1980-1981 Cuban National League
From BR Bullpen
The 1980-1981 season was the twentieth season of Cuba's national baseball system.
Contents |
[edit] Serie Nacional
The twentieth Serie Nacional was won by Vegueros of Pinar del Río Province. José Miguel Pineda's club beat out Villa Clara and Citricultores by three games.
Rogelio García is the Vegueros' ace with a 1.31 ERA, 10 wins, and 5 shutouts – he wins the MVP and pitcher of the year honors. He fails to win the strikeout title however as Braudilio Vinent (Santiago de Cuba) wins his last strikeout title with 90 Ks. This interrupts García's four year run of leading the league – García will win the next two strikeout titles.
For the third time in four years a batter comes one hit shy of breaking Fermín Laffita's record .396 average. Villa Clara's Amado Zamora has 63 hits in 160 at-bats for a .394 average. Antonio Pacheco, the future all-time hits leader, makes his Serie Nacional début with with Santiago de Cuba.
Aside from García, the Pinareños' main players were Luis Giraldo Casanova, Juan Castro, Giraldo Iglesias, Lázaro Madera, Carmelo Pedroso, and Alfonso Urquiola.
[edit] Standings
- Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegueros | 51 | 36 | 15 | 0.706 | -.- |
| Villa Clara | 51 | 33 | 18 | 0.647 | 3.0 |
| Citricultores | 51 | 33 | 18 | 0.647 | 3.0 |
| Industriales | 51 | 32 | 19 | 0.627 | 4.0 |
| Forestales | 51 | 31 | 20 | 0.608 | 5.0 |
| Cienfuegos | 51 | 30 | 21 | 0.588 | 6.0 |
| Sancti Spíritus | 51 | 28 | 23 | 0.549 | 8.0 |
| Guantánamo | 51 | 26 | 25 | 0.510 | 10.0 |
| Henequeneros | 51 | 25 | 26 | 0.490 | 11.0 |
| Santiago de Cuba | 51 | 25 | 26 | 0.490 | 11.0 |
| Granma | 51 | 24 | 27 | 0.471 | 12.0 |
| Metropolitanos | 51 | 23 | 28 | 0.451 | 13.0 |
| Camagüey | 51 | 23 | 28 | 0.451 | 13.0 |
| Holguín | 51 | 22 | 29 | 0.431 | 14.0 |
| Isla de la Juventud | 51 | 20 | 31 | 0.392 | 16.0 |
| Ciego de Ávila | 51 | 19 | 32 | 0.373 | 17.0 |
| La Habana | 51 | 18 | 33 | 0.353 | 18.0 |
| Las Tunas | 51 | 11 | 40 | 0.216 | 25.0 |
[edit] All-Star Game
The sixth Juego de las Estrellas (All-Star Game) was held in Havana. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 4 to 3. Occidentales had 9 hits to Oriente's 8, while the errors were 1 to 2 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Roberto Ramos and the losing pitcher was Pablo Pérez.
[edit] Leaders
- Bold indicates either wooden bat record or aluminum bat record (1976-1977 to 1998-1999), Italics indicate Serie Nacional record
[edit] Batting
[edit] Pitching
[edit] Award Winners
The Most Valuable Player (Jugadores más Valiosos) was Rogelio García a pitcher with Vegueros. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Rogelio García of Vegueros. Rolando Verde of Industriales was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).
[edit] Series Selectivas
The seventh Series Selectivas was won by Orientales, managed by the Carlos Marti.
[edit] Standings
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orientales | 60 | 38 | 22 | 0.633 | -.- |
| Las Villas | 60 | 37 | 23 | 0.617 | 1.0 |
| Habana | 60 | 35 | 25 | 0.583 | 3.0 |
| Pinar del Río | 59 | 32 | 27 | 0.542 | 5.5 |
| Matanzas | 59 | 23 | 36 | 0.390 | 14.5 |
| Camagüeyanos | 59 | 13 | 46 | 0.220 | 24.5 |
[edit] Leaders
[edit] Batting
- Batting Average: .363 - Luis Casanova, Pinar del Río
- Base Hits: 82 - Antonio Muñoz, Las Villas
- Runs Scored: 51 - Antonio Muñoz, Las Villas
- Doubles: 26 - Antonio Muñoz, Las Villas
- Triples: 4 - Juan Baró, Matanzas; Pablo Pérez, Habana; Oscar Rodríguez, Orientales; Luis Casanova, Pinar del Río; Francisco Costa, Pinar del Río
- Home Runs: 18 - Antonio Muñoz, Las Villas
- Runs Batted In: 64 - Antonio Muñoz, Las Villas
- Stolen Bases: 17 - Rey Anglada, Habana
[edit] Pitching
- Win-Loss Percentage: 0.818 (9 - 2) - Angel Díaz, Habana
- Games Pitched: 24 - Tomás Creo, Camagüeyanos
- Complete Games: 13 - Braudilio Vinent, Orientales
- Wins: 13 - Rafael Castillo, Orientales
- Innings Pitched: 138.0 - Braudilio Vinent, Orientales
- Strikeouts: 114 - Rogelio García, Pinar del Río
- Earned Run Average: 2.41 - José Alemán, Orientales
[edit] Sources
- (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1981 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la XX serie 1981 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- (November 18, 2005). "Guía Digital 2005-06". Guía Oficial de Béisbol 2005 (Digital). Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educación Física y Recreación. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- Peter C. Bjarkman. A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864–2006. : McFarland, 2007. ISBN 0786428295
