1965-1966 Cuban National League

From BR Bullpen

The 1965-1966 season was the fifth season of Cuba's national baseball system.

Serie Nacional[edit]

Industriales, managed by Ramón Carneado, won their fourth consecutive title in the fifth Serie Nacional. The season saw the expansion of the league by two teams, Henequeneros and Centrales, gave each of Cuba's provincias a team (from west to east):

The schedule was also nearly doubled to 65 games from 39. Industriales were narrow winners of the league championship as Orientales and newcomer Henequeneros were both within three games of the champions.

In January, Aquino Abreu, a crafty right hander for the last-place Centrales throws back-to-back no-hitters in consecutive starts. His first no-hitter came against Occidentales on the 16th, a 10 – 0 decision and a 7 – 0 win versus Industriales on 25. Abreu, in the process, throws a record 19 consecutive hitless innings.

Standings[edit]

Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion
Team G W L WPCT GB
Industriales 65 40 25 0.615 -.-
Orientales 65 38 27 0.585 2.0
Henequeneros 65 37 28 0.569 3.0
Occidentales 64 29 35 0.453 10.5
Granjeros 64 26 38 0.406 13.5
Centrales 63 23 40 0.365 16.0

All-Star Game[edit]

The fourth Juego de las Estrellas (All-Star Game) was held in Havana. In the game, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 3 to 1. Occidentales had 8 hits to Oriente's 6, while both teams had 2 errors. The winning pitcher was Berto Betancourt and the losing pitcher was Aquino Abreu.

Leaders[edit]

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

Batting[edit]

Stat Leader Team Number Notes
Batting Average Miguel Cuevas Granjeros .325 66 hits in 203 at-bats
Runs Scored Félix Isasi Henequeneros 44
Base Hits Urbano González Industriales 76
Doubles Andrés Telemaco Orientales 12
Triples Agustín Marquetti Industriales 5
Home Runs Lino Betancourt Henequeneros 9
Runs Batted In Lino Betancourt Henequeneros 45
Base-on-Balls Antonio González Industriales 54
Intentional Base-on-Balls Felipe Sarduy Orientales 14
Hit-by-Pitch Pablo Cruz Occidentales 10
Strikeouts Gerardo Olivares
Rolando Valdés
Orientales
Granjeros
43
Sacrifice Hit Seven players tied N/A 5
Sacrifice Fly Félix Rosa
Rafael Herrera
Pedro Chávez
Occidentales
Henequeneros
Industriales
5
Stolen Bases Félix Isasi Henequeneros 24

Pitching[edit]

Stat Leader Team Number Notes
Wins Gaspar Pérez Henequeneros 11
Win-Loss Percentage Justino Gavilán Orientales 0.857 6 - 1
Earned Run Average Alfredo Street Industriales 1.09 9 ER in 74.1 IP
Innings Pitched Carlos Gálvez Centrales 115.0
Games Pitched Lázaro Santana
Raúl López
Orientales
Occidentales
28
Games Started Carlos Gálvez Centrales 15
Games Relieved Raúl López Occidentales 26
Complete Games Alberto Reyes Granjeros 7
Shutouts Alfredo Street
Justino Gavilán
Industriales
Orientales
3
Hits Allowed Carlos Gálvez Centrales 91
Strikeouts Rigoberto Betancourt Occidentales 103
Base-on-Balls Gaspar Pérez Henequeneros 62
Intentional Base-on-Balls Raúl López Occidentales 13
Hit Batters Gaspar Pérez Henequeneros 7

Award Winners[edit]

The Most Valuable Player (Jugadores más Valiosos) was Lino Betancourt a first baseman with Henequeneros. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Alfredo Street of Industriales.

Sources[edit]

Cuban National League Seasons
1962 1962-1963 1963-1964 1964-1965 1965-1966 1966-1967 1967-1968 1968-1969
1969-1970 1970-1971 1971-1972 1972-1973 1973-1974 1974-1975 1975-1976 1976-1977 1977-1978 1978-1979
1979-1980 1980-1981 1981-1982 1982-1983 1983-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1987 1987-1988 1988-1989
1989-1990 1990-1991 1991-1992 1992-1993 1993-1994 1994-1995 1995-1996 1996-1997 1997-1998 1998-1999
1999-2000 2000-2001 2001-2002 2002-2003 2003-2004 2004-2005 2005-2006 2006-2007 2007-2008 2008-2009
2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019
2019-2020 2020-2021 2021-2022 2022-2023