dairy company, while adopting the name Lácteos de Pastora (Pastora Milkers). Although Zulia is a petroleum state, dairy farming is also a major industry there.
After Maracaibo was founded in 1529, shepherds tended cows and goats for their milk and to make cheese and other dairy products. On one hand, Pastora is the Spanish word for shepherd; on the other hand, the patron saint of the neighbor state of Lara is La Divina Pastora (The Divine Shepherdess). [2]
Each January 14, her statue is typically carried on the main streets of Barquisimeto from the city of Santa Rosa, in the outskirts of Barquisimeto, until it reaches the Cathedral of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Barquisimeto which is about five miles away. The devotion to the Divina Pastora in Venezuela dates from 1736, when the parish priest of the town of Santa Rosa commissioned a sculptor to make a statue of the Immaculate Conception. Unexpectedly, the figure that was delivered was of the Divina Pastora. [3]
Pastora debuted in the extinct Zulian Baseball League First Division, which was created in 1932 and folded at the end of the 1940 season. After five years of absence, the league resumed operations in 1946 and remained active until 1952. [4]
Pastora played in all these seasons, while winning the 1934 and 1948 titles. The most successful team in this period was the Gavilanes BBC, which won 13 of the 17 tournaments played, eight with Ernesto Aparicio at the helm. In 1951, Orange Victoria won the league championship remaining. [4]
A storied baseball rivalry between Gavilanes and Pastora captured the fans' attention with fiery displays in every season.
After that, the circuit was renamed Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional before joining Organized Baseball in 1953, operating continuously until 1964. [4]
In 1953, the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League and the recently created LOBP agreed to have the clubs with the best records from each circuit meet in a National Championship Series called El Rotatorio, the first and only in VPBL history. The Cervecería Caracas and Navegantes del Magallanes clubs represented the VPBL, while Gavilanes and Pastora represented the LOBP. The pennant was clinched by Pastora with a 48–30 record. Managed by veteran Napoleón Reyes, the champion team won easily over Magallanes (40–37), Gavilanes (34–44) and Caracas (33–44), earning the right to represent Venezuela in the 1954 Caribbean Series.
In the opening game of the 1954 Series, the Venezuelan squad defeated the Cuban team for the first time in Series history, 7–5, after suffering 10 consecutive loses in the past five tournaments. Nevertheless, Pastora went 1–4 to finish last in the four-team event. Among others, that Pastora roster included pitchers Ralph Beard, Tommy Byrne, Howie Fox and Ramón Monzant; catcher Ed Bailey; outfielders Wally Moon and Billy Queen, as well as infielders Camaleón García, Vernon Benson, Johnny Temple and the then-rookie Luis Aparicio, who made his first Series appearance. [5]
Pastora returned to the Zulia circuit for the 1954–55 season, to win the first title in this stage of the league. Both leagues used a new playoffs format in the 1957–58, 1958–59 and 1960–61 seasons to determine the national team to represent Venezuela in the Caribbean Series, but, after their championship season in 1954–55, the Pastora club was out of contention until 1963–64, during what turned out to be the LOBP's final season. [4]
More than four decades later, a new Pastora club joined the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League as a replacement for the Petroleros de Cabimas. Renamed as Pastora de Occidente, the team was based in the city of Cabimas. Managed by Domingo Carrasquel, they finished 18-34 in 1995-96 and 30-31 in 1996-97, without any chance of advancing to the playoffs in both seasons. [6]
This time, Pastora moved to the cities of Acarigua and Araure in Portuguesa. The teams changed its name to the Pastora de los Llanos and continued to operate in the VPBL between the 1997–98 and 2006-2007 seasons. [7]
Starting the 2007-08 season, the franchise moved to Margarita Island and was renamed Bravos de Margarita. Since then, no other team named Pastora has participated in Venezuelan professional baseball.
The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year.
The Águilas del Zulia is a Venezuelan professional baseball team based in Maracaibo which plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.
Teolindo Antonio Acosta Lázaro was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. Listed at 5' 7", 168 lb., he batted and threw left handed.
Dalmiro Finol[dahl-mee'-roh / fe-nohl'] was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. Finol batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Barrancas, Zulia State.
José de la Trinidad Bracho was a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 6' 1", 185 lb., he batted and threw right handed. His friends and fans affectionately called him Carrao, a moniker that he used throughout his life.
The Llaneros de Acarigua were a baseball club which played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the 1968–1969 season. They were managed by Alfonso Carrasquel and played its home games at the Estadio BR Julio Hernández Molina in Acarigua, Portuguesa.
The Llaneros de Portuguesa were a baseball club which played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the 1975–1976 season. They were managed by Jim Williams and played its home games at the Estadio BR Julio Hernández Molina in Acarigua, Portuguesa.
Ernesto Aparicio Ortega was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and manager.
The Gavilanes de Maracaibo was a Venezuelan professional baseball club based in Maracaibo, the capital city of Zulia state. The team was founded by the brothers and ballplayers Ernesto Aparicio and Luis Aparicio, Sr., and debuted in the extinct Zulian Baseball League First Division, which was created in 1932 and folded at the end of the 1940 season. After five years of absence, the league resumed operations in 1946 and remained active until 1952.
The Petroleros de Cabimas was a baseball club that played from 1991 through 1995 in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The Petroleros joined the league as an expansion team in the Western Division and played its home games at Estadio Víctor Davalillo in Cabimas, a town on the shore of Maracaibo Lake in Zulia State.
The Santa Marta BBC were a baseball team that played in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League during the 1954–1955 season. The team represented the city of La Guaira, Vargas, Venezuela, and played its home games at Estadio Universitario de Caracas.
The Patriotas de Venezuela baseball club was a founding member of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League in its inaugural season of 1946.
Juan Antonio Yanes was an executive in Venezuelan Professional Baseball League who owned the Patriotas de Venezuela franchise.
The Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional was a baseball circuit that operated between 1954 and 1963 in Maracaibo, the capital city in the Venezuela state of Zulia. The league played their games at the old olympic stadium of Maracaibo.
Antonio Briñez[bre'nyez] was a Venezuelan professional baseball player, coach and manager. He batted and threw left handed.
The Rapiños de Occidente was a Venezuelan baseball club that played from 1957 through 1963 in the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional. They played their home games at the old olympic stadium based in Maracaibo, Zulia.
Guillermo Aquilino Vento is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. Listed at 5' 8", 165 lb (75 kg), Vento batted and threw right handed. He was born in Maracaibo, Zulia.
Luis Aparicio Ortega was a Venezuelan professional baseball personality for 40 years, serving as a player, coach, field manager, and club organizer. Aparicio was the father of Baseball Hall of Fame member Luis Aparicio.
Luis Antonio Peñalver[pay-nyahl-verr'] was a former Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher. Listed at 5' 11" (1.82 m.), 170 lb. (77 k.), he batted and threw right handed.
Luis Romero Petit was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He batted and threw right handed.
