Cuban National Series
| 150px | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1961 |
| No. of teams | 16 |
| Country | Cuba |
| Most recent champion(s) | Ciego de Ávila (2nd Title) |
| Most titles | Industriales (12) |
| TV partner(s) | Tele Rebelde |
The Cuban National Series (Spanish: Serie Nacional de Béisbol) is the primary domestic amateur baseball competition in Cuba. Formed after the dissolution of the Cuban League in the wake of the Cuban Revolution, the Series is a part of the Cuban national baseball system.
Contents
League structure
Since 1993, the league has had 16 teams: one representing each province, and two for the city of Havana. Each team is made up of players from the province it represents.
In Havana, most of the top tier players take the field for Industriales, traditionally the strongest team in the league. Other typically strong teams include those from Santiago de Cuba, Pinar del Río and Villa Clara.
The 90-game regular season stretches from November until February, and culminates with an eight team tournament to decide the league champion.
Since 2008-2009 championship, the Cuban League has been reorganized - qualification is by zones, and not in groups as it has been the last 15 years.
In the 2011-2012 series, there were 17 competing teams, since Havana Province was split into two provinces: Artemisa Province and Mayabeque Province. Thus, the Western League had 9 teams. The Artemisa team were named "Hunters" (Spanish "Cazadores"), and the Mayabeque team "Hurricanes" (Spanish "huracanes").
The Cuban National Series is the beginning of the preparation for all the commitments that the team Cuba has in the summer. The Cuban National Preselection is selected from the Series and Havana is the site for practicing before going to the competition. Sometimes more than one team is selected.
Beginning with the 2012-13 season, the Metropolitanos, long seen as the "farm team" of Havana's other team, powerhouse Industriales, will no longer field a team. This brings the number of competing teams back down to 16.
To accommodate the 2013 World Baseball Classic, the league will take a six week break after the February 3rd All-Star Game. The Series Nacional will play a shortened 45 game season, with all 16 teams competing in a single table format (doing away with the regular two division format). The bottom 8 seeded teams will then play amongst themselves in the consolation round, while the top 8 seeded teams will do the same for the championship.
The designated hitter is used in all games.
West Teams
| Team | Nickname | Location | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Isla de la Juventud | Grapefruit Cutters (Spanish: Toronjeros) |
Nueva Gerona | Estadio Cristóbal Labra |
| Matanzas | Crocodiles (Spanish: Cocodrilos) |
Matanzas | Victoria de Girón Stadium |
| Pinar del Río | Lowlands (Spanish: Vegueros) |
Pinar del Río | Estadio Capitán San Luis |
| Industriales | Blue Lions (Spanish: Leones Azules) |
Havana | Estadio Latinoamericano |
| Cienfuegos | Elephants (Spanish: Elefantes) |
Cienfuegos | Cinco de Septiembre Stadium |
| Sancti Spíritus | Roosters (Spanish: Gallos) |
Sancti Spíritus | José Antonio Huelga Stadium |
| Artemisa | Hunters (Spanish: Cazadores) |
Guanajay | Estadio de Guanajay |
| Mayabeque | Hurricanes (Spanish: Huracanes) |
San Jose de Las Lajas | Estadio Nelson Fernández |
East Teams
| Team | Nickname | Location | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Camagüey | Ranchers (Spanish: Ganaderos) |
