1986-1987 Cuban National League
From BR Bullpen
The 1986-1987 season was the twenty-sixth season of Cuba's national baseball system.
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[edit] Serie Nacional
The 26th Serie Nacional was won by Vegueros of Pinar del Río Province. The Jorge Fuentes-led team won the Zona Occidental and then won the four-team round-robin playoff for their fifth title. The playoff featured the same teams from the year before.
Javier Méndez, the longtime outfielder with Industriales and career .327 hitter, wins his only batting title with a .408 average (53 hits in 130 at-bats). Orestes Kindelán of Santiago de Cuba wins his first home run crown leader for the first time with 17 round-trippers. Metropolitanos' René Arocha – a future major leaguer – wins the ERA title with 15 earned runs in 103.0 innings for a 1.31 ERA.
Vegueros' Omar Linares scores 40 runs while teammate Lázaro Madera drives in an equal amount – both lead the league in their respective categories. Other players of note on the championship team were Omar Ajete, Juan Castro, Luis Giraldo Casanova, Reinaldo Costa, Fernando Hernández, Rogelio García, and Giraldo González.
[edit] Standings
- Bold indicates Zona champion; Italics indicates Serie Nacional champion
[edit] Zona Occidental
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegueros | 47 | 34 | 13 | 0.723 | -.- |
| Industriales | 47 | 30 | 17 | 0.638 | 4.0 |
| Metropolitanos | 48 | 28 | 20 | 0.583 | 6.5 |
| La Habana | 46 | 26 | 20 | 0.565 | 7.5 |
| Citricultores | 45 | 23 | 22 | 0.511 | 10.0 |
| Cienfuegos | 47 | 24 | 23 | 0.511 | 10.0 |
| Henequeneros | 48 | 20 | 28 | 0.417 | 14.5 |
| Forestales | 48 | 16 | 32 | 0.333 | 18.5 |
| Isla de la Juventud | 46 | 10 | 36 | 0.217 | 23.5 |
[edit] Zona Oriental
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santiago de Cuba | 48 | 35 | 13 | 0.729 | -.- |
| Villa Clara | 47 | 33 | 14 | 0.702 | 1.5 |
| Granma | 48 | 29 | 19 | 0.604 | 6.0 |
| Ciego de Ávila | 48 | 26 | 22 | 0.542 | 9.0 |
| Camagüey | 47 | 24 | 23 | 0.511 | 10.5 |
| Las Tunas | 48 | 19 | 29 | 0.396 | 16.0 |
| Holguín | 48 | 17 | 31 | 0.354 | 18.0 |
| Sancti Spíritus | 48 | 16 | 32 | 0.333 | 19.0 |
| Guantánamo | 48 | 16 | 32 | 0.333 | 19.0 |
[edit] Playoffs
The playoffs consisted of the top two teams from each zona playing in a six-game "round robin" against each other, with two games against each other. Vegueros won five games to take the championship
| Team | Zona | G | W | L | WPCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vegueros | Occidental - First | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0.833 |
| Santiago de Cuba | Oriental - First | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0.500 |
| Villa Clara | Oriental - Second | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
| Industriales | Occidental - Second | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0.333 |
[edit] All-Star Game
The twelfth Juego de las Estrellas (All-Star Game) was held in Havana. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 4 to 3. Both teams had 9 hits, while both teams had 2 errors. The winning pitcher was José Riviera and the losing pitcher was Pablo Miguel Abreu.
[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 Javier Méndez a outfielder with Industriales. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Luis Tissert of Santiago de Cuba. Alexis Cabreja of Industriales was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).
[edit] Series Selectivas
The thirteenth Series Selectivas was won by Serranos, managed by the Higinio Vélez.
[edit] Standings
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Serranos | 63 | 42 | 21 | 0.667 | -.- |
| Habana | 63 | 41 | 22 | 0.651 | 1.0 |
| Pinar del Río | 63 | 36 | 27 | 0.571 | 6.0 |
| Las Villas | 63 | 32 | 31 | 0.508 | 10.0 |
| Matanzas | 63 | 27 | 36 | 0.429 | 15.0 |
| Agropecuarios | 63 | 25 | 38 | 0.397 | 17.0 |
| Mineros | 63 | 25 | 38 | 0.397 | 17.0 |
| Camagüeyanos | 63 | 24 | 39 | 0.381 | 18.0 |
[edit] Leaders
[edit] Batting
- Batting Average: .384 - Luis Ulacia, Camagüeyanos
- Base Hits: 88 - Antonio Pacheco, Serranos
- Runs Scored: 54 - Jorge García, Serranos
- Doubles: 16 - Antonio Pacheco, Serranos; Orestes Kindelán, Serranos; Pedro Luis Rodríguez, Agropecuarios; Miguel Valiente, Agropecuarios
- Triples: 8 - Jorge Garcá, Serranos
- Home Runs: 16 - Orestes Kindelán, Serranos; Reinaldo Fernández, Camagüeyanos
- Runs Batted In: 60 - Orestes Kindelán, Serranos
- Stolen Bases: 30 - Victor Mesa, Las Villas
[edit] Pitching
- Win-Loss Percentage: 0.867 (13 - 2) - Osvaldo Duvergel, Serranos
- Games Pitched: 25 - Ramón Espinosa, Camagüeyanos
- Complete Games: 17 - Luis Tissert, Serranos
- Wins: 12 - Luis Tissert, Serranos; Osvaldo Duvergel, Serranos
- Innings Pitched: 169.0 - Luis Tissert, Serranos
- Strikeouts: 114 - Pablo Abreu, Habana
- Earned Run Average: 1.25 - Rogelio García, Pinar del Río
[edit] Sources
- (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1987 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la XXVI serie 1987 (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
