Pitching always dominates in post-season baseball. At least that has always been the prevailing wisdom from the major leagues right on down to the local sandlots. It is simply another way of saying that a good defense will usually find ways to stymie just about any potent offense – at least most of the time. On the opening night of Occidental League quarterfinals action it was definitely skilled pitching – with a small boost from some timely clutch hitting – that was the clear order of the evening as hometown Industriales edged Cienfuegos 2-1 and visiting Sancti Spíritus jumped out in front of Matanzas by a deceptive 6-1 count. The early game was a true pitching classic while the nightcap was a much closer affair than the scoreboard might suggest.

In Havana respective aces Odrisamer Despaigne (league strikeout leader) and Norberto González (the island’s best left-handed starter) locked horns in a double-pronged masterpiece before more than 27,000 patrons in historic Latin American Stadium. The just-concluded 96-game National Series season headlined numerous batting feats and was far more noted for offensive heroics than for defensive artistry. But all that changed last night. On the more pressure-packed stage of the post-season two stellar starters combined to provide a true rarity in modern-era baseball – a pair of nine-inning complete game outings in which neither manager had to make even a single call to the bullpen for relief.

Industriales manufactured an early 2-0 lead against González on the strength of a pair of run-producing singles by Frank Camilo Morejón (second inning) and Carlos Tabares (sixth inning), but only the first tally was earned. What turned out to be the game-deciding margin in the sixth came after an inning-opening error by Cienfuegos second sacker Darian González allowed Rudy Reyes to reach base with the eventual winning tally (produced by Tabares’ two-out single). The Elephants managed to narrow the gap in the seventh when Erisbel Arruebarruena singled to center and continued on to second after Tabares bobbled his outfield roller; two batters later a Pavel Quesada single produced the game’s second unearned tally. On the night winner Despaigne faced only one batter over the 27-man minimum and struck out seven while walking only a pair. It was precisely the kind of effort manager Lázaro Vargas needed from his top righty to silence the normally potent Cienfuegos lineup.

Except for one mighty swing from Gallos veteran catcher Eriel Sánchez the contest in Matanzas might have been every bit as tight. Starters Ismel Jiménez and Yohan Hernández remained locked in a 1-1 nail-biter through five frames before Hernández worked himself into a tight spot in the visitor’s half of the sixth. After Yunier Mendoza singled and Yulieski Gourriel doubled with one out, manager Victor Mesa decided to issue a free pass to Freddie Cepeda and take his chances with Eriel Sánchez. It proved to be a fatal tactic. The powerful catcher took advantage by lining the first pitch from Hernández into the left field seats for a grand slam homer that instantly turned a gripping pitchers’ duel into a dull one-sided affair.

Ismel Jiménez (the league’s top winner with 17 regular season victories) coasted through the final innings and picked up his 18th win on the strength of a five-hit complete-game effort. The lone Matanzas tally came via a solo shot in the fifth struck by catcher Lázaro Herrera. It was a disappointing night for the Matanzas faithful who turned out for the ball club’s first-ever post-season appearance. And the Matanzas crowd itself was in the end one of the night’s largest disappointments, since only slightly more than 15,000 loyl patrons passed through the gates of Victoria de Girón Stadium for the historic event – leaving more than 10,000 surprisingly empty seats.

The just-concluded fifty-first edition of the Cuban National Series was packed with plenty of unprecedented twists and a full measure of substantial surprises. Now a renewal of post-season action promises to prolong this special brand of Cuban baseball excitement. Most attention likely will be focused squarely on the Occidental League where Matanzas is this year’s true Cinderella team and also where Havana Industriales enjoys the island’s most rabid fan following. Yet if Oriental League games may not spur quite as much entusiasm in the capital city – at least during opening quarterfinal round matches – the eastern sector clashes may in the end provide the more heated rivalries and the greater possibilities for some mild if not major surprises.

Matanzas makes its first post-season appearance in more than a quarter-century of Cuban League playoff competition; home run heroes Alfredo Despaigne and José Dariel Abreu carry their hefty slugging onto island baseball’s most glamorous stage; colorful Victor Mesa has yet another shot at proving that he can manage just as successfully in the post-season has he so often has with Villa Clara during an earlier decade of regular season competitions; infrequent playoff entrants Granma, Las Tunas and Ciego de Avila set out to finally grab some championship glory of their own. Indeed there are plenty of fascinating story lines to keep fans on the edges of their seats from one end of the island to the other. Well, almost from one end to the other, since the extreme ends of the map represented by last year’s champion Pinar del Río and perennial powerhouse Santiago de Cuba won’t be part of the playoff festivities this time around.

Two seven-game quarter-final  series will kick things off Tuesday evening in the Occidental League with Sancti Spíritus traveling to Matanzas for a primetime 8 pm match in Victoria de Girón Stadium while Cienfuegos visits Industriales in Latin American Stadium three hours earlier. A pair of Wednesday evening games in Villa Clara and Las Tunas will inaugurate the Oriental League action on Wednesday night. Below are assessments of all four series as well as some insights into what might be expected from the first-round elimination battles.

Matanzas versus Sancti Spíritus

Season Series Results: Matanzas 5 wins (7-2, 9-1, 10-0, 4-1, 5-1); Sancti Spíritus 1 win (10-3)

Matanzas (58-38) Overview: The Crocodiles have been the biggest Cinderella story of Cuban baseball all season long and there is little doubt that Victor Mesa has re-earned his stripes with his “manager of the year” performance. But Victor was handed some very good cards to play when he inherited a roster of numerous young prospects only beginning to realize their full potential. There are no true “headliner” stars in Matanzas but there are a number of sold performers, especially Guillermo Heredia who led the league in runs scored (and also batted .343), Yurisbel Gracial (15 homers, 115 hits) and Yasiel Santoya (.331, 49 RBI). This was one of only three teams (the only one in the Occidental League) that hit a composite .300-plus across the 96-game schedule. But more impressive still has been a Matanzas pitching staff that registered the league’s lowest opponent batting average (.262) and featured three double-figures winners: Yohan Hernández (11-3), Jorge Alberto Martínez (11-5), and Yoanni Year (10-3). The one looming problem here is the fact that since this is the first-ever Matanzas post-season appearance, there isn’t a single player on Crocodile roster with even a single game of previous playoff experience. Mesa will quickly learn this week what his charges are made off.

