1956 Caribbean Series

1956 Caribbean Series
Tournament details
Country	Panama
City	Panama City
Venue(s)	1 (in 1 host city)
Dates	10–15 February
Teams	4
Final positions
Champions	Elefantes de Cienfuegos (1st title)
Runner-up	Chesterfield Smokers
Tournament statistics
MVP	Ray Noble
	← 1955 1957 →

The eighth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1956. It was held from February 10 through February 15, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Elefantes de Cienfuegos; Panama, Chesterfield Smokers; Puerto Rico, Criollos de Caguas and Venezuela, Industriales de Valencia. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Olímpico de Panamá in Panama City, Panama.

Summary

In this edition, Cienfuegos won the first of five consecutive Series titles for the Cuban team. Cienfuegos was managed by Oscar Rodríguez and finished with a 5-1 record. The pitching staff was guided by Camilo Pascual (2-0, 11 strikeouts, 2.50 ERA), Pedro Ramos (2-0, 1.59 ERA) and René Gutiérrez (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 9+1⁄3 innings). The offense was clearly led by catcher and Series MVP Ray Noble (.400 BA, one home run, .654 OBP and 1B Bob Boyd (.304 BA, one HR, 11 RBI, .522 SLG). Other contributions came from 2B Curt Roberts (.375, one HR, six runs, .542 SLG), Chico Fernández (.269, 10 runs, one HR) and 3B Milt Smith (two HR, .522 SLG). The roster also included IF Ossie Alvarez, OFs Prentice Browne and Archie Wilson and Ps Sandalio Consuegra, Seth Morehead and Gene Bearden, among others.

Panama, with Standford Graham at the helm, posted a 3-3 record to tie Puerto Rico for second place. Ps Don Elston, Ross Grimsley and Wally Burnette got the victories while 1B Elías Osorio (.286, 3 HR, .762 SLG) led the offense. Grimsley made the All-Star team, as well as OFs Bobby Prescott and Bill Stewart. The line up was also filled with Héctor López (2B), Humberto Robinson (P), David Roberts (OF) and Joe Tuminelli (3B).

Puerto Rico was managed by Ben Geraghty and got wins from Taylor Phillips, Roberto Vargas and Chi-Chi Olivo, while 1B Lou Limmer (.350, three HR, six runs, eight RBI) provided punch in the lineup. Also in the roster were Ps Tom Lasorda and Paul Stuffel, and Cs Bill Cash and Ray Murray; IFs Daryl Spencer (2B), Víctor Pellot Power (3B) and Félix Mantilla (SS), as well as OFs Wes Covington and Chuck Harmon.

Venezuela was managed by Regino Otero and finished in last place with a 1-5 mark. The team was outscored by their opponents 47-14. Bright spots were Ps Turk Farrell and Jim Pearce. Farrell recorded the lone win against Puerto Rico in a one-run, one hit effort, while Pearce took an 11-inning, 2-1 loss to Panama, striking out nine batters without giving a walk. Valencia also featured Ed Bailey (C), Tommy Brown (1B), Elio Chacón (CF), Emilio Cueche (P), Julián Ladera (P) and Ron Mrozinski (P).

Participating teams

Team	Manager
Chesterfield Smokers	Standford Graham
Criollos de Caguas	Ben Geraghty
Elefantes de Cienfuegos	Oscar Rodríguez
Industriales de Valencia	Regino Otero

Final standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	RF	RA	RD	PCT	GB
1	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	6	5	1	43	19	+24	.833	—
2	Chesterfield Smokers (H)	6	3	3	41	30	+11	.500	2
3	Criollos de Caguas	6	3	3	30	32	−2	.500	2
4	Industriales de Valencia	6	1	5	14	47	−33	.167	4

Source: CBPC
(H) Hosts

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 10


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	2	0	4	0	X	6	9	1
WP: Turk Farrell (1-0) LP: Paul Stuffel (0-1) Home runs: PUR: Ramón Maldonado (1) VEN: Ed Bailey (1)

Game 2, February 10


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	6	2	2	1	0	2	13	16	1
Panama	0	0	0	2	0	2	1	0	0	5	6	2
WP: Camilo Pascual (1-0) LP: Ross Grimsley (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Milt Smith (1) PAN: None

