# Latin American Series (1952)

The Latin American Series (Spanish: Serie Latinoamericana) was a one-time international baseball tournament held in Caracas, Venezuela in March 1952. Envisioned as a alternative to the Caribbean Series contested by national teams, its rosters were made up of professional baseball players, rather than the non-professional amateurs that played in Olympic-style competitions at the time (like the Amateur World Series).
The tournament saw the debut of the Estadio Universitario, which would go on to be the longtime home of the Leones del Caracas and Tiburones de La Guaira of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. The Dominican Republic's José St. Claire would be the first player to hit a home run in the stadium.

## Tournament summary

In the opening game, on March 3, pitcher José "Carrao" Bracho propelled Venezuela to an 11-inning, 3–2 win over Colombia. Emilio Cueche became the first player in Venezuelan professional baseball history to throw a shutout, in a 7–0 victory over the Dominican Republic.
Some players had to leave the tournament early due to the start of spring training, such as including Cuban big leaguer Sandy Amorós, who left to practice with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Vero Beach. Venezuela's José Bracho also left early, to play with the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs.

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB |
| 1 | Cuba | 9 | 7 | 2 | 44 | 30 | +14 | .778 | — |
| 2 | Venezuela (H) | 9 | 5 | 4 | 39 | 35 | +4 | .556 | 2 |
| 3 | Dominican Republic | 9 | 3 | 6 | 20 | 32 | −12 | .333 | 4 |
| 4 | Colombia | 9 | 3 | 6 | 26 | 32 | −6 | .333 | 4 |

### Results

| 2 March 1952 | Venezuela | 3–2 (F/11) | Colombia | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 2 March 1952 | WP: Patiño | Boxscore | LP: Julio Florez | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 4 March 1952 | Cuba | 2–1 (F/10) | Dominican Republic | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 4 March 1952 | WP: Armando Roche | Boxscore | LP: Manuel Cáceres | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 4 March 1952 | | Boxscore | HR: José St. Claire | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 5 March 1952 | Cuba | 5–6 | Colombia | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 5 March 1952 | LP: Roque Contreras | Boxscore | WP: Catano Acosta | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 6 March 1952 | Venezuela | 6–0 | Dominican Republic | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 6 March 1952 | WP: Emilio Cueche | Boxscore | LP: Luis Martinez | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 8 March 1952 | Dominican Republic | 1–0 | Colombia | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 8 March 1952 | WP: Miguel Payano | Boxscore | LP: Roberto Zapata | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 9 March 1952 | Cuba | 5–4 | Venezuela | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 9 March 1952 | WP: Armando Roche | Boxscore | LP: José Bracho | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 10 March 1952 | Venezuela | 3–4 | Colombia | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 10 March 1952 | LP: Julian Ladera | Boxscore | WP: Manuel Verecco Gomez | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 12 March 1952 | Cuba | 7–1 | Dominican Republic | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 12 March 1952 | WP: Santiago Ullrich | Boxscore | LP: Manuel Cáceres | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 12 March 1952 | HR: Edmundo Amorós | Boxscore | | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 13 March 1952 | Venezuela | 2–5 | Dominican Republic | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 13 March 1952 | LP: Emilio Cueche | Boxscore | WP: Miguel Payano | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 15 March 1952 | Colombia | 7–8 (F/10) | Cuba | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 15 March 1952 | LP: Manuel Verecco Gomez | Boxscore | WP: Roque Contreras | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 15 March 1952 | HR: Pedro Miranda | Boxscore | | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 16 March 1952 | Colombia | 2–1 | Dominican Republic | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 16 March 1952 | WP: Manuel Verecco Gomez | Boxscore | LP: José Mattos | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 16 March 1952 | Venezuela | 3–8 | Cuba | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 16 March 1952 | LP: Emilio Cueche | Boxscore | WP: Eusebio Silverio Perez | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 17 March 1952 | Colombia | 3–4 | Venezuela | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 17 March 1952 | LP: Roberto Zapata | Boxscore | WP: Emilio Cueche | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 19 March 1952 | Dominican Republic | 1–4 | Cuba | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 19 March 1952 | LP: Miguel Payano | Boxscore | WP: Armando Roche | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 19 March 1952 | HR: José St. Claire | Boxscore | | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 20 March 1952 | Dominican Republic | 5–8 | Venezuela | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 20 March 1952 | LP: José Mattos | Boxscore | WP: Emilio Cueche | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 20 March 1952 | | Boxscore | HR: Luis García | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 22 March 1952 | Cuba | 2–1 | Colombia | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 22 March 1952 | WP: Roque Contreras | Boxscore | LP: Cipriano Herrera | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 23 March 1952 | Dominican Republic | 5–1 | Colombia | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 23 March 1952 | WP: Manuel Cáceres | Boxscore | LP: Manuel Verecco Gomez | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 23 March 1952 | Venezuela | 6–3 | Cuba | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |
| 23 March 1952 | | Boxscore | | Estadio Universitario de Caracas |