1971-1972 Cuban National League

The 1971-1972 season was the eleventh season of Cuba's national baseball system.

Serie Nacional

The 11th Serie Nacional was won by Azucareros - the team's second consecutive title - following a tie-breaking playoff against the Mineros. After both teams were tied atop the league at 52 – 14; the teams proceeded to play in a best-of-three playoff. The Azucareros won the series, two games to one, in part due to the excellent pitching of José Antonio Huelga. The Azucareros won the title despite a managerial change from Pedro Pérez Delgado to Servio Borges. Borges had managed them to a title three years earlier.

Pitching for third-place Industriales, Ihosvany Gallego allows a scant three earned runs in 72.1 innings pitched for a 0.37 ERA – the lowest in league history. He is also named the league's best pitcher. Gallego's teammate, slugger Agustín Marquetti, recaptures his home run and runs batted in crowns with 11 and 53 respectively – and is named most valuable player. Roberto Valdés of the Mineros club wins 12 games with no losses, a record that has not been topped. During the course of the season, the Mineros put together a 27-game winning streak, while Matanzas lost 25 in a row.

Standings

Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Azucareros	66	52	14	0.788	-.-
Mineros	66	52	14	0.788	-.-
Industriales	66	51	15	0.773	1.0
Granjeros	66	49	17	0.742	3.0
Henequeneros	66	40	26	0.606	12.0
La Habana	66	32	34	0.485	20.0
Vegueros	66	29	37	0.439	23.0
Oriente	66	24	42	0.364	28.0
Camagüey	66	19	47	0.288	33.0
Las Villas	66	18	48	0.273	34.0
Pinar del Río	66	17	49	0.258	35.0
Matanzas	66	13	53	0.197	39.0

Playoffs

After Azucareros and Mineros ended the regular season in a tie, a best-of-three series was played to crown a champion. Azucareros won the series, 2 - 1.

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	Elpidio Mancebo	Mineros	.327	69 hits in 211 at-bats
Runs Scored	Antonio Muñoz	Azucareros	51
Base Hits	Wilfredo Sánchez	Henequeneros	90
Doubles	Felipe Sarduy	Granjeros	16
Triples	Pablo Espinosa	Oriente	5
Home Runs	Agustín Marquetti	Industriales	11
Runs Batted In	Agustín Marquetti	Industriales	53
Base-on-Balls	Antonio Muñoz	Azucareros	55
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Antonio Muñoz	Azucareros	18
Hit-by-Pitch	Jeremías González	Pinar del Río	10
Strikeouts	Jeremías González	Pinar del Río	47
Sacrifice Hit	Alfredo García	Henequeneros	9
Sacrifice Fly	Arturo Linares	La Habana	8
Stolen Bases	Antonio Jiménez	La Habana	28

Pitching

Stat	Leader	Team	Number	Notes
Wins	Orlando Figueredo	Mineros	14
Win-Loss Percentage	Roberto Valdés Pedro González	Mineros Granjeros	1.000	12 - 0 7 - 0
Earned Run Average	Ihosvany Gallego	Industriales	0.37	3 ER in 72.1 IP
Innings Pitched	Mario Fernández	Oriente	151.1
Games Pitched	Domingo Pérez	Vegueros	29
Games Started	Orlando Figueredo	Mineros	18
Games Relieved	Domingo Pérez	Vegueros	26
Complete Games	Mario Fernández	Oriente	13
Shutouts	Braudilio Vinent	Mineros	6
Hits Allowed	Mario Fernández	Oriente	116
Strikeouts	Braudilio Vinent	Mineros	127
Base-on-Balls	Juan Riscal	Camagüey	56
Intentional Base-on-Balls	José M. Sánchez	Pinar del Río	13
Hit Batters	José Sánchez	Camagüey	9

Award Winners

The Most Valuable Player (Jugadores más Valiosos) was Agustín Marquetti a first baseman with Industriales. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Ihosvany Gallegos of Industriales. Pedro Jova of Azucareros was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).

All-Star Series

The fourth All-Star Series featured two teams playing a 15-game series. Orientales, managed by Servio Borges, defeated Occidentales, 9 to 6.

Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average: .378 - Agustín Arias, Orientales
• Base Hits: 18 - Pedro Jova, Orientales
• Runs Scored: 7 - Agustín Arias, Orientales; Pedro Jova, Orientales; Germán Aguila, Occidentales
• Doubles: 4 - Arturo Linares, Occidentales
• Triples: 3 - Pedro Jova, Orientales
• Runs Batted In: 9 - Félix Isasi, Occidentales
• Stolen Bases: 5 - Wilfredo Sánchez, Occidentales

Pitching

• Complete Games: 2 - Rodovaldo Esquivel, Occidentales
• Wins: 3 - Rodovaldo Esquivel, Occidentales
• Innings Pitched: 26.2 - Rodovaldo Esquivel, Occidentales
• Strikeouts: 16 - Braudilio Vinent, Orientales; Bernardo González, Occidentales
• Base-on-Balls: 10 - Rodovaldo Esquivel, Occidentales
• Earned Run Average: 0.68 - Rodovaldo Esquivel, Occidentales

Sources

• (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1972 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
• (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la XI serie 1972 (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