Contents

1949 Caribbean Series

1949 baseball tournament

1949 Caribbean Series

Tournament details
Country	Cuba
City	Havana
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	20–25 February
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Alacranes del Almendares (1st title)
Runner-up	Cervecería Caracas
Tournament statistics
MVP	Agapito Mayor
1950 →

The 1949 Caribbean Series was the first edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe). It was held from February 20 through February 25 with the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Alacranes del Almendares; Panama, Spur Cola Colonites; Puerto Rico, Indios de Mayagüez and Venezuela, Cervecería Caracas.

The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at the Estadio del CerroinHavana, Cuba, which boosted capacity to 35.000 seats. The first pitch was thrown by George Trautman, by then the president of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues.

Cuba captured the competition with an undefeated record of 6-0, behind a strong pitching effort by Agapito Mayor, who posted a 3-0 record (2 as a starter, 1 in relief) and won Most Valuable Player honors. His three wins in the CBWS still a series record.

The offensive support came from Monte Irvin, who hit .389 and led the hitters with two home runs and 11 RBI; Al Gionfriddo, the champion bat with a .533 average (8-for-15); Chuck Connors, who hit .409 with five runs and five RBI, and Sam Jethroe, a .320 hitter with three triples, six runs, and five RBI. Cuba, managedbyFermín Guerra, also collected a 4–0 shutoutbyEd Wright (the first in Series history) and complete game wins from René Solís and Conrado Marrero. Other roster members were Santos Amaro, Andrés Fleitas and René González.

Venezuela, managed by José Antonio Casanova, ended second with a 3-3 mark. José Bracho led the pitching staff with a 2-0 record and a 3.21 ERA in 14 innings. He also contributed to his own cause by going 5-for-6 (.833) with a double and two RBI. Luis Zuloaga won a complete-game pitching duel against Puerto Rico's Alonzo Perry for the other Venezuelan victory. The offense was paced by catcher Guillermo Vento (.375) and first baseman Dalmiro Finol (.333), who also hit the first home run in Series history. Veteran slugger Vidal López reinforced the team, going 1-for-2 in a pitch-hitting role.

Panama finished third with a 2-4 record. The team, managed by catcher León Kellman, had a solid pitching staff that included Sam Jones and Pat Scantlebury, but was victim of a low-run support. Lester Lockett went 9-for-22 with two doubles, while leading the team in both average (.409) and runs scored (six). Kellman batted only .238, but stole four bases to tie teammate Sam Bankhead and Cuba's Chuck Connors for the Series lead.

Puerto Rico ended in fourth place with a 1-5 record. The team was led by shortstop-manager Artie Wilson (.346, three stolen bases), Quincy Trouppe (.444), Luke Easter (.400, 7 RBI), and specially Wilmer Fields, who hit the first grand slam in Series history and drove in seven runs.

Team	Manager
Alacranes del Almendares	Fermín Guerra
Cervecería Caracas	José Antonio Casanova
Carta Vieja Yankees	León Kellman
Indios de Mayagüez	Artie Wilson

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB
1	Alacranes del Almendares (H)	6	6	0	50	17	+33	1.000	—
2	Cervecería Caracas	6	3	3	29	34	−5	.500	3
3	Carta Vieja Yankees	6	2	4	29	35	−6	.333	4
4	Indios de Mayagüez	6	1	5	38	60	−22	.167	5

Statistic	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Al Gionfriddo	Alacranes del Almendares	.533
Home runs	Monte Irvin	Alacranes del Almendares	2
Runs batted in	Monte Irvin	Alacranes del Almendares	11
Wins	Agapito Mayor	Alacranes del Almendares	3

Tournament Awards[1] Award Player Team MVP Agapito Mayor Alacranes del Almendares Best manager Fermín Guerra Alacranes del Almendares

All Star Team[2] Position Player Team First base Alonzo Perry Indios de Mayagüez Second base Garvin Hamner Alacranes del Almendares Third base Wilmer Fields Indios de Mayagüez Shortstop Alfonso Carrasquel Cervecería Caracas Left field Al Gionfriddo Alacranes del Almendares Center field Sam Jethroe Alacranes del Almendares Right field Monte Irvin Alacranes del Almendares Catcher Guillermo Vento Cervecería Caracas Pitcher Agapito Mayor Alacranes del Almendares

• Ballplayers who have played in the Series

• 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.

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