Sancti Spíritus (49-46) Overview: Under new manager Ruperto Zamora the Gallos hung on down the stretch to earn yet another post-season appearance despite the severe handicap of playing without star slugger Freddie Cepeda. There is no arguing that – despite the immense tools of Yulieski Gourriel – Cepeda is the undisputed on-field leader and emotional heart of this team and his healthy return will be crucial to any post-season successes. The middle of the Gallos lineup packs plenty of run-scoring potential, but it has been the starting pitching of veterans Ismel Jiménez (17-5, 2.48 ERA) and Angel Peña (11-4, 2.88) that has kept Sancti Spíritus in the midst of the hunt. Some important numbers seem to tell much of the story for this matchup: Matanzas has scored a hundred more runs than Zamora’s club over the course of the season, but that might be in large part due to the fact that Cepeda missed a full third of the campaign. Both the Gallos down through the years, and also earlier teams managed by Victor Mesa, have been known for their unaccountable post-season collapses. This time around it might simply be a matter of who collapses first.

Series Assessment: This was the most one-sided regular-season series of any of the post-season pairings. The Gallos (Roosters) scored as many as two runs in only one game, their lone 10-3 win at home in late February. Sancti Spíritus has not drawn much notice this winter outside of the pitching heroics of Ismel Jiménez, and the club’s post-season ticket may have been written mainly due to the season-long slump of Pinar del Río. But any team with Cepeda, Gourriel, Yenier Bello and Eriel Sánchez at the heart of the order is capable of causing substantial grief for any opponent. Victor Mesa will have to continue his magic if the Matanzas “dream season” is going to escape an early post-season upset disappointment. Prediction: Matanzas in six games

Industriales versus Cienfuegos

Season Series Results: Industriales 3 wins (4-1, 3-1, 2-1); Cienfuegos 3 wins (5-3, 3-2, 11-5)

Industriales (55-41) Overview: Industrials has bounced back well this season behind rookie manager Lázaro Vargas after last winter’s disappointing outing under Germán Mesa. But the Blue Lions have a rather large “Achilles’ heel” in their shaky front line pitching. Only Odrisamer Despaigne (13-8, 2.60 ERA and a league-best 128 Ks) and Frank Montieth (8-4, 3.91) have proven to be reliable starters; the Industriales combined staff ERA (4.79) is more than a run higher than that of series rival Cienfuegos. The Lions have featured their share of slugging, especially from catcher Lisbán Correa and outfielder Yasmani Tomás who have each contributed 16 round trippers. But Correa is something of a defensive liability behind the plate (Frank Camilo Morejon has a much better glove but not as robust a bat). The team is also slow of foot and stole only 20 more bases that Cienfuegos leaguer-leader Lázaro Rodríguez himself managed to pilfer. One huge plus side for Industriales is the presence of three veterans – Alexander Mayeta, Rudy Reyes and Yoandri Urgellés – who sport a history of coming up big during the added pressures of post-season games.

Cienfuegos (54-42) Overview: There are many plusses on the Cienfuegos side of the ledger. First and foremost there is José Dariel Abreu, a one-man offensive wrecking crew. Erisbel Arruebarruena owns the flashiest if not the most reliable glove among league shortstops and also hits well (.320, 19 doubles) and runs the bases (10 steals) with some authority. This is one of the very few clubs in league history featuring teammates – Lázaro Rodríguez and Yoelvis Leyva – who each robbed more than 20 bases. Ageless Norberto González (13-8, 3.00 ERA) is still the island’s best left-handed starter and Noelvis Entenza (11-7, 3.74) proved solid as the number two man in the rotation. Closer Duniel Ibarra saw his league-record for saves go by the wayside this winter but nonetheless managed to log over 20 in that department for the second straight year. One negative is a lack of heavy hitting surrounding Abreu at the heart of the order and it is thus tempting for opponents to always pitch around the Elephant’s most potent slugging weapon.

Series Assessment: The season series split right down the middle with each team winning twice at home and once on the road; all six games were close except the one 11-5 Cienfuegos blowout in Cinco de Septiembre Stadium in late December. If Abreu hits the way he is capable of hitting and if Industriales doesn’t get some quality work out of its secondary starters Darwin Beltrán (10-7, 4.75) and Ian Rendón (5-6, 4.95) this series might not last quite as long as most of the Havana partisans are expecting. Prediction: Cienfuegos in six games

Villa Clara versus Granma

Season Series Results: Villa Clara 3 wins (3-2, 9-4, 8-5); Granma 3 wins (8-4, 8-3, 8-0)

Villa Clara (58-38) Overview: Somehow (mainly because of a boatload of solid pitching) the Orangemen under first-year manager Ramon Moré managed to match Matanzas with the league’s top victory total. But Villa Clara doesn’t feature the expected profile (on paper at least) of a legitimate championship ball club. There is not a single hitter in their entire lineup that can boast a resume with more than a dozen homers or as many as 60 runs batted in. Yet if there are no individual “studs” featured in the tame batting order there is plenty of balance, with nine .300 hitters on the full roster and a composite .299 team mark. And when it comes to pitching the Orange have the best arsenal in the entire 17-team league. Alain Sánchez (12-3, 2.69 ERA) was the only double-figure winner but four other regular starters all contributed plus-side winning ledgers. And Moré’s pitching staff boasts a rarity for the current-era Cuban League – two top starters (Robelio Carrillo and Misael Siverio) that both throw from the left side of the hill.