Game 3, February 11


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	5	9	2
Cuba	2	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	X	9	13	2
WP: Pedro Ramos (1-0) LP: Emilio Cueche (0-1)

Game 4, February 11


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	7	2
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	0	X	5	8	1
WP: Chi-Chi Olivo (1-0) LP: Wally Burnette (0-1) Home runs: PAN: Elías Osorio (1) PUR: Lou Limmer (1)

Game 5, February 12


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	4	7	1
Puerto Rico	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	4	X	7	11	0
WP: Taylor Phillips (1-0) LP: Sandalio Consuegra (0-1) Home runs: CUB: None PUR: Victor Pellot (1), Ramón Maldonado (2), Lou Limmer (2)

Game 6, February 12


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Panama	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	7	1
Venezuela	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
WP: Don Elston (1-0) LP: Jim Pearce (0-1) Home runs: PAN: Héctor López (1), Bill Stewart (1) VEN: None

Game 7, February 13


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	6	0
Puerto Rico	3	1	2	1	0	3	0	0	X	10	14	0
WP: Roberto Vargas (1-0) LP: Ron Mrozinski (0-1) Home runs: VEN: None PUR: Chuck Harmon (1), Daryl Spencer (1)

Game 8, February 13


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
Cuba	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	1	X	6	8	1
WP: René Gutiérrez (1-0) LP: Humberto Robinson (0-1) Home runs: PAN: None CUB: Archie Wilson (1), Milt Smith (2)

Game 9, February 14


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	4	7	7	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
WP: Camilo Pascual (2-0) LP: Turk Farrell (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Ossie Alvarez (1), Bob Boyd (1) VEN: None

Game 10, February 14


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	5	9	5
Panama	2	2	5	3	0	1	0	0	X	13	16	3
WP: Ross Grimsley (1-1) LP: Chi-Chi Olivo (1-1)

Game 11, February 15


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	7	1
Cuba	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	X	4	5	1
WP: Pedro Ramos (2-0) LP: Paul Stuffel (0-2) Home runs: PUR: Lou Limmer (3) CUB: Chico Fernández (1)

Game 12, February 15


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Panama	4	5	1	0	0	3	4	1	X	18	16	2
WP: Wally Burnette (1-1) LP: Ron Mrozinski (0-2) Home runs: VEN: None PAN: Elías Osorio 2 (3), Clyde Parrish (1), Héctor López (2), Denny Schell (1)

Statistics leaders

Statistic	Player	Team	Total
Batting average	Ray Noble	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	.400
Home runs	Lou Limmer	Criollos de Caguas	3
Home runs	Elías Osorio	Chesterfield Smokers	3
Runs batted in	Bob Boyd	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	11
Runs	Chico Fernández	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	10
Stolen bases	Curt Roberts	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	2
Wins	Camilo Pascual	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	2
Wins	Pedro Ramos	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	2
Earned run average	René Gutiérrez	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	0.00
Strikeouts	Camilo Pascual	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	12
Innings pitched	Turk Farrell	Industriales de Valencia	18.0
Innings pitched	Camilo Pascual	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	18.0

Awards

Tournament Awards^[1]
Award	Player	Team
MVP	Ray Noble	Elefantes de Cienfuegos
Best manager	Oscar Rodríguez	Elefantes de Cienfuegos

All Star Team^[2]
Position	Player	Team
First base	Lou Limmer	Criollos de Caguas
Second base	Curt Roberts	Elefantes de Cienfuegos
Third base	Vic Power	Criollos de Caguas
Shortstop	Chico Fernández	Elefantes de Cienfuegos
Left field	Ray Maldonado	Criollos de Caguas
Center field	Bill Stewart	Chesterfield Smokers
Right field	Bobby Prescott	Chesterfield Smokers
Catcher	Ray Noble	Elefantes de Cienfuegos
Pitcher	Camilo Pascual	Elefantes de Cienfuegos

References

^ "Posiciones de los Equipos". seriedelcaribe.net (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
^ "Anuario oficial Serie Del Caribe 2022" (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. p. 26. Retrieved 13 June 2023. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)

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

[1] "Posiciones de los Equipos". seriedelcaribe.net (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. Retrieved 13 June 2023.

[awards-2] "Anuario oficial Serie Del Caribe 2022" (in Spanish). Confederación de Béisbol Profesional del Caribe. p. 26. Retrieved 13 June 2023. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)

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