Camagüey | Estadio Cándido González |
| Ciego de Ávila | Tigers (Spanish: Tigres) |
Ciego de Ávila | José Ramón Cepero Stadium |
| Las Tunas | Lumberjacks (Spanish: Leñadores) |
Victoria de Las Tunas | Julio Antonio Mella Stadium |
| Villa Clara | Oranges (Spanish: Naranjas) |
Santa Clara | Estadio Augusto César Sandino |
| Granma | Horses (Spanish: Alazanes) |
Bayamo | Mártires de Barbados Stadium |
| Guantánamo | Indians (Spanish: Indios) |
Guantánamo | Nguyen Van Troi Stadium |
| Holguín | Bloodhounds (Spanish: Sabuesos) |
Holguín | Calixto García Íñiguez Stadium |
| Santiago de Cuba | Wasps (Spanish: Avispas) |
Santiago de Cuba | Estadio Guillermón Moncada |
National Series winners
| Series | Year | Winning team | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1962 | Occidentales | Fermín Guerra |
| 2 | 1963 | Industriales | Ramón Carneado |
| 3 | 1964 | Industriales | Ramón Carneado |
| 4 | 1965 | Industriales | Ramón Carneado |
| 5 | 1966 | Industriales | Ramón Carneado |
| 6 | 1967 | Orientales | Roberto Ledo |
| 7 | 1968 | Habana | Juan Gómez |
| 8 | 1969 | Azucareros / Villa Clara | Servio Borges |
| 9 | 1970 | Henequeneros | Miguel A. Domínguez |
| 10 | 1971 | Azucareros / Villa Clara | Servio Borges |
| 11 | 1972 | Azucareros / Villa Clara | Pedro P. Delgado |
| 12 | 1973 | Industriales | Pedro Chávez |
| 13 | 1974 | Habana | Jorge Trigoura |
| 14 | 1975 | Agricultores | Orlando Leroux |
| 15 | 1976 | Ganaderos | Carlos Gómez |
| 16 | 1977 | Citricultores | Juan Bregio |
| 17 | 1978 | Vegueros | José M. Pineda |
| 18 | 1979 | Sancti Spíritus | Cándido Andrade |
| 19 | 1980 | Santiago de Cuba | Manuel Miyar |
| 20 | 1981 | Vegueros | José M. Pineda |
| 21 | 1982 | Vegueros | Jorge Fuentes |
| 22 | 1983 | Villa Clara | Eduardo Martín |
| 23 | 1984 | Citricultores | Tomás Soto |
| 24 | 1985 | Vegueros | Jorge Fuentes |
| 25 | 1986 | Industriales | Pedro Chávez |
| 26 | 1987 | Vegueros | Jorge Fuentes |
| 27 | 1988 | Vegueros | Jorge Fuentes |
| 28 | 1989 | Santiago de Cuba | Higinio Vélez |
| 29 | 1990 | Henequeneros | Gerardo Junco |
| 30 | 1991 | Henequeneros | Gerardo Junco |
| 31 | 1992 | Industriales | Jorge Trigoura |
| 32 | 1993 | Villa Clara | Pedro Jova |
| 33 | 1994 | Villa Clara | Pedro Jova |
| 34 | 1995 | Villa Clara | Pedro Jova |
| 35 | 1996 | Industriales | Pedro Medina |
| 36 | 1997 | Pinar del Río | Jorge Fuentes |
| 37 | 1998 | Pinar del Río | Alfonso Urquiola |
| 38 | 1999 | Santiago de Cuba | Higinio Vélez |
| 39 | 2000 | Santiago de Cuba | Higinio Vélez |
| 40 | 2001 | Santiago de Cuba | Higinio Vélez |
| 41 | 2002 | Holguín | Héctor Hernández |
| 42 | 2003 | Industriales | Rey Vicente Anglada |
| 43 | 2004 | Industriales | Rey Vicente Anglada |
| 44 | 2005 | Santiago de Cuba | Antonio Pacheco |
| 45 | 2006 | Industriales | Rey Vicente Anglada |
| 46 | 2007 | Santiago de Cuba | Antonio Pacheco |
| 47 | 2008 | Santiago de Cuba | Antonio Pacheco |
| 48 | 2009 | Havana Province | Esteban Lombillo |
| 49 | 2010 | Industriales | German Mesa |
| 50 | 2011 | Pinar del Río | Alfonso Urquiola |
| 51 | 2012 | Ciego de Ávila | Roger Machado |
| 52 | 2013 | Villa Clara | Ramón Moré |
| 53 | 2014 | Pinar del Río | Alfonso Urquiola |
| 54 | 2015 | Ciego de Ávila | Roger Machado |
See also
External links
- Cuban baseball
- Connor, Joe, Welcome to Cuba. ESPN (MLB), January 17, 2006. Retrieved 2009-12-16.
- Baseball in Cuba The Cuban National Series. Games and stats
- Baseball de Cuba Daily league coverage. English and Spanish content.