Granma (54-42) Overview: For several years now Granma has featured a team handicapped by the league’s worst fielding and sloppiest base-running; Granma hangs around in most of its games merely by outslugging the opponents. Despaigne is a multi-dimensional offense all by himself, but even with the loss of Yoennis Céspedes, Despaigne is hardly the only weapon in the Stallion arsenal. Clean-up hitter Yordanis Samón paced the circuit in base hits and also batted .363 (third in the league); Samón was also fourth-best in RBIs and game-winning hits. Ramon Tamayo (13) and Luis Ferrales (11) also both reached double figures in long balls and Urmanis Guerra hit above .300. But pitching was hardly a bright spot: while Alexei Alarcón (10-2) and Leandro Martínez (11-4) both rang up stellar won-lost ledgers, Martínez (2.62) was the only regular starter with a sub-4.00 ERA.

Series Assessment: This was another evenly split series, with each team interestingly enough winning only once at home yet twice on the road. Only one of six matches (the earliest one at Villa Clara in the opening week of the season) was a nip-and-tuck affair. Granma (mainly thanks to some dramatic slugging from Despaigne) survived much longer in the post-season last year than anyone expected, and “el Caballo de los Caballo” will have to produce in a big way once again to offset his team’s disadvantages in pitching and defense. Villa Clara featured the best club ERA (.3.40) in the entire league this winter and the Orangemen staff includes half-a-dozen arms that also logged more than 80 innings apiece. Admittedly the Stallions for their part owned the league’s second best club batting mark at .302 (trailing only Las Tunas) and were the only team to hit over 100 homers. The universal wisdom, however, is that good pitching – in this or any other league – almost always sinks good hitting in post-season baseball. Prediction: Villa Clara in five games

Las Tunas versus Ciego de Avila

Season Series Results: Las Tunas 4 wins (4-3, 16-1, 4-3, 6-4); Ciego de Avila 2 wins (6-5, 9-2)

Las Tunas (54-41) Overview: Just about every year there is a post-season surprise and Las Tunas definitely has the potential to match what upstart Pinar did last year and what underdog Industriales accomplished one year earlier. If the Las Tunas Leñadores (Woodcutters) hold a slight advantage it comes with their deep if not outstanding pitching headed up by Yoelkis Cruz (13-6, 3.72 ERA), Yudiel Rodríguez (10-8, 4.07) and solid closer Rigoberto Cabrera (12 saves, 2.79). Juan Miguel Gordo’s club can also generate plenty of offense from a balanced lineup featuring Joan Carlos Pedroso (the ninth most proficient home run producer in league history), Alexander Guerrero (21 homers, fourth in the league this season), and veteran Danel Castro (who enjoyed a great comeback season as runner-up to José Dariel Abreu in the batting race). Also not to be overlooked are table-setting right fielder Andres Quiala (with 118 base hits) and slugging catcher Yosvani Alarcón. Veterans Castro (18 seasons) and Pedroso (15 seasons) have not benefitted from much post-season experience over their long careers, but this could be their opportunity for one grand final hurrah.

Ciego de Avila (54-42) Overview: Roger Machado has several large weapons in his arsenal and two of the largest are Vladimir García (perhaps Cuba’s best pitcher at the moment) and Yadier Rabi (the island’s most durable young arm out of the bullpen and National Series #51 league leader in pitching appearances). Machado was forced to use García on the season’s final day in the effort to reach the playoffs and that move will likely cost one start for the Tigers ace in the quarterfinal round – perhaps a decisive factor in a short series. On the other hand Machado has never been afraid to use García often and also on very short rest. The Tigers manager has often been criticized, in fact, for displaying little confidence in his overall pitching outside of Vlad García, and therefore of going to the well far too often with his overused mainstay. Ciego doesn’t have as many outstanding bats as Las Tunas but they do feature Rusney Castillo. Castillo was the league-leader in doubles and a potent .332 hitter, but also the only Tiger slugger to reach double figures in homers (16). As a team Las Tunas outhit Ciego by 30 points overall (.304 to .272) and outslugged them by 30 homers and such a distinct power deficiency could spell Ciego’s doom.

Series Assessment: Las Tunas held the regular season edge, winning twice at home and twice on the road. They also overcame Vlad García the one time they faced him, but relief ace Yadier Rabi and not García took the loss in that February game in Julio Antonio Mella Stadium. There is no question that García must get a couple of starts (and win them both) and Rabi must be solid out of the pen to offset the Woodcutter’s large advantage in raw power. Las Tunas seemingly has everything going for it in this series, but you can always throw “the book” out the window at playoff time. Also Roger Machado is a much craftier skipper than many in Cuba give him credit for being. This series will likely drag on a lot longer than some of the pundits might surmise. Prediction: Las Tunas in six games

In brief, none of the four series are especially easy to call and all four promise the possibility of expected suspense and unanticipated surprises. It should all be a true delight for fans and a true test for the remaining octet of teams vying to survive the heat of championship competition. Let the games begin.

Cuba’s final National Series weekend finished with a true flourish – a Sunday afternoon crammed with sufficient action that included a new league home run record and three teams reaching playoff status on the final day of the campaign. Alfredo Despaigne “walked off” with the hotly disputed home run crown and upped his league record on his second-to-last at-bat of the season. Despaigne also claimed the RBI title but the talk of the day was the sixth inning homer – number 36 of the year, number 200 of his brief career, and ironically an “inside-the-park” smash that never left the field of play. Also stirring plenty of conversation was the fact that Despaigne’s close rival José Abreu lost out on any chance at a Triple Crown when he sat out the final game, after have closing the RBI gap to but a pair in recent days. It was the second straight year that Abreu surrendered a Triple Crown opportunity in the season’s final game.

On other individual fronts, Artemisa flamethrower Yadir Pedroso managed to tie Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) for the league strikeout lead while Holguín’s Pablo Millan Fernández (1.52) barely clung to his sparse lead over Ciego’s Valdimir García (1.72) for bragging rights in the ERA department. Ciego manager Roger Machado was forced to use his top hurler García on the final day of the season (rather than saving him for the playoff opener) since the Tigers desperately needed a victory for post-season qualification. Vladimir responded and turned in a brilliant 7-inning outing for a winning effort during which he surrendered only a single unearned tally.

