1954 Caribbean Series

The sixth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1954. It was held from February 18 through February 23, featuring the champion baseball teams from Cuba (Alacranes del Almendares), Panama (Carta Vieja Yankees), Puerto Rico ,(Criollos de Caguas) and Venezuela (Lácteos de Pastora). Lácteos de Pastora were the champion of the Liga Occidental de Béisbol Profesional rather than the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Sixto Escobar Stadium in San Juan, P.R..

Summary

Puerto Rico won the Series with a 4-2 record en route for a second straight championship (third overall). The Caguas club was managed by Mickey Owen and led by center fielder and Series MVP Jim Rivera, who posted a .400 batting average to lead the hitters. Caguas also received offensive support from 1B Víctor Pellot Power (.348) and 2B Jack Cassini (.333). Meanwhile, the pitching staff surrendered only 10 earned runs (2.00 ERA), being led by starters Corky Valentine (1-0, 1.00 ERA, five hits), Brooks Lawrence (1-0, 1.00, six hits) and Rubén Gómez (1-0, 2.00, five hits), while reliever Luis Arroyo added depth coming out of the bullpen (three appearances, 1-0, 0.00, 7⅓ innings). Puerto Rico also had Jack Sanford (P) in addition to Félix Mantilla (SS), Charlie Neal (IF) and Luis (Canena) Márquez.

Cuba, piloted by Bobby Bragan, had a 3-3 record to tie the second place with Panama. The Cuban squad got fine work of P Conrado Marrero (1-0, five-hit shutout), CF Sam Chapman (.391, homerun, .609 SLG) and RF Angel Scull (.391, .522 SLG). Other roster members included Julio Bécquer (1B), Joe Hatten (P), Cholly Naranjo (P) and Héctor Rodríguez (3B).

Panama was managed by Al Kubski and received a heroic pitching effort by starter Victor Stryska (2-0), who allowed just one earned run in 18 innings pitched. The attack was guided by 3B Joe Tuminelli (.391) and LF Bobby Prescott (.381), in an anemic lineup who batted a collective .255 average and scored 17 runs (fewest in the Series).

Venezuela was guided by Napoleón Reyes and finished in last place with a 2-4 record. Ramón Monzant (1-0, 3.00) and Ralph Beard (1-0, 7.20) got the victories, while Howie Fox collected a 2.58 ERA in two appearances but lose a decision. Bad luck starter Thornton Kipper dropped two decisions, losing his duels against Gómez (PR) and Stryska (PAN), while allowing four earned runs (2.12) in 17 innings. Besides, Emilio Cueche made two strong relief appearances and allowed just one earned run in 8⅔ innings of work. 3B Luis García provided the lone offensive threat with a .348 BA and a .563 SLG, including nine RBI to lead the Series hitters. Venezuela included Ed Bailey (C), Vernon Benson (SS), Tommy Byrne (P/1B), Wally Moon (CF), Johnny Temple and rookie Luis Aparicio (SS), among others.

Final standings


Country	Club	W	L	W/L %	Managers
	Puerto Rico	4	2	.667	Mickey Owen
	Cuba	3	3	.500	Bobby Bragan
	Panama	3	3	.500	Al Kubski
	Venezuela	2	4	.333	Napoleón Reyes

Individual leaders


Player	Statistic
Batting
Jim Rivera (PUR)	Batting average	.450
Ray Orteig (CUB)	Home runs	2
Luis García (VEN)	RBI	9
Angel Scull (CUB)	Runs	5
Jim Rivera (PUR)	Hits	9
Víctor Pellot Power (PUR) Bobby Prescott (PAN)	Doubles	3
Five players tied	Triples	1
Jack Cassini (PUR)	Stolen bases	2
Pitching
Victor Stryska (PAN)	Wins	2
Joe Hatten (CUB)	Strikeouts	12
Victor Stryska (PAN)	ERA	0.50
Howie Fox (VEN)	Saves	1
Victor Stryska (PAN)	Innings pitched	18

All-Star team


Name	Position
Ray Orteig (CUB)	Catcher
Víctor Pellot Power / (PUR)	First baseman
Jack Cassini (PUR)	Second baseman
Luis García (VEN)	Third baseman
Vern Benson (VEN)	Shortstop
Bobby Prescott / PAN	left fielder
Jim Rivera / PRI	center fielder
Sam Chapman / CUB	right fielder
Victor Stryska / PAN	pitcher
Awards
Jim Rivera (PUR)	Most Valuable Player
Mickey Owen (PUR)	Manager

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 18


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	7	10	3
Cuba	2	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	5	10	1
WP: Ralph Beard (1-0) LP: Junior Walsh (0-1) Sv: Howie Fox (1) Home runs: : None CUB: Joe Hatten (1) * Game was called after eight innings due to time limit.

Game 2, February 18


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	4	7	1
Puerto Rico	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	8	1
WP: Victor Stryska (1-0) LP: Jack Sanford (0-1)

Game 3, February 19


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	2	2	2	0	0	4	0	3	13	16	1
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5	2
WP: Conrado Marrero (1-0) LP: Humberto Robinson (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Ray Orteig 2 (2) PAN: None

Game 4, February 19


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	0	3	7	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	5	3
WP: Rubén Gómez (1-0) LP: Thornton Kipper (0-1) Home runs: PUR: None VEN: Luis García (1) * Future Hall of Famer SS Luis Aparicio debuted in the Series.

Game 5, February 20


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	1	3	6	5
Venezuela	5	3	0	0	1	0	0	0	X	9	7	1
WP: Ramón Monzant (1-0) LP: Cookie Stemple (0-1) Home runs: PAN: None VEN: Billy Queen (1)

Game 6, February 20


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	3	6	0
Cuba	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	6	0
WP: Brooks Lawrence (1-0) LP: Cliff Fannin (0-1) Home runs: PUR: Bill Howerton (1), Ranee Pless (1) CUB: Sam Chapman (1)

Game 7, February 21


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	7	1
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	9	3
WP: Clarence Lott (1-0) LP: Howie Fox (0-1) Home runs: CUB: None VEN: * Game was called after eight innings due to time limit.

Game 8, February 21


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	6	12	0
Panama	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	3	8	3
WP: Luis Arroyo (1-0) LP: Humberto Robinson (0-2) Home runs: PUR: None PAN: Ray Dabek (1)

Game 9, February 22


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	0	0	5	7	0
Cuba	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	2
WP: Bill Hockenbury (1-0) LP: Bob Muncrief (0-1)

Game 10, February 22


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	5	2
Puerto Rico	2	3	0	0	2	0	0	0	X	7	8	0
WP: Corky Valentine (1-0) LP: Ralph Beard (1-1)

Game 11, February 23


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	1	1
Panama	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	10	2
WP: Victor Stryska (2-0) LP: Thornton Kipper (0-2)

Game 12, February 23


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	1
Puerto Rico	0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	2	6	4
WP: Junior Walsh (1-1) LP: Chi-Chi Olivo (0-1)

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

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Caribbean Series
Years	1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Circuits	Colombian Professional Baseball League Cuban National Series Dominican Professional Baseball League Mexican Pacific League Panamanian Professional Baseball League Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League Venezuelan Professional Baseball League
Related articles	Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame Caribbean Series Most Valuable Player Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame List of players who have played in the Series Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame
1961 to 1969 - The Series was not held during these years following the dissolution of Cuba's professional league. 1981 - The Series was not held due to a Venezuelan player's strike.