1968-1969 Cuban National League
From BR Bullpen
The 1968-1969 season was the eighth season of Cuba's national baseball system.
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[edit] Serie Nacional
The eighth Serie Nacional was won by Azucareros, who were managed by Servio Borges. Both defending champion La Habana and four-time winner Industriales trailed the club by a single game.
The season saw the emergence of two stars. The first was La Habana's 24-year old southpaw, Santiago Mederos who set a new strikeout record with 208 Ks. Three decades would pass before a pitcher, Maels Rodríguez, would to two hundred again. On January 30th he also struck out twenty Camagüeyanos to set a nine-inning record that would stand over thirty years.
The other star was Wilfredo Sánchez, a 20-year old left handed free-swinger with Henequeneros. He won his first of five batting crowns with a .354 average while raising the record for hits in season to 140 and triples to 13. His hits mark would take thirty years to fall while the triples record has yet to be bested.
Two all-time pitching records are set as Emilio Salgado (Vegueros) pitches 230.1 innings while Henequeneros' Gaspar Pérez walks 127. Despite the high walk total, Pérez is named Cuba's mejor atleta del año (Best Athlete of the Year) - the first baseball player to earn that distinction. Aquino Abreu has a career season going 10 - 1 for the Azucareros, three years after his back-to-back no-hitters.
Granjeros' Felipe Sarduy goes 29 consecutive games with a hit breaking José Pérez's one year old record of 21 games. On November 12, the Mineros' first baseman Elpidio Mancebo hits five extra-base hits against Matanzas to set a record. Agustín Marquetti (La Habana) slugs 19 home runs to set a record.
[edit] Standings
- Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Azucareros | 99 | 69 | 30 | 0 | 0.697 | -.- |
| Industriales | 99 | 68 | 31 | 0 | 0.687 | 1.0 |
| La Habana | 99 | 68 | 31 | 0 | 0.687 | 1.0 |
| Mineros | 99 | 62 | 37 | 0 | 0.626 | 7.0 |
| Granjeros | 99 | 57 | 42 | 0 | 0.576 | 12.0 |
| Henequeneros | 99 | 55 | 43 | 1 | 0.561 | 13.5 |
| Las Villas | 99 | 45 | 53 | 1 | 0.459 | 23.5 |
| Pinar del Río | 99 | 43 | 56 | 0 | 0.434 | 26.0 |
| Matanzas | 99 | 35 | 64 | 0 | 0.354 | 34.0 |
| Oriente | 99 | 33 | 66 | 0 | 0.333 | 36.0 |
| Vegueros | 99 | 32 | 67 | 0 | 0.323 | 37.0 |
| Camagüey | 99 | 26 | 73 | 0 | 0.263 | 43.0 |
[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 Wilfredo Sánchez a outfielder with Henequeneros. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Santiago Mederos of La Habana. Armando Sánchez of Henequeneros was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).
[edit] All-Star Series
The second All-Star Series featured two teams playing a 9-game series. Orientales, managed by Servio Borges, defeated Occidentales, 5 to 4.
[edit] Leaders
[edit] Batting
- Batting Average: .389 - Rigoberto Rosique, Occidentales
- Base Hits: 14 - Rigoberto Rosique, Occidentales
- Runs Scored: 9 - Andrés Telemaco, Orientales
- Doubles: 4 - Elpidio Mancebo, Orientales
- Triples: 1 - Andrés Telemaco, Orientales; Rigoberto Rosique, Occidentales
- Home Runs: 3 - Miguel Cuevas, Orientales
- Runs Batted In: 9 - Rigoberto Rosique, Occidentales
- Stolen Bases: 2 - Felipe Sarduy, Orientales; Wilfredo Sánchez, Occidentales; Félix Isasi, Occidentales
[edit] Pitching
- Complete Games: 1 - Santiago Mederos, Occidentales; Manuel Hurtado, Occidentales; Andrés Liaño, Occidentales
- Wins: 2 - Roberto Valdés, Orientales
- Innings Pitched: 18.2 - Santiago Mederos, Occidentales
- Strikeouts: 17 - Santiago Mederos, Occidentales
- Base-on-Balls: 11 - Orlando Figueredo, Orientales
- Earned Run Average: 0.82 - Rolando Macías, Orientales
[edit] Sources
- (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1969 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la VIII serie 1969 (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
