1981-1982 Cuban National League

The 1981-1982 season was the twenty-first season of Cuba's national baseball system.

Serie Nacional

Vegueros wins their second consecutive title in the 21st Serie Nacional. The team was managed by future national team manager Jorge Fuentes.

Lázaro Junco finds himself at the top of the home run leader board for the first time as his 20 dingers are tied with Reynaldo Fernández of Camagüey. The Citricultores slugger would go on the win a record ten home run crowns. Ironically, Orestes Kindelán, the player that will eventually supplant Junco as the all-time home run leader, makes his début with Santiago de Cuba.

Vegueros ace Rogelio García strikes out 144 opponents, the highest total of his career. Camagüey first baseman Felipe Sarduy – who remains the only player still active from the first Serie Nacional – retires following the season, after playing 21 seasons.

The league was marred by a corruption scandal, which saw nearly 20 players suspended.

Aside from García, the Pinareños' main players were Omar Ajete, Luis Giraldo Casanova, Juan Castro, Reinaldo Costa, Giraldo González, Fernando Hernández, Omar Linares, and Lázaro Madera.

Standings

Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Vegueros	51	36	15	0.706	-.-
Citricultores	51	35	16	0.686	1.0
Metropolitanos	51	34	17	0.667	2.0
Forestales	51	33	18	0.647	3.0
Cienfuegos	51	29	22	0.569	7.0
Henequeneros	51	28	23	0.549	8.0
Industriales	51	27	24	0.529	9.0
Granma	51	26	25	0.510	10.0
Guantánamo	51	26	25	0.510	10.0
Villa Clara	51	24	27	0.471	12.0
Camagüey	51	23	28	0.451	13.0
La Habana	51	22	29	0.431	14.0
Ciego de Ávila	51	22	29	0.431	14.0
Sancti Spíritus	51	21	30	0.412	15.0
Santiago de Cuba	51	21	30	0.412	15.0
Isla de la Juventud	51	21	30	0.412	15.0
Holguín	51	17	34	0.333	19.0
Las Tunas	51	14	37	0.275	22.0

All-Star Game

The seventh Juego de las Estrellas (All-Star Game) was held in Havana. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 6 to 3. Oriente had 11 hits to Occidentales's 8, while both teams had 1 error. The winning pitcher was Alfonso Ilivanes and the losing pitcher was Rogelio García.

Leaders

Bold indicates either wooden bat record or aluminum bat record (1976-1977 to 1998-1999), Italics indicate Serie Nacional record

Batting

Stat	Leader	Team	Number	Notes
Batting Average	Fernando Hernández	Vegueros	.376	77 hits in 205 at-bats
Runs Scored	Fernando Hernández	Vegueros	40
Base Hits	Fernando Hernández	Vegueros	77
Doubles	Lázaro Junco Reynaldo Fernández	Citricultores Camagüey	16
Triples	Pablo Bejerano	Granma	8
Home Runs	Lázaro Junco Reynaldo Fernández	Citricultores Camagüey	17	Leader in less at-bats (190) 199 at-bats
Runs Batted In	Lázaro Junco	Citricultores	51
Base-on-Balls	Pedro Medina	Industriales	58
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Antonio Muñoz	Cienfuegos	11
Hit-by-Pitch	Wilfredo Hernández	Guantánamo	10
Strikeouts	Reinaldo Fernández	Camagüey	52
Sacrifice Hit	Giraldo González	Vegueros	12
Sacrifice Fly	Sixto Hernández Gerardo Simón	Cienfuegos Guantánamo	4
Stolen Bases	Wilfredo Sánchez	Citricultores	15

Pitching

Stat	Leader	Team	Number	Notes
Wins	José M. Darcourt	Metropolitanos	12
Win-Loss Percentage	Óscar Martínez	La Habana	1.000	6 - 0
Earned Run Average	Julio Romero	Forestales	1.45	18 ER in 112 IP
Innings Pitched	Pablo Martínez	Granma	130.0
Games Pitched	Isidro Pérez	Villa Clara	22
Games Started	Félix Núñez	Las Tunas	16
Games Relieved	Isidro Pérez	Villa Clara	22
Complete Games	Julio Romero José M. Darcourt Pablo Martínez	Forestales Metropolitanos Granma	12
Shutouts	Carlos Mesa	Citricultores	5
Hits Allowed	Gilberto Ferrales	Las Tunas	121
Strikeouts	Rogelio García	Vegueros	144
Base-on-Balls	Félix Pino	Forestales	57
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Jorge L. Valdés	Henequeneros	8
Hit Batters	Alfonso Ilivanes	Guantánamo	11

Award Winners

The Most Valuable Player (Jugadores más Valiosos) was Fernando Hernández, an outfielder with Vegueros. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was José Modesto Darcourt of Metropolitanos. Jorge Milián of Metropolitanos was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).

Series Selectivas

The eighth Series Selectivas was won by Pinar del Río, managed by the Jorge Fuentes.

Standings

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Pinar del Río	57	35	22	0.614	-.-
Matanzas	57	30	27	0.526	5.0
Orientales	57	30	27	0.526	5.0
Las Villas	56	29	27	0.518	5.5
Habana	57	29	28	0.509	6.0
Camagüeyanos	58	18	40	0.310	17.5

Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average: .404 - Agustín Arias, Orientales
• Base Hits: 82 - Agustín Arias, Orientales
• Runs Scored: 49 - Luis Casanova, Pinar del Río
• Doubles: 14 - Roberto Pérez, Camagüeyanos
• Triples: 4 - Luis Casanova, Pinar del Río; Sixto Hernández, Las Villas; Amado Zamora, Las Villas; Pablo Hernández, Matanzas
• Home Runs: 19 - Lázaro Junco, Matanzas
• Runs Batted In: 45 - Lázaro Junco, Matanzas
• Stolen Bases: 14 - Alfonso Urquiola, Pinar del Río

Pitching

• Win-Loss Percentage: 0.846 (11 - 2) - Julio Romero, Pinar del Río
• Games Pitched: 21 - Lázaro de la Torre, Habana
• Complete Games: 11 - Tomás Creo, Camagüeyanos
• Wins: 11 - Julio Romero, Pinar del Río
• Innings Pitched: 126.0 - Lázaro de la Torre, Habana
• Strikeouts: 116 - Rogelio García, Pinar del Río
• Earned Run Average: 1.70 - Rogelio García, Pinar del Río

Sources

• (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1982 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
• (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la XXI serie 1982 (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