1956 Caribbean Series

The VIII edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1956. It was held from February 10 through February 15, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Elefantes de Cienfuegos; Panama, Chesterfield Smokers; Puerto Rico, Criollos de Caguas and Venezuela, Industriales de Valencia. The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Olímpico de Panamá in Panama City, Panama.

Summary

In this edition, Cienfuegos won the first of five consecutive Series titles for the Cuban team. Cienfuegos was managed by Oscar Rodríguez and finished with a 5-1 record. The pitching staff was guided by Camilo Pascual (2-0, 11 strikeouts, 2.50 ERA), Pedro Ramos (2-0, 1.59 ERA) and René Gutiérrez (1-0, 0.00 ERA in 9⅓ innings). The offense was clearly led by catcher and Series MVP Ray Noble (.400 BA, one home run, .654 OBP and 1B Bob Boyd (.304 BA, one HR, 11 RBI, .522 SLG). Other contributions came from 2B Curt Roberts (.375, one HR, six runs, .542 SLG), Chico Fernández (.269, 10 runs, one HR) and 3B Milt Smith (two HR, .522 SLG). The roster also included IF Ossie Alvarez, OFs Prentice Browne and Archie Wilson and Ps Sandalio Consuegra, Seth Morehead and Gene Bearden, among others.

Panama, with Standford Graham at the helm, posted a 3-3 record to tie Puerto Rico for second place. Ps Don Elston, Ross Grimsley and Wally Burnette got the victories while 1B Elías Osorio (.286, 3 HR, .762 SLG) led the offense. Grimsley made the All-Star team, as well as OFs Bobby Prescott and Bill Stewart. The line up was also filled with Héctor López (2B), Humberto Robinson (P), David Roberts (OF) and Joe Tuminelli (3B).

Puerto Rico was managed by Ben Geraghty and got wins from Taylor Phillips, Roberto Vargas and Chi-Chi Olivo, while 1B Lou Limmer (.350, three HR, six runs, eight RBI) provided punch in the lineup. Also in the roster were Ps Tom Lasorda and Paul Stuffel, and Cs Bill Cash and Ray Murray; IFs Daryl Spencer (2B), Víctor Pellot Power (3B) and Félix Mantilla (SS), as well as OFs Wes Covington and Chuck Harmon.

Venezuela was managed by Regino Otero and finished in last place with a 1-5 mark. The team was outscored by their opponents 47-14. Bright spots were Ps Turk Farrell and Jim Pearce. Farrell recorded the lone win against Puerto Rico in a one-run, one hit effort, while Pearce took an 11-inning, 2-1 loss to Panama, striking out nine batters without giving a walk. Valencia also featured Ed Bailey (C), Tommy Brown (1B), Elio Chacón (CF), Emilio Cueche (P), Julián Ladera (P) and Ron Mrozinski (P).

Final standings


Country	Club	W	L	W/L %	GB	Managers
Cuba	Elefantes de Cienfuegos	5	1	.833	–	Oscar Rodríguez
Panama	Chesterfield Smokers	3	3	.500	2.0	Standford Graham
Puerto Rico	Criollos de Caguas	3	3	.500	2.0	Ben Geraghty
Venezuela	Industriales de Valencia	1	5	.167	4.0	Regino Otero

Individual leaders
Player/Club	Statistic
Ray Noble / CUB	Batting average	.400
Lou Limmer / PUR Elías Osorio / PAN	Home runs	3
Bob Boyd / CUB	RBI	11
Chico Fernández / CUB	Runs	10
Curt Roberts / CUB	Stolen bases	2
Camilo Pascual / CUB Pedro Ramos / CUB	Wins	2
Camilo Pascual / CUB	Strikeouts	12
René Gutiérrez / CUB	ERA	0.00
Turk Farrell / VEN Camilo Pascual / CUB	Innings pitched	18
Awards
Ray Noble / CUB	Most Valuable Player
Oscar Rodríguez	Manager