The chaotic Oriental League playoff picture was not finalized until late afternoon when injury-riddled Santiago was knocked off the post-season calendar for the second year in a row. Sunday opened up with a four-way race still raging for the three league runner-up slots. Las Tunas needed a win in their two-game set with Industriales to avoid possible elimination. Yet despite their 10-9 defeat in the twin-bill opener the Leñadores backed into the post-season thanks to Santiago’s second loss of the weekend to basement-dwelling Mayabeque (the team that finished play with the season’s worst record). Ciego managed to qualify by holding on against Abreu-less Cienfuegos. Thus the final tussle game down to Granma and Santiago, once the Stallions had kept their own slim hopes alive on the strength of a 10-1 romp over Isla. It looked for a while like Santiago would be able to salvage their season on home turf but weak pitching and a short lineup (with Héctor Olivera and Reutilio Hurtado on the sidelines) spelled doom in an embarrassing eleventh-hour 9-7 stumble against pesky if not very potent Mayabeque.

The opening round playoff matches are now set for this coming week. In the Western Division first-place Matanzas will host underdog Sancti Spíritus. Evenly matched Cienfuegos and Industriales will square off in the other Occidental quarterfinal shootout. In the Oriental League clashes Villa Clara entertains Granma and Despaigne during the quarterfinal round while Las Tunas and Ciego de Avila slug it out in perhaps least predictable series of the four. North coast neighbors Villa Clara and Matanzas seem to be on a collision course toward this year’s finals – but numerous surprises are still likely to unfold as the season moves towards its exciting conclusion.

Playoff Quarterfinal Matchups:

Matanzas versus Sancti Spíritus (Occidental)

Industriales versus Cienfuegos (Occidental)

Villa Clara versus Granma (Oriental)

Las Tunas versus Ciego de Avila (Oriental)

Results of Saturday, April 21, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Granma 11, Isla de la Juventud 6

Cienfuegos 4, Ciego de Avila 3

Matanzas 9, Camagüey 4

Villa Clara 6, Sancti Spíritus 1

Metropolitanos 8, Holguín 7

Guantánamo 3, Artemisa 0 (5 Innings)

Las Tunas at Industriales (Rained Out)

Santiago de Cuba 6, Mayabeque 0

Idle: Pinar del Río (season complete)

Results of Sunday, April 22, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Granma 10, Isla de la Juventud 1

Ciego de Avila 3, Cienfuegos 2

Matanzas 10, Camagüey 5

Villa Clara 6, Sancti Spíritus 3

Holguín 7, Metropolitanos 1

Guantánamo 3, Artemisa 2 (10)

Industriales 10, Las Tunas 9

Mayabeque 9, Santiago de Cuba 7

Idle: Pinar del Río (season complete)

Final Regular Season League Standings (April 22, 2012)

Boldface teams have clinched playoff appearance

Occidental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Matanzas	96	58	38	.604	–
Industriales	95	55	40	.579	2.5
Cienfuegos	96	54	42	.563	4.0
Sancti Spíritus	95	49	46	.519	8.5
Pinar del   Río	96	47	49	.490	11.0
Isla de   la Juventud	96	39	57	.406	19.0
Metropolitanos	96	38	58	.396	20.0
Artemisa	96	36	60	.375	22.0
Mayabeque	96	33	63	.344	25.0

Oriental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Villa Clara	96	58	38	.604	–
Las Tunas	94	53	41	.564	3.5
Ciego de Avila	96	54	42	.563	4.0
Granma	96	54	42	.563	4.0
Santiago   de Cuba	96	53	43	.552	5.0
Guantánamo	94	45	49	.479	12.0
Holguín	96	44	52	.458	14.0
Camagüey	96	43	53	.448	15.0

Final Individual National Series #51 Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .394

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 133

Runs: Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas) 91

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 36 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 105

Doubles: Rusney Castillo (Ciego de Avila) 28

Triples: Lázaro Rodríguez (Cienfuegos) 11

Steals: Lázaro Rodriguez (Cienfuegos) 29

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .837

Final National Series #51 Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 17

Win Pct.: Alain Sánchez (Villa Clara) .800 (12-3)

ERA: Pablo Millan Fernández (Holguín) 1.52

Games: Yadir Rabi (Ciego de Avila) 46

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 27 (ties league record)

Shutouts: Yosvani Torres (Pinar del Río) 5

Ks: Yadier Pedroso (Artemisa) 128

Ks: Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) 128

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 185.0

A dramatic battle for mythical title of “Cuba’s Home Run King” raging for the past month has finally come to a dramatic and somewhat odd conclusion on the season’s final day of action. Granma’s Alfredo Despaigne took back sole position of the league record with his 36th smash of the campaign on Sunday afternoon in his second-to-last at-bat of the season. The blow in Nueva Gerona’s Cristobal Labra Stadium came off a delivery from Isla right-hander Alesky Perera and was ironically Despaigne’s only inside-the-park home run of the year. With four RBIs on the day the Granma “Stallion” also pushed his league-leading final total in that department to 105, a margin of six over runner-up José Dariel Abreu.

Despaigne’s final record performance was accompanied by some obvious oddities and notable ironies. First and foremost was the almost certain claim that this was the first time in any modern-era league where a home run title was decided or a new all-time record established with a four-bagger that never left the field of play. So far there has been no video available to demonstrate precisely what occurred on the historic hit. Isla made two substitutions in the outfield to start the inning (and also one replacement in the top of the previous inning). Did confusion on Despaigne’s fly ball to center result from the constant outfield “musical chairs” by the home team? Was Despaigne’s blast slightly tainted by lackadaisical effort (either intentional or otherwise) on the part of the Isla outfielders? Or was there a misplay during the action that might well have resulted in a defensive error that was never credited by a home field official scorer. There is little reason to suggest that Despaigne’s rather strange homer was in any way illegitimate, and yet without a video replay or some further description from the Cuban press it is hard not to speculate, or at least to ponder the circumstances.

A second irony attached to the final day’s events is the fact that Despaigne was handed something of an assist by the absence of José Dariel Abreu from the playing field. Cienfuegos manager Iday Abreu had moved his slugger to the top of the batting order for the Friday and Saturday games – presumably to provide the big first baseman a few extra plate appearances that might increase his chances of overhauling Despaigne. Abreu had made up a six-homer deficit over the last couple weeks and had also closed the gap on Saturday to only two in the RBI department. At stake for Abreu was not only his piece of the home run record (which he had previously shared with Yoennis Céspedes) but also a potential first-ever National Series Triple Crown batting feat. But then, for some so far inexplicable reason, Abreu sat helplessly on the sidelines Sunday afternoon.

The odd absence of the top Cienfuegos slugger not only handed the title to Abreu’s Granma rival but also gave a huge boost to visiting Ciego de Avila. The visitors eked out a narrow 3-2 win over the Abreu-less Elephants that pushed them into a post-season playoff spot. It is indeed possible that it was injury that sent Abreu to the bench; he did also miss an entire series last weekend in Isla. But that scenario seems rather unlikely given the move to the top lineup spot on Friday and Saturday and the effort to gain extra ABs for Abreu in the opening matches of the series. Some explanation seems in the offering.

This was the second consecutive year that José Dariel met bitter disappointment in the final game of the campaign. Last season the Cienfuegos star was able to tie Céspedes for the home run lead (and league record) in the final contest yet also fell one short in the RBI chase. He thus missed an historic Triple Crown by only the slimmest of margins. The Despaigne home run and four RBIs on Sunday meant that in retrospect Abreu would likely have been outdistanced today even if he had taken his normal spot in the lineup. But nonetheless it has to be far more of a disappointment to “go down sitting” than to “go down swinging” on the season’s final day. Despaigne raced around the bases in Nueva Gerona with a new spot in the record book (if possibly a controversial one) but his top rival Abreu never had a chance to answer.

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Big league baseball has its sufficient examples of ballplayers sitting out the season’s final game in order to product a slim lead during a down-to-the-wire race for a league batting title. Or there is the well-worn tale of MLB’s last .400 hitter – Ted Williams in 1941 – refusing to play it safe by remaining on the sidelines during a final-day double-header. Cienfuegos manager Iday Abreu tried a new wrinkle in a similar scenario yesterday by moving clean-up slugger José Dariel into the leadoff spot in his lineup for the season’s final weekend series. The move was designed to potentially gain the star slugger a few additional plate appearances and thus increase Abreu’s chances of overhauling Alfredo Despaigne in the individual National Series home run and RBI races.

Abreu responded well Friday with a three-for-four outing that included a single, double, triple and 3 RBIs, narrowing runs-batted-home differential to only three. Despaigne was held hitless at Isla but Granma did win a crucial match that propelled the Stallions into a dead heat with Santiago for the final Oriental League playoff spot. Granma benefited from Santiago’s 11-4 defeat at the hands of Eastern Division tail ender Mayabeque. The biggest slugging display on Friday came from Matanzas first sacker Yasiel Santoya (on loan from Sancti Spíritus) who collected a pair of homers and six RBIs. The win for Victor Mesa’s Crocodiles clinched at least a share of first place in the Occidental League as well as upping to 56 the club record for single-season victories.

In other games Sancti Spíritus rolled over Western League leader Villa Clara 8-0 behind homers by Orlando Acebey and Yenier Bello while Metros enjoyed a similar shutout victory over basement-dwelling Holguín. Guantánamo also benefitted from a two-home-run outburst by Vismay Santos in squeezing out an 8-6 road win over Artemisa. And in one of the most crucial afternoon matches, Las Tunas squandered an early lead by surrendering five runs to Industriales in the home eighth and then dropped the vital contest during a tie-breaker tenth inning. The costly loss prevented the Leñadores from solidifying their position in the still-heated Oriental League post-season qualifying race. With the dramatic come-from-behind victory Industriales clung to a slim mathematical possible of tying Matanzas for first place in the Western Division.

Results of Friday, April 20, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Granma 4, Isla de la Juventud 1

Cienfuegos 6, Ciego de Avila 5

Matanzas 10, Camagüey 2

Sancti Spíritus 8, Villa Clara 0

Metropolitanos 7, Holguín 0

Guantánamo 8, Artemisa 6

Industriales 7, Las Tunas 6

Mayabeque 11, Santiago de Cuba 4

Idle: Pinar del Río (season complete)

League Standings (April 20, 2012)

Boldface teams have clinched playoff appearance

Occidental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Matanzas	94	56	38	.596	–
Industriales	94	54	40	.574	2.0
Cienfuegos	94	53	41	.564	3.0
Sancti Spíritus	93	49	44	.527	6.5
Pinar del   Río	96	47	49	.490	10.0
Isla de   la Juventud	94	39	55	.415	17.0
Metropolitanos	94	37	57	.394	19.0
Artemisa	94	36	58	.383	20.0
Mayabeque	94	32	62	.340	24.0

Oriental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Villa Clara	94	56	38	.596	–
Las Tunas	93	53	40	.570	2.5
Ciego de   Avila	94	53	41	.564	3.0
Santiago   de Cuba	94	52	42	.553	4.0
Granma	94	52	42	.553	4.0
Guantánamo	92	43	49	.467	12.0
Camagüey	94	43	51	.457	13.0
Holguín	94	43	51	.457	13.0

Individual Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .396

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 129

Runs: Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas) 87

HR: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) 35 (new league record)

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 35 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 101

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .845

Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 17

ERA: Pablo Millan Fernández (Holguín) 1.52

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 27

Shutouts: Yosvani Torres (Pinar del Río) 5

Ks: Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) 128

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 185.0

Saturday, April 21 marks the 62nd anniversary of Conrado Marrero’s big league debut with the Washington Senators. On this date in 1950 at Yankee Stadium Marrero replaced Jim Pearce in the bottom of the eighth frame with Yogi Berra standing on first base for the Yankees and Joe DiMaggio occupying third. The first batter than Marrero faced was Billy Johnson who rolled out to the second baseman while advancing Berra to second and scoring DiMaggio. Hank Bauer then singled scoring Berra from second. The Cuban ace (a few days short of turning 39 at the time) completed his first outing by retiring Jerry Coleman on a fly ball to center. The Yankees won the game 14-7 with Joe Page the winner in relief and Mickey Harris the losing hurler. Marrero would stick around the big leagues for five seasons and compile a lifetime 39-40 ledger. But far more remarkable yet is the fact that Connie Marrero is still hanging around in Havana as MLB’s oldest surviving veteran. Connie will turn 101 next week on April 25.

For all the details of Marrero’s remarkable saga, try any and all of the following links:

http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/7920d04b

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/14/sports/baseball/conrado-marrero-a-bridge-to-cubas-baseball-past.html?_r=2&ref=sports

http://bats.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/24/centenarian-in-need-receives-overdue-aid/?ref=baseball

http://sabr.org/content/mysteries-and-misconceptions-surrounding-conrado-marrero

Baseball historian David Fleitz loves to archive some of the oddest corners of our favorite game. Like former ballplayers who have managed to live beyond ten decades, or walk-off grand slam home runs (homers with the bases full in the home half of the last frame that immediately end a game with victory for the home club). Fleitz’s on-line “Baseball Page” devotes special sections to cataloging these “Ultimate Grand Slams” and “Centenarian Ballplayers” as touchstones of the author’s research into truly arcane aspects of diamond trivia. And Fleitz is not alone in his fascination with walk-off homers (he lists 27 that have apparently occurred in the majors and are of “ultimate” category since they happened with the home team trailing by exactly three tallies).

On “The Hardball Times” website Chris Jaffee has written more than one post discussing his candidate for baseball’s “coolest home run” ever hit. Jaffee’s rather substantial choice is a July 25, 1956 blast by Roberto Clemente (aged 21 at the time – ironically, given his famous number “21”) that was in fact an inside-the-park walk off. Clemente’s blow with the bases full in the bottom of the ninth erased a 3-run deficit and handed Pittsburgh a wild 9-8 victory over the always-suffering Chicago Cubs.

Now it would seemingly be difficult to top something quite as odd as Clemente’s grand slam that ended a game but never actually left the playing field. At least it would be hard to top if the only baseball one had was the somewhat narrow universe of the professional North American “major” leagues. But that is what happens when one is stricken with what I like to think of as a brand of “SABR disease” – a provincial view of baseball history that circumscribes and delineates the interests of so many SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) writers and commentators. Jaffee doesn’t called Clemente’s rare blast “the coolest big league homer” but “the coolest homer ever.” Fleitz’s list of “Ultimate Walk-Offs” in not truly a list drawn from baseball history but only a list culled from the history of two enterprises known as the American League and National League.

Somehow you miss so much fun when you discard the Japanese leagues, the various Caribbean winter leagues, the other Asian pro leagues, or even the baseball of top-level professional and amateur international tournament play. And especially when you forget about the modern-era Cuban League – above all, the recent editions of a Cuban National Series that has adopted a tradition-busting but nonetheless fascinating extra-inning tiebreaker scenario.

A short while back I offered a column  (“Schiller Rule Opens Door on Tough Trivia Questions” – March 15, 2012) devoted to some intriguing possibilities attached to this season’s first-ever no-hit and no-run game played under the new regulation. Just to refresh, Cuba now uses the Schiller Rule, named in honor of the IBAF President who molded the regulation for the Beijing Olympic Baseball Tournament. The rule (designed to shorten games during a tight tournament schedule) provides that in extra frames 1) both teams are gifted base runners at first and second to start each new inning, and 2) managers can restart their batting orders in the tenth frame at any point they choose. Some of the rare possibilities now generated are the following: A pitcher might now be able to toss a ten-inning perfect game (retire every batter he faces without permitting a single base runner) and yet entice two of those outs via a double play. Or the same pitcher could throw a perfect game and yet permit a run to score (winning the game, say, by a 2-1 score). Or perhaps better yet, a batter might record an RBI in a game where his team is the victim of a perfect game hurled by the opposing pitcher.

So now we come to the matter of odd, rare, unprecedented – “cool” if you will – game-ending grand slam home runs. Consider the follow piece of exotic trivia guaranteed to stump any big-league oriented fan and win a couple of frosty drinks at your favorite local pub. Question: How can a batter hit a walk-off extra-inning grand slam home run in a frame in which only three home-club batters came to the plate? Another question of related genus: How can an extra-inning walk-off grand slam occur when the opposing pitcher (or pitchers) in that inning only allow one batter to reach base? Stumped (at this point you shouldn’t be, if you have been following the details here)? Not only could it happen, it indeed already has happened – and of course it inevitably occurred about a month and a half ago in that most unorthodox, entertaining and intriguing of baseball venues – the Cuban League National Series.

With all the recent focus on the record-setting home runs being stroked this year by José Dariel Abreu and Alfredo Despaigne, few took much note of the unprecedented (and ultimately cool!) smash recorded on March 1, 2012 by Despaigne’s Granma teammate Urmanis “El Yogui” Guerra. Here in detail is the remarkable scenario.

The game between Havana Metropolitanos and Granma was being played in Bayamo’s quaint Martires de Barbados Stadium and was deadlocked at 2-2 after a regulation nine frames. With runners automatically positioned (by IBAF rule) on first and second in the top of the tenth, Metros was able to plate a pair and thus grab a 4-2 advantage. In the home half Granma manager Indalecio Alejandrez elected to station his leadoff batter and two-spot hitter on first and second and begin a hoped-for rally with league home run leader Alfredo Despaigne. At that point rather than walking Despaigne (and setting up a force at every base with a two-run lead) Metros skipper Luis Suarez opted for the risky strategy of pitching to Despaigne. It all turned out well enough when Despaigne lifted a lazy fly to center and the two runners stayed put. (This was not a bad tactic perhaps since cleanup hitter Yordanis Samón is currently the league base hits leader and a threat about equal to Despaigne). Suarez had dodge one bullet but wasn’t about to risk another and thus ordered pitcher Maikel Hidalgo to issue a free pass to Samón, loading the bases. Now there was indeed a force play set up at every corner and a double-play ball would end the game.

