1976-1977 Cuban National League

The 1976-1977 season was the sixteenth season of Cuba's national baseball system.

Serie Nacional

The 16th Serie Nacional was won by Citricultores. The Matanzas-based team were managed by Juan Bregio and won the pennant by one and a half games over Pinar del Río's Vegueros. This season also marked the introduction of aluminum bats; the bats are made in the United States but due to that country's trade embargo, the bats are imported through Central American nations.

Pedro José Rodríguez, Sr. hits 9 home runs for Azucareros to led the league – his first of four consecutive home run titles. Wilfredo Sánchez gets his 1000th career hit off of Nicolás Águila at Estadio Victoria de Girón while with Matanzas on March 16. Sánchez is the first player to reach one thousand hits in Serie Nacional play. On the same day at Estadio José Ramón Cepero, Armando Capiró of La Habana becomes the first player to hit 100 home runs with a round-tripper off of Manuel Álvarez. Forty days later, on April 26, Agricultores' Eulogio Osorio smacks his 1000th base hit at Estadio Latinoamericano.

Standings

Bold indicates Serie Nacional champion

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Citricultores	38	26	12	0.684	-.-
Vegueros	39	25	14	0.641	1.5
Metropolitanos	39	24	15	0.615	2.5
Ganaderos	39	23	16	0.590	3.5
Azucareros	39	23	16	0.590	3.5
Forestales	39	21	18	0.538	5.5
Agricultores	38	20	18	0.526	6.0
Granjeros	39	20	19	0.513	6.5
Arroceros	39	20	19	0.513	6.5
Serranos	37	17	20	0.459	8.5
Henequeneros	37	14	23	0.378	11.5
Mineros	39	14	25	0.359	12.5
Constructores	39	12	27	0.308	14.5
Cafetaleros	39	11	28	0.282	15.5

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	Eulogio Osorio	Agricultores	.359	33 hits in 92 at-bats
Runs Scored	Valentín León	Azucareros	32
Base Hits	Armando Capiró	Metropolitanos	52
Doubles	Pedro Medina	Metropolitanos	14
Triples	Armando Capiró	Metropolitanos	7
Home Runs	Pedro J. Rodríguez	Azucareros	9
Runs Batted In	Pedro J. Rodríguez	Azucareros	45
Base-on-Balls	Antonio Muñoz	Azucareros	35
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Evelio Hernández	Citricultores	11
Hit-by-Pitch	Diego Mena	Vegueros	7
Strikeouts	Ramón Otamendi Pedro Peñalver	Mineros Constructores	31
Sacrifice Hit	Eduardo Laza	Forestales	10
Sacrifice Fly	Bárbaro Garbey Evelio Hernández Roberto Román Antonio Muñoz	Metropolitanos Citricultores Cafetaleros Azucareros	4	Leader
Stolen Bases	Gerardo Rionda	Henequeneros	9

Pitching

Stat	Leader	Team	Number	Notes
Wins	Rafael Rodríguez Gaspar Legón Isