1972 Caribbean Series

The fifteenth edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1972. It was held from February 1 through February 6 with the champions teams from Dominican Republic (Aguilas Cibaeñas), Mexico (Algodoneros de Guasave), Puerto Rico (Leones de Ponce) and Venezuela (Tigres de Aragua). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, D.R., which boosted capacity to 14.000 seats, and the first pitch was thrown by Joaquín Balaguer, by then the President of Dominican Republic.

Summary
Puerto Rico won the Series with a 5-1 record and was managed by Frank Verdi. The Leones de Ponce was in the middle of the pack in runs scored (33), prevailing their strong pitching. The club got a fine offensive performances from 1B and Series Most Valuable Player Carlos May, who won the batting title with a .455 batting average (10-for-22), while three of the four series home runs were belted by outfielders Don Baylor (grand slam), Tommy Cruz and Rusty Torres. The pitching staff posted a collective 1.67 ERA, including two shutouts by Gary Neibauer (one-hit) and Daryl Patterson, and received fine efforts from Gary Jones (2-0, 0.81 ERA, 11.0 innings pitched), and Jim Magnuson (1-0, 1.00 ERA). Other significant players in the roster included Sandy Alomar Sr. (2B), Bernie Carbo (OF), Pat Corrales (C), José Cruz (OF), Jackie Hernández (SS), José Ortiz (OF), Santiago Rosario (PH) and Chris Zachary (P).

Dominican Republic and Venezuela finished tied for second place with a 3-3 mark.

The Dominican's Aguilas Cibaeñas squad was piloted by Ozzie Virgil Sr. Other than Secundino Almonte (five-hit shutout), Gene Garber (1-1, 2.57 ERA) and Ed Acosta (1-0, 4.97), the pitching staff was inconsistent at times. Two hitters carried much of the offensive weight, RF César Cedeño (.348 BA) and LF Adrian Garrett (one home run, four RBI). The team also featured Ps Charlie Hough, Juan Jiménez and Ray Newman; C Charlie Sands; IFs Julián Javier, Winston Llenas, Ted Martínez and Frank Taveras, and OFs César Cedeño, Gene Clines and Sam Mejías.

The Venezuelan Tigres de Aragua debuted in the tournament, being guided by manager/second baseman Rod Carew (.400 BA, .500 SLG); C Faustino Zabala (.333 BA, .476 SLG) and SS Dave Concepción (.348 BA, /435 SLG). The pitching support came from starters Alan Closter (2-0, 3.38 ERA, nine strikeouts in 13 $1/3$ IP) Earl Stephenson (1-0, 0/0.00 ERA, 13 strikeouts in 10 $2/3$ IP) and Milt Wilcox (1-1, 1.76 ERA, 14 SO), and closer Roberto Muñoz (0-1, three saves in five games). The Venezuelan club also featured players as Ps Aurelio Monteagudo and Pablo Torrealba; IFs Brant Alyea, César Gutiérrez and Luis Salazar, and OFs Ted Ford, Pat Kelly and César Tovar.

Mexico was represented by the Algodoneros de Guasave and finished last at 1-5. The hapless Mexicans were piloted by Vinicio (Chico) García, as the team scored the fewest runs (12) and set a series record for most consecutive shutouts (2). Thor Skogan did an excellent job, pitching a five-hit shutout in Game 2 and losing a 1-0 decision in Game 9, after allowing just one hit and one unearned run. 3B Celerino Sánchez (.333) and OF Ramón Montoya (.312) led the attack for an otherwise weak offense. Were also included in the roster Héctor Espino (IF), Al Hrabosky (P), Sergio Robles (C) and Aurelio Rodríguez (IF)