Up stepped the fate-blessed man of the hour, five-hole hitter Urmanis Guerra. One pitch from Hidalgo equaled a walk-off grand slam into the left-field bleachers. And there you have it, and all thanks to the invention of Harvey Schiller. Hidalgo (the inning’s only pitcher) faced exactly three batters, walked one of them, and yet yielded a grand slam.

Was Roberto Clemente’s inside the park job “the coolest home run ever” as Jaffee sees it? It was certainly one of the oddest. But for me it holds nothing in the way of oddity over the blow struck by Urmanis Guerra. The first-ever Schiller Rule tie-breaker walk-off homer. Wouldn’t you have loved to be there? That for me is truly the coolest home run ever.

All season long most eyes have been focused squarely on Granma’s Alfredo Despaigne and his quest to catch and surpass the single-season home run mark of 33 established last spring by José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) and Yoennis Céspedes (Granma, now with the Oakland Athletics in the North American major leagues). A little more than two weeks ago the Granma Stallion (“The Horse of the Horses” as he is known around the island) accomplished his goal in most dramatic fashion by banging out numbers 34 and 35 in Havana’s Latin American Stadium. The first record-breaking smash was especially spectacular since it came on a pitch that actually severed Despaigne’s bat into separate pieces; that blow – struck off Industriales southpaw Ian Rendón – still managed to travel well in excess of 400 feet on its flight into the left-center-field bleachers.

By putting some distance between himself and Abreu earlier in the month, Despaigne seemed to have locked up both the new home run record and also the league lead in runs batted in. First place finishes in both those slugging departments seemed to spell another near-miss for José Dariel who has now flirted with a possible first-ever Triple Crown for two consecutive seasons. Last year’s batting and home run champ, Abreu lost out in the RBI department by the narrowest of possible margins to Céspedes (with whom he shared the home run crown). This year Abreu enjoys a safe margin as repeat winner of the batting title (now owning a .391 average) and has trailed only Despaigne in the other two heavyweight offensive departments.

But the Fat Lady had not yet sung (as the saying goes) and for the second time in a month Abreu has charged from the rear to again grab at least a share of the spotlight. Last night (April 18) in Cinco de Septiembre Stadium the bulky Cienfuegos first sacker smacked out long ball number 35 (in the sixth inning off Santiago right-hander Dany Betancourt) to take back a share of the home run record he had surrendered to Despaigne on April 3. It was Abreu’s third homer in as many games and his sixth since Despaigne’s own record thirty-fifth. And the blow also narrowed the gap to a mere five in the RBI department.

Both sluggers now have three games remaining as the National Series season heads into its final weekend. Cienfuegos entertains Ciego de Avila in a three-game set at home and will likely face league ERA leader Vladimir García in one of those matches. Granma faces a more crucial series on the road in Nueva Gerona versus Isla de la Juventud (whose pitching staff boasts new single-season Saves record holder Danni Aguilera). The Stallions must make up a one-game difference in their tussle with Santiago de Cuba for the final Oriental League post-season slot. Abreu seems to have all the momentum at the moment and is in fact currently slugging homers with greater frequency on the season than Despaigne. Abreu as whacked a round-tripper every 7.83 times at bat; Despaigne is slightly less impressive with one every 9.51 official trips to the plate. If Abreu has the momentum, it could also be said that Despaigne is overdue and also owns a history of saving his grandest performances for the biggest stages. It should be a thrilling race to the wire.

Results of Wednesday, April 18, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Industriales 2, Pinar del Río 0

Mayabeque 4, Isla de la Juventud 3

Artemisa 7, Metropolitanos 2

Matanzas 12, Guantánamo 2

Villa Clara 9, Holguín 4

Ciego de Avila 9, Las Tunas 2

Granma 6, Sancti Spíritus 5

Santiago de Cuba 9, Cienfuegos 6

Sancti Spíritus 14, Granma 4 (KO 8) (late game Tuesday night)

Idle: Camagüey

League Standings (April 19, 2012)

Boldface teams have clinched playoff appearance

Occidental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Matanzas	93	55	38	.591	–
Industriales	93	53	40	.570	2.0
Cienfuegos	93	52	41	.559	3.0
Sancti Spíritus	92	48	44	.522	6.5
Pinar del   Río	96	47	49	.490	9.5
Isla de   la Juventud	93	39	54	.419	16.0
Artemisa	93	36	57	.387	19.0
Metropolitanos	93	36	57	.387	19.0
Mayabeque	93	31	62	.333	24.0

Oriental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Villa Clara	93	56	37	.602	–
Las Tunas	92	53	39	.576	2.5
Ciego de   Avila	93	53	40	.570	3.0
Santiago   de Cuba	93	52	41	.554	4.0
Granma	93	51	42	.559	5.0
Guantánamo	91	42	49	.462	13.0
Camagüey	93	43	50	.462	13.0
Holguín	93	43	50	.462	13.0

Individual Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .391

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 126

Hits: Yordan Manduley (Hulguín) 126

Runs: Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas) 86

HR: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) 35 (new league record)

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 35 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 101

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .836

Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 17

ERA: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 1.78

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 27

Shutouts: Yosvani Torres (Pinar del Río) 5

Ks: Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) 128

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 185.0

Frequent updates concerning Cuban League action and periodic video clips/links on Cuban baseball are also regularly available on my Facebook page. Those interested in Cuban baseball may also wish to “friend” me on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001753561208

Pinar’s Vegueros has already surrendered all but the slimmest possibility of defending their National Series #50 league title and seem destined to sit on the sideline for this year’s post-season festivities. With but one game remaining on their own schedule Pinar now trails Sancti Spíritus (with five games remaining after tonight) by five games in the loss column and thus is all but eliminated from the playoff picture. Nonetheless the Vegueros have been making life miserable for Industriales, winning again today against the Blue Lions and thus dropping the capital city club two full games behind Matanzas (and into a second-place tie with Cienfuegos) in the Occidental League first-place tussle. Today’s Pinar victory in Capitan San Luis came via a 2-1 squeaker decided in the tenth frame via the tie-breaking Schiller Rule. Osniel Madera punched home the winning tally with a clutch one-out single in the tenth frame.

