1967-1968 Cuban National League
From BR Bullpen
The 1967-1968 season was the seventh season of Cuba's national baseball system.
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[edit] Serie Nacional
The seventh Serie Nacional saw a significant expansion of the series as it doubled in size to twelve teams and went to a 99-game schedule. La Habana under Juan Gómez won the championship, setting a record for wins with 74. On the other end of the table Pinar del Río, goes 12 - 85 – 2 (.124) to establish a record for most losses and lowest winning percentage.
In the month of January, four no-hitters were pitched in the span of three weeks. On January 7, two were thrown on the same day; the first by La Habana's Leopoldo Valdés against Pinar del Río and was followed by Jesús Pérez, pitching for Industriales versus Vegueros. Florentino González threw a no-no on April 4 to bring the season's total to five.
The increased season length saw a plethora of records being set. La Habana's Julio Rojo won eighteen games, Manuel Alarcón of the Mineros struck out 200, while Gasper Pérez throws 212.2 innings and 18 complete games for Matanzas. Eulogio Osorio for La Habana has 129 hits, the first batter to record more than 100 base hits and Miguel Cuevas of Granjeros drives in 86 runs, a record not broken for thirty years. Las Villas's Juan Díaz steals 52 bases to lead the league, no player will post more thefts for another 25 years.
On January 18 Industriales' Raúl Reyes became the first hitter to belt three home runs in a single game, versus Azucareros. Two of his round-trippers were grand slams, a record never surpassed, and he had eleven runs batted in, a record not broken for twenty years.
Granjeros hurler Douglas Sorriba throws two no-hitters in the span of a January week. He first no-hits Henequeneros on January 9 in Bauta, La Habana and a week later on January 16 he no-hits Vegueros at Camagüey's Estadio Cándido González. He wins both decisions by a score of 4 to 1.
[edit] Standings
- Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion
| Team | G | W | L | T | WPCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Habana | 99 | 74 | 25 | 0 | 0.747 | -.- |
| Industriales | 99 | 69 | 30 | 0 | 0.697 | 5.0 |
| Azucareros | 98 | 63 | 35 | 0 | 0.643 | 10.5 |
| Mineros | 99 | 61 | 38 | 0 | 0.616 | 13.0 |
| Las Villas | 99 | 57 | 41 | 1 | 0.582 | 16.5 |
| Henequeneros | 99 | 52 | 47 | 0 | 0.525 | 22.0 |
| Granjeros | 98 | 49 | 49 | 0 | 0.500 | 24.5 |
| Oriente | 99 | 48 | 51 | 0 | 0.485 | 26.0 |
| Camagüey | 99 | 37 | 62 | 0 | 0.374 | 37.0 |
| Matanzas | 99 | 36 | 63 | 0 | 0.364 | 38.0 |
| Vegueros | 99 | 33 | 65 | 1 | 0.337 | 40.5 |
| Pinar del Río | 99 | 12 | 85 | 2 | 0.124 | 61.0 |
[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 Eulogio Osorio a outfielder with La Habana. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Manuel Alarcón of Mineros. Rodolfo Puente of La Habana was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).
[edit] All-Star Series
The first All-Star Series was scheduled after the Serie Nacional season was completed. It featured two teams playing a 9-game series. Orientales, managed by Pedro Jiménez, defeated Occidentales, 5 to 3 with 1 tie.
[edit] Leaders
[edit] Batting
- Batting Average: .357 - Pedro Cháves, Occidentales
- Base Hits: 10 - Pedro Cháves, Occidentales; Felipe Sarduy, Orientales; Eulogio Osorio, Occidentales
- Runs Scored: 7 - Felipe Sarduy, Orientales
- Doubles: 3 - Eulogio Osorio, Occidentales; Elpidio Mancebo, Orientales
- Triples: 2 - Felipe Sarduy, Orientales
- Home Runs: 2 - Felipe Sarduy, Orientales
- Stolen Bases: 2 - Felipe Sarduy, Orientales
[edit] Pitching
- Complete Games: 2 - José Huelga, Orientales; Manuel Alarcón, Orientales
- Wins: 2 - José Huelga, Orientales
- Innings Pitched: 38.1 - José Huelga, Orientales
- Strikeouts: 21 - José Huelga, Orientales
- Base-on-Balls: 15 - José Huelga, Orientales
- Earned Run Average: 0.36 - Andrés Liaño, Occidentales
[edit] Sources
- (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1968 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la VII serie 1968 (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
