1973 Caribbean Series

1973 baseball tournament The sixteenth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1973. It was held from February 1 through February 6 with the champions teams from Dominican Republic (Tigres del Licey), Mexico (Yaquis de Obregón), Puerto Rico (Cangrejeros de Santurce) and Venezuela (Leones del Caracas). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice, and the games were played at UCV Stadium in Caracas, Venezuela. The Series was played to honor the memory of Roberto Clemente, who died on December 31, 1972, during a humanitarian mission to assist victims of the 1972 Nicaragua earthquake. Summary The powerful Dominican Republic team, managed by Tommy Lasorda, captured the competition with a 5–1 record, with the only defeat coming from Venezuela in Game 4. The Dominicans hit a collective .329 average, committed only three errors, and outscored their rivals 44–19. Pedro Borbón (2-0) led the pitching staff, while OFs Jesús Alou and Manny Mota tied in the race for the batting title, with a .500 average (12-for-24). SS Bobby Valentine, who provided opportune hitting and a sharp defense, was named Series Most Valuable Player. The team also featured Ps Bruce Ellingsen, Lerrin LaGrow, Charlie Hough and Dick Tidrow; C Steve Yeager; IFs Jim Spencer (1B), Ted Martínez (2B) and Steve Garvey (3B), and OFs Elvio Jiménez and Von Joshua. The Puerto Rico and Venezuela teams, managed by Frank Robinson and Ozzie Virgil respectively, were not rivals for the Dominicans and tied in second place with a 3–3 record. Puerto Rico's victories came behind pitching efforts from Doyle Alexander, (2-0, 1.20 ERA, 13.0 IP) and Juan Pizarro (1-1, 5.25 ERA, 12.0 IP). Other significant players in the roster included Ps Lloyd Allen, Roger Moret, Bob Reynolds, Ramón Hernández and Mike Strahler; C Elrod Hendricks; IFs Tony Pérez (1B), Jerry DaVanon (2B), Ron Cey (3B) and Juan Beníquez (SS); Ofs Don Baylor (LF), José Cruz (CF) and Willie Crawford, and utilities Julio Gotay (IF) and Angel Mangual (OF). Venezuela divided wins and losses against each team. RF César Tovar (.385 BA) and 1B Gonzalo Márquez (.381 BA) paced the offense, while Diego Seguí pitched a complete game, seven-hit shutout with 15 strikeouts. Other support came from P Milt Wilcox (1-1, 3.27 ERA), 3B Manny Trillo (.476 SLG, five RBI) and C Joe Ferguson (.423 SLG, five RBI). The rest of the roster included P Ed Acosta, OF Tony Armas, SS Bert Campaneris, P Reggie Cleveland, CF Víctor Davalillo, OF Bobby Darwin, 2B Gustavo Gil, C Dave Ricketts and P Ed Sprague, among others. The Mexicans, with Dave Garcia at the helm, posted a 1–5 record and finished in last place. Their only victory came against Venezuela, 3–1, behind the combined pitching performance of the Romo brothers (Vicente and Enrique) and closer Al Hrabosky. Also in the roster were 1B Jim Campanis, Ps Maximino León and Rich Troedson, 3B Dave Hilton, and OF Matt Alexander. Final standings Club W L W/L % GB   Managers 25px Dominican Republic 5 1 .833  –   Tommy Lasorda 25px Puerto Rico 3 3 .500 2.0   Frank Robinson 25px Venezuela 3 3 .500 2.0   Ozzie Virgil 25px Mexico 1 5 .167 4.0   Dave Garcia Individual leadersPlayer/Club Statistic Jesús Alou / DOM Manny Mota / DOM Batting average .500 Thirteen tied Home runs     1 Jesús Alou / DOM Steve Yeager / DOM RBI     7 Jesús Alou / DOM Runs     5 César Tovar / VEN Hits   10 Five tied Doubles     2 Three tied Triples     1 Four tied Stolen bases     1 Doyle Alexander / PRI Pedro Borbón / DOM Wins     2 Diego Seguí / VEN Strikeouts   17 Diego Seguí / VEN ERA 0.00 Al Hrabosky / MEX Bob Reynolds / PRI Saves     1 Pedro Borbón / DOM Innings pitched 14 2 3 Awards Bobby Valentine / DOM Most Valuable Player Tommy Lasorda / DOM Manager All-Star TeamName/Club Position Steve Yeager / DOM catcher