# 1983 Caribbean Series

The twenty-fifth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1983. It was held from February 4 through February 9 with the champion teams from Dominican Republic (Tigres del Licey), Mexico (Tomateros de Culiacán), Puerto Rico (Lobos de Arecibo) and Venezuela (Tiburones de La Guaira). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Universitario in Caracas, Venezuela. Bowie Kuhn, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball, attended the Series, and the first pitch was thrown by Oscar Prieto, Leones del Caracas majority owner and one of the series brainchild.

## Summary

The Puerto Rico team was piloted by Ron Clark. After being mauled by the Dominicans in the opening, 17–2, Arecibo crushed the Mexicans 9-1 and defeated Venezuela, 7–6, in 11 innings. Later, a solid effort came from Kevin Hagen and Rich Bordi, both pitching complete games, to beat Mexico and the Dominican Republic. By beating Venezuela and Mexico in their last two games, the Lobos ended with a 5–1 mark en route to winning one of the most celebrated victories in Puerto Rican baseball history. Outfielder Glenn Walker was selected as Most Valuable Player and was chosen for the All-Star Team along Candy Maldonado and Dickie Thon. Other significant members of the roster included pitchers John Hobbs, Gary Lance and Edwin Núñez; catcher Orlando Mercado; infielders Ramón Avilés, Onix Concepción and Wayne Tolleson, as well as utilities Henry Cruz, Carmelo Martínez and Ken Phelps.
Venezuela, managed by Ozzie Virgil, finished in second place with a 4–2 record and also had the only shutout in the Series, by Rick Anderson, who limited the Mexicans to five hits while striking out nine. Second baseman Derrel Thomas paced the Tiburones offense, hitting .476 (10-for-21) to win the batting title and slugged .714. Other contributions came from right fielder Tony Armas (.269 BA, 3 HR, 6 RBI, .654 SLG), first baseman Ron Jackson (.360, 2 HR, 6 RBI, .680 SLG) and reliever Luis Aponte (1–0, one save, six SO in 6.0 innings of work). Other roster members included pitchers Bryan Clark, Luis Leal, Luis Sánchez, Albert Williams and Matt Young; catchers Bruce Bochy and Baudilio (Bo) Díaz; infielders Dave Concepción and Leo Hernández; outfielders Robert Marcano and Luis Salazar, and utilities Ozzie Guillén, Argenis Salazar and Manny Trillo.
The Dominican Republic, guided by Manny Mota, finished 3-3 and had to settle for a modest third place. The most prominent players were catcher Luis Pujols, third baseman Howard Johnson and outfielder César Gerónimo, who were included in the All-Star Team. Meanwhile, pitchers Alejandro Peña, Cliff Speck and David Grier got the victories. The Licey team also featured players such as Steve Baker (P), Tony Fernández (SS), Alfredo Griffin (2B), Pedro Guerrero (1B), Mike Howard (IF/OF), Rafael Landestoy (OF), Ted Martínez (IF), Orlando Peña (P) and Rafael Santana (IF).
Tomateros de Culiacán, led by catcher/manager Francisco Estrada, presented an All-Mexican squad which included local legends such as Cy Acosta (P), Salomé Barojas (P), Nelson Barrera (1B), Bobby Cuellar (P), Maximino León (P), Aurelio López (3B), Mario Mendoza (SS), Vicente Romo (P) and Jesús Sommers (DH). But the opportune hitting and strong defense were undermined by below average running speed and poor bullpen support. Mexico finished with a 0–6 record, to become the second winless team in Series history.
Final standings :
| Club | W | L | W/L % | GB |
| Puerto Rico Arecibo | 5 | 1 | .833 | – |
| Venezuela La Guaira | 4 | 2 | .667 | 1.0 |
| Dominican Republic Licey | 3 | 3 | .500 | 3.0 |
| Mexico Culiacán | 0 | 6 | .000 | 5.0 |
Individual leaders :
| Player/Club | Statistic | |
| Derrel Thomas / VEN | Batting average | .476 |
| Tony Armas / VEN | Home runs | 3 |
| Howard Johnson / DOM | RBI | 8 |
| Candy Maldonado / PRI | Runs | 8 |
| Derrel Thomas / VEN | Hits | 10 |
| Eight tied | Doubles | 2 |
| Bo Díaz / VEN | Triples | 1 |
| Four tied | Stolen bases | 1 |
| Twelve tied | Wins | 1 |
| Rick Anderson / VEN Odell Jones / VEN | Strikeouts | 9 |
| Rick Anderson / VEN | ERA | 0.00 |
| Three tied | Saves | 1 |
| Odell Jones / VEN | Innings pitched | 11+2⁄3 |
| Awards |
| Glenn Walker / PRI | Most Valuable Player |
| Ron Clark / PRI | Manager |
All-Star Team :
| Name/Club | Position |
| Luis Pujols / DOM | catcher |
| Ron Jackson / VEN | first baseman |
| Derrel Thomas / VEN | second baseman |
| Howard Johnson / DOM | third baseman |
| Dickie Thon / PRI / | shortstop |
| Glenn Walker / PRI | left fielder |
| Candy Maldonado / PRI | center fielder |
| Tony Armas / VEN | right fielder |
| César Gerónimo / DOM | designated hitter |
| Rick Anderson / VEN | RH pitcher |
| Bryan Clark / VEN | LH pitcher |
| Ron Clark / PRI | manager |

## Scoreboards
### Game 1, February 4

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
| Dominican Republic | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | X | 17 | 16 | 0 |
| WP: Alejandro Peña (1-0) LP: René Quiñones (0-1) Home runs: PUR: None DOM: Howard Johnson 2 (2), Luis Pujols (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 2, February 4

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Mexico | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 1 |
| Venezuela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 0 |
| WP: Luis Aponte (1-0) LP: Antonio Pulido (0-1) Home runs: MEX: None VEN: Ron Jackson (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 3, February 5

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 1 |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
| WP: Cliff Speck (1-0) LP: Ernesto Escárrega (0-1) Home runs: DOM: Tony Fernández (1), Luis Pujols (2) MEX: None |||||||||||||

### Game 4, February 5

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | R | H | E |
| Venezuela | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 11 | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 3 |
| WP: Gary Lance (1-0) LP: Luis Sánchez (0-1) Home runs: VEN: Tony Armas (1) PUR: Carmelo Martínez (1) |||||||||||||||

### Game 5, February 6

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 1 |
| Venezuela | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | X | 3 | 9 | 0 |
| WP: Bryan Clark (1-0) LP: Steve Baker (0-1) Sv: Albert Williams (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 6, February 6

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 0 |
| Mexico | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Kevin Hagen (1-0) LP: Alejo Ahumada (0-1) |||||||||||||

### Game 7, February 7

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | X | 7 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Rich Bordi (1-0) LP: Jim Siwy (0-1) Home runs: DOM: None PUR: Glenn Walker (1), Dickie Thon (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 8, February 7

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Venezuela | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 | 0 |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| WP: Rick Anderson (1-0) LP: Mercedes Esquer (0-1) Home runs: VEN: Ron Jackson (2) MEX: None |||||||||||||

### Game 9, February 8

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | X | 13 | 12 | 0 |
| WP: David Grier (1-0) LP: Vicente Romo (0-1) Home runs: MEX: Ricardo Guerra (1), Jesús Sommers (1) DOM: None |||||||||||||

### Game 10, February 8

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 1 |
| Venezuela | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| WP: Jesús Hernáiz (1-0) LP: Odell Jones (0-1) Sv: Gary Lance (1) Home runs: PUR: Glenn Walker (2), Jesús Vega 2 (2) VEN: Tony Armas (2) |||||||||||||

### Game 11, February 9

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Mexico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 10 | 3 |
| Puerto Rico | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | X | 11 | 11 | 0 |
| WP: Keith Creal (1-0) LP: Maximino León (0-1) Home runs: MEX: Nelson Barrera (1) PUR: Candy Maldonado (1) |||||||||||||

### Game 12, February 9

| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E |
| Venezuela | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| Dominican Republic | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| WP: Matt Young (1-0) LP: Joe Beckwith (0-1) Sv: Luis Aponte (1) Home runs: VEN: Tony Armas (3) DOM: Pedro Guerrero (1), Pedro Hernández (1) |||||||||||||