Cienfuegos moved into a second place deadlock with the Lions on the strength of a 5-3 victory over Santiago that featured José Dariel Abreu’s 34th homer of the season. Abreu now stands only one homer away from tying Alfredo Despaigne’s recently set National Series record and also matching Despaigne for the current league led. In the day’s second record-setting performance, Isla closer Danni Aguilera picked up save number 27 in Nueva Gerona to equal the National Series record set only last season by Cienfuegos bullpen ace Duniel Ibarra.

Results of Tuesday, April 17, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Pinar del Río 2. Industriales 1 (10)

Isla de la Juventud 6, Mayabeque 3

Artemisa 3, Metropolitanos 1

Matanzas 2, Guantánamo 1

Cienfuegos 5, Santiago de Cuba 3

Holguín 3, Villa Clara 0

Las Tunas 6, Ciego de Avila 4 (10)

Sancti Spíritus at Granma 0 (late game)

Idle: Camagüey

League Standings (April 17, 2012)

Boldface teams have clinched playoff appearance

Occidental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Matanzas	92	54	38	.587	–
Cienfuegos	92	52	40	.565	2.0
Industriales	92	52	40	.565	2.0
Sancti   Spíritus	90	47	43	.522	6.0
Pinar del   Río	95	47	48	.495	8.5
Isla de   la Juventud	92	39	53	.424	15.0
Metropolitanos	92	36	56	.391	17.5
Artemisa	92	35	57	.380	19.0
Mayabeque	92	30	62	.326	24.0

Oriental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Villa Clara	92	55	37	.598	–
Las Tunas	91	53	38	.582	1.5
Ciego de   Avila	92	52	40	.565	3.0
Santiago   de Cuba	92	51	41	.554	4.0
Granma	91	50	41	.549	4.5
Holguín	92	43	49	.467	12.0
Guantánamo	90	42	48	.467	12.0
Camagüey	93	43	50	.462	12.5

Individual Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .390

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 124

Hits: Yordan Manduley (Holguín (Holguín) 124

Runs: Ramón Tamayo (Granma) 83

Runs: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 83

Runs: Guillermo Heredia (Matanzas) 83

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 35 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 101

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .827

Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 17

ERA: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 1.78

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 27 (ties league record)

Ks: Yadier Pedroso (Artemisa) 122

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 185.0

Frequent updates concerning Cuban League action and periodic video clips/links on Cuban baseball are also regularly available on my Facebook page. Those interested in Cuban baseball may also wish to “friend” me on Facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001753561208

Monday evening brought a double dose of good news for the Sancti Spíritus club in the form of a crucial on-field victory in Granma and surprisingly early news that Freddie Cepeda has now been pronounced sufficiently recovered from shoulder pain to take part in post-season play. It had been announced earlier in the day that the star left fielder might have to sit out the full post-season due to a troublesome shoulder condition that limited his ability to both throw and swing the bat. With the Gallos club now seemingly all-but-mathematically guaranteed a playoff slot and with Cepeda pronounced fit for duty (even if not at full strength) things are indeed looking bright on the baseball front in Sancti Spíritus – and thus just a little less rosy for Occidental League opponents Industriales, Matanzas and Cienfuegos.

Ruperto Zamora’s club took a giant step last night toward locking up the final western sector post-season ticket with a dramatic 3-2 victory at Martires de Barbados Stadium that also damaged the home club’s eastern division playoff momentum. Both clubs plated two runs in the tense ninth inning after Gallos ace starter Ismel Jiménez carried a 1-0 lead into the last frame. In the bottom of the ninth closer Omar Guardarramas surrendered a two-run blast to Yordanis Samón (the league’s current base hits leader) that cut the visitor’s margin to a single run. But Yaniel Sosa was able to close the door (his first save of the season) and preserve victory number 17 for Jiménez. With the win Jiménez became only the eighth pitcher to lock down 17 victories in a National Series season and the first since Norge Vera last turned the trick in 2000. The loss for Granma dumped the Stallions a full game off the pace in their struggle with Santiago for the last available playoff spot in the Oriental League.

Results of Monday, April 16, 2012

(Boldface team is home club)

Matanzas 7, Guantánamo 4

Villa Clara 5, Holguín 3

Artemisa 7, Metropolitanos 3

Isla de la Juventud 4, Mayabeque 1

Sancti Spíritus 3, Granma 2

Idle: All other teams

League Standings (April 16, 2012)

Boldface teams have clinched playoff appearance

Occidental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Matanzas	91	53	38	.582	–
Industriales	91	52	39	.571	1.0
Cienfuegos	91	51	40	.560	2.0
Sancti   Spíritus	90	47	43	.522	5.5
Pinar del   Río	94	46	48	.489	8.5
Isla de   la Juventud	91	38	53	.418	15.0
Metropolitanos	91	36	55	.396	17.0
Artemisa	91	34	57	.374	19.0
Mayabeque	91	30	61	.330	23.0

Oriental League

Team	Games	Wins	Losses	Pct.	Margin
Villa Clara	91	55	36	.604	–
Las Tunas	90	52	38	.578	2.5
Ciego de   Avila	91	52	39	.571	3.0
Santiago   de Cuba	91	51	40	.560	4.0
Granma	91	50	41	.549	5.0
Guantánamo	89	42	47	.472	12.0
Holguín	91	42	49	.462	13.0
Camagüey	93	43	50	.462	13.0

Individual Batting Leaders

Ave: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .388

Hits: Yordanis Samón (Granma) 124

Runs: Ramón Tamayo (Granma) 83

HR: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 35 (new league record)

RBI: Alfredo Despaigne (Granma) 101

Slugging: José Dariel Abreu (Cienfuegos) .821

Individual Pitching Leaders

Wins: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 17

ERA: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 1.78

Complete Games: Vladimir García (Ciego de Avila) 11

Saves: Danni Aguilera (Isla de la Juventud) 26

Ks: Yadier Pedroso (Artemisa) 120

Ks: Odrisamer Despaigne (Industriales) 120

Innings: Ismel Jiménez (Sancti Spíritus) 185.0