Gonzalo Márquez / VEN first baseman Gustavo Gil / VEN second baseman Steve Garvey / DOM third baseman Bobby Valentine / DOM shortstop Jesús Alou / DOM left fielder Manny Mota / DOM center fielder César Tovar / VEN right fielder Diego Seguí / VEN RH pitcher Juan Pizarro / PRI LH pitcher Tommy Lasorda / DOM manager Scoreboards Game 1, February 1 Puerto Rico PRI 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 10 1 Dominican Republic DOM 2 1 1 3 0 1 0 0 X 8 13 0 Pedro Borbón (1-0) Juan Pizarro (0-1) Willie Crawford (1) Steve Yeager (1) Game 2, February 1 Venezuela VEN 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 1 0 4 8 1 Mexico MEX 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 2 Milt Wilcox (1-0) Rich Troedson (0-1) Manny Trillo (1) Game 3, February 2 Mexico MEX 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 11 0 Puerto Rico PRI 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 X 3   7 1 Doyle Alexander (1-0) Al Hrabosky (0-1) Bob Reynolds (1) Tony Pérez (1) Game 4, February 2 Dominican Republic DOM 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 2   7 1 Venezuela VEN 0 1 3 0 2 0 0 0 X 6 12 1 Reggie Cleveland (1-0) Bruce Ellingsen (0-1) Víctor Davalillo (1) Game 5, February 3 Dominican Republic DOM 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 0 8 12 2 Mexico MEX 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 10 1 Dick Tidrow (1-0) Maximino León (0-1) Game 6, February 3 Venezuela VEN 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2 7 1 Puerto Rico PRI 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 1 Diego Seguí (1-0) Lloyd Allen (0-1) Joe Ferguson (1) Game 7, February 4 Dominican Republic DOM 0 0 1 2 2 0 1 1 2 9 15 1 Puerto Rico PRI 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 2   6 1 Lerrin LaGrow (1-0) Roger Moret (0-1) Jesús Alou (1) Game 8, February 4 Mexico MEX 1 0 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 5 9 3 Venezuela VEN 0 0 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 3 8 2 Vicente Romo (1-0) Luis Peñalver (0-1) Al Hrabosky (1) Game 9, February 5 Puerto Rico PRI 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 8 0 9 12 0 Mexico MEX 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 2   8 1 Juan Pizarro (1-1) Rich Troedson (0-2) Angel Mangual (1) Dave Hilton (1) Game 10, February 5 Venezuela VEN 0 0 0 1 1 2 1 0 0 5 13 5 Dominican Republic DOM 0 4 3 0 0 0 0 2 X 9 13 0 Pedro Borbón (2-0) Milt Wilcox (1-1) Game 11, February 6 Mexico MEX 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 10 2 Dominican Republic DOM 0 5 2 0 1 0 0 0 X 8 15 1 Bruce Ellingsen (1-1) Al Hrabosky (0-2) Jim Spencer (1) Game 12, February 6 Puerto Rico PRI 3 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 8 10 1 Venezuela VEN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0   4 1 Doyle Alexander (2-0) Milt Wilcox (1-2) Fernando González (1), Elrod Hendricks (1) See also Ballplayers who have played in the Series Sources Antero Núñez, José. Series del Caribe. Impresos Urbina, Caracas, Venezuela. Araujo Bojórquez, Alfonso. Series del Caribe: Narraciones y estadísticas, 1949-2001. Colegio de Bachilleres del Estado de Sinaloa, Mexico. Figueredo, Jorge S. Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History, 1878–1961. Macfarland & Co., United States. González Echevarría, Roberto. The Pride of Havana. Oxford University Express. Gutiérrez, Daniel. Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela. External links Official site Latino Baseball Series del Caribe, Las (Spanish)     collapsed Caribbean Category:Caribbean Series Category:International baseball competitions hosted by Venezuela Category:Sports competitions in Caracas Category:1973 in Caribbean sport Category:1973 in Venezuelan sport Caribbean Series Category:20th century in Caracas