1974-1975 Cuban National League

The 1974-1975 season was the fourteenth season of Cuba's national baseball system.

Serie Nacional

The 14th Serie Nacional was won by Agricultores, who were managed by Orlando Leroux. The Havana-based teams championship coincides with a halving of the length of the Serie Nacional season from 78 games to 39 games. This change was made to allow for the playing of the 54-game Special Series, and first Series Selectivas in the spring and summer.

The champions are led by pitcher Walfrido Ruiz, who wins nine games to lead the league and loses none, and whose 0.62 ERA is a league leader as well. He is also named MVP and best pitcher. Santiago "Changa" Mederos records his 1000th strikeout on March 8 at Estadio Latinoamericano – his opposing pitcher on that day was Ruiz.

Fermín Laffita of Cafetaleros set a new record for batting average, breaking Erwin Walters's record from the league's first season. He hits .396 over the season with 55 hits in 139 at-bats.

Juan Pérez Pérez throws a 2 – 0 no-hitter on January 19 for Ganaderos against Citricultores at Estadio Cándido González. It is Pérez's third consecutive season with a no-hitter.

José Antonio Huelga, Cuba's star pitcher in the 1970 World Cup, is killed in a July 4th automobile accident. Huelga was still in the midst of his seventh season at the time of his death. His career line includes a 73-32 win-loss record, 1.50 ERA, and 722 strikeouts.

Standings

Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Agricultores	39	24	15	0.615	-.-
Vegueros	39	23	16	0.590	1.0
Constructores	39	23	16	0.590	1.0
Granjeros	39	22	17	0.564	2.0
Citricultores	39	22	17	0.564	2.0
Metropolitanos	38	21	17	0.553	2.5
Cafetaleros	39	21	18	0.538	3.0
Ganaderos	38	20	18	0.526	3.5
Serranos	39	18	21	0.462	6.0
Mineros	39	18	21	0.462	6.0
Azucareros	39	17	22	0.436	7.0
Forestales	39	17	22	0.436	7.0
Henequeneros	39	13	26	0.333	11.0
Arroceros	39	13	26	0.333	11.0

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	Fermín Laffita	Cafetaleros	.396	55 hits in 139 at-bats
Runs Scored	Anselmo Hernández	Granjeros	29
Base Hits	Eulogio Osorio	Agricultores	58
Doubles	Raúl Reyes Arturo Linares	Constructores Agricultores	11
Triples	Julián Villar	Agricultores	5
Home Runs	Fernando Sánchez	Henequeneros	6
Runs Batted In	Armando Capiró	Metropolitanos	27
Base-on-Balls	Ángel Castillo	Granjeros	28
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Leonildo Martínez Sandalio Hernández	Vegueros Granjeros	10
Hit-by-Pitch	Ramón Otamendi	Mineros	7
Strikeouts	Jorge Causillo	Mineros	38
Sacrifice Hit	Mario Domecq	Citricultores	8
Sacrifice Fly	Enrique Oduardo	Arroceros	6
Stolen Bases	Wilfredo Sánchez	Citricultores	14

Pitching

Stat	Leader	Team	Number	Notes
Wins	Walfrido Ruiz	Agricultores	9
Win-Loss Percentage	Walfrido Ruiz	Agricultores	1.000	9 - 0
Earned Run Average	Walfrido Ruiz	Agricultores	0.62	6 ER in 87.2 IP
Innings Pitched	Santiago Mederos	Agricultores	91.2
Games Pitched	Ramón Villabrille	Metropolitanos	18
Games Started	Eleven pitchers tied	[[]]	10
Games Relieved	Ramón Villabrille	Metropolitanos	18
Complete Games	Gregorio Pérez Omar Carrero	Cafetaleros Ganaderos	8
Shutouts	Juan Pérez Pérez	Ganaderos	5
Hits Allowed	Mario Fernández	Mineros	73
Strikeouts	Santiago Mederos	Agricultores	92
Base-on-Balls	Rogelio García	Vegueros	36
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Adalberto Herrera Ramón Villabrille	Vegueros Metropolitanos	7
Hit Batters	Rolando Macías	Azucareros	7

Award Winners

The Most Valuable Player (Jugadores más Valiosos) was Walfrido Ruiz a pitcher with Agricultores. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Walfrido Ruiz of Agricultores. Eduardo Terry of Citricultores was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).

Special Series

The Special Series was won by Vegueros who defeated Constructores in the best-of-three championship series. Vegueros (Special Series)|Vegueros was managed by the José Pineda.

Standings

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Vegueros	54	32	22	0.593	-.-
Constructores	54	32	22	0.593	0.0
Serranos	54	31	23	0.574	1.0
Minero	52	26	26	0.500	5.0
Granjeros	53	26	27	0.491	5.5
Henequeneros	53	20	33	0.377	11.5
Azucareros	54	20	34	0.370	12.0

Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average: .348 - Rogelio Montes de Oca, Constructores
• Base Hits: 73 - Rogelio Montes de Oca, Constructores
• Runs Scored: 47 - José Sierra, Constructores
• Doubles: 17 - Romilio Romero, Serranos
• Triples: 11 - José Sierra, Constructores
• Home Runs: 11 - Jorge Francis, Serranos
• Runs Batted In: 46 - Jorge Francis, Serranos
• Stolen Bases: 24 - José Sierra, Constructores

Pitching

• Wins: 8 - José Brizuela, Serranos; Manuel Álvarez, Granjeros
• Strikeouts: 84 - Manuel Álvarez, Granjeros
• Earned Run Average: 1.08 - Gilberto Rodríguez, Constructores

Series Selectivas

The first Series Selectivas was won by Oriente, managed by the José Carrillo.

Standings

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Oriente	54	33	21	0.611	-.-
Camagüeyanos	54	32	22	0.593	1.0
Habana	54	32	22	0.593	1.0
Pinar del Río	54	30	24	0.556	3.0
Las Villas	54	26	28	0.481	7.0
Matanzas	54	19	35	0.352	14.0
Industriales	54	17	37	0.315	16.0

Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average: .358 - Alfonso Urquiola, Pinar del Río
• Base Hits: 66 - Fernando Sánchez, Matanzas; Eusebio Cruz, Camagüeyanos
• Runs Scored: 44 - Armando Capiró, Habana
• Doubles: 15 - Eusebio Cruz, Camagüeyanos
• Triples: 6 - Agustín Arias, Oriente
• Home Runs: 12 - Armando Capiró, Habana; Antonio Muñoz, Las Villas
• Runs Batted In: 42 - Fernando Sánchez, Matanzas
• Stolen Bases: 14 - Félix Isasi, Matanzas

Pitching

• Win-Loss Percentage: 1.000 (5 - 0) - Eduardo Terry, Matanzas
• Games Pitched: 20 - Ramón Villabrille, Habana
• Complete Games: 10 - Santiago Mederos, Habana
• Wins: 10 - Omar Carrero, Camagüeyanos
• Innings Pitched: 119.2 - Santiago Mederos, Habana
• Strikeouts: 85 - Julio Romero, Pinar del Río
• Earned Run Average: 1.04 - Gregorio Pérez, Oriente

Sources

• (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1975 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
• (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la XIV serie 1975 (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