All-Star Team
Name/Club	Position
Ray Noble / CUB	catcher
Lou Limmer / PUR	first baseman
Curt Roberts / CUB	second baseman
Victor Pellot / PUR	third baseman
Chico Fernández / CUB	shortstop
Ramón Maldonado / PUR	left fielder
Bill Stewart / PAN	center fielder
Bobby Prescott / PAN	right fielder
Camilo Pascual / CUB Ross Grimsley / PAN	pitchers
Oscar Rodríguez / CUB	manager

Scoreboards

Game 1, February 10


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	2
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	2	0	4	0	X	6	9	1
WP: Turk Farrell (1-0) LP: Paul Stuffel (0-1) Home runs: PUR: Ramón Maldonado (1) VEN: Ed Bailey (1)

Game 2, February 10


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	6	2	2	1	0	2	13	16	1
Panama	0	0	0	2	0	2	1	0	0	5	6	2
WP: Camilo Pascual (1-0) LP: Ross Grimsley (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Milt Smith (1) PAN: None

Game 3, February 11


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	5	9	2
Cuba	2	4	0	0	0	0	2	1	X	9	13	2
WP: Pedro Ramos (1-0) LP: Emilio Cueche (0-1)

Game 4, February 11


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	7	2
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	0	X	5	8	1
WP: Chi-Chi Olivo (1-0) LP: Wally Burnette (0-1) Home runs: PAN: Elías Osorio (1) PUR: Lou Limmer (1)

Game 5, February 12


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	4	7	1
Puerto Rico	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	4	X	7	11	0
WP: Taylor Phillips (1-0) LP: Sandalio Consuegra (0-1) Home runs: CUB: None PUR: Victor Pellot (1), Ramón Maldonado (2), Lou Limmer (2)

Game 6, February 12


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	R	H	E
Panama	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	7	1
Venezuela	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	7	0
WP: Don Elston (1-0) LP: Jim Pearce (0-1) Home runs: PAN: Héctor López (1), Bill Stewart (1) VEN: None

Game 7, February 13


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	2	6	0
Puerto Rico	3	1	2	1	0	3	0	0	X	10	14	0
WP: Roberto Vargas (1-0) LP: Ron Mrozinski (0-1) Home runs: VEN: None PUR: Chuck Harmon (1), Daryl Spencer (1)

Game 8, February 13


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Panama	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1
Cuba	0	0	1	0	0	4	0	1	X	6	8	1
WP: René Gutiérrez (1-0) LP: Humberto Robinson (0-1) Home runs: PAN: None CUB: Archie Wilson (1), Milt Smith (2)

Game 9, February 14


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cuba	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	4	7	7	0
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	2
WP: Camilo Pascual (2-0) LP: Turk Farrell (0-1) Home runs: CUB: Ossie Alvarez (1), Bob Boyd (1) VEN: None

Game 10, February 14


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	2	5	9	5
Panama	2	2	5	3	0	1	0	0	X	13	16	3
WP: Ross Grimsley (1-1) LP: Chi-Chi Olivo (1-1)

Game 11, February 15


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Puerto Rico	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	2	7	1
Cuba	1	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	X	4	5	1
WP: Pedro Ramos (2-0) LP: Paul Stuffel (0-2) Home runs: PUR: Lou Limmer (3) CUB: Chico Fernández (1)

Game 12, February 15


Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Venezuela	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1
Panama	4	5	1	0	0	3	4	1	X	18	16	2
WP: Wally Burnette (1-1) LP: Ron Mrozinski (0-2) Home runs: VEN: None PAN: Elías Osorio 2 (3), Clyde Parrish (1), Héctor López (2), Denny Schell (1)

Sources

Antero Núñez, José. Series del Caribe. Jefferson, Caracas, Venezuela: Impresos Urbina, C.A., 1987.
Gutiérrez, Daniel. Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela – 1895–2006 . Caracas, Venezuela: Impresión Arte, C.A., 2007.

External links

Caribbean Series

Years	1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Circuits	Dominican Professional Baseball League Mexican Pacific League Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League Venezuelan Professional Baseball League

Related articles	Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame Caribbean Series Most Valuable Player Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame List of players who have played in the Series Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame

1961 to 1969 - The Series was not held during these years following the dissolution of Cuba's professional league. 1981 - The Series was not held due to a Venezuelan player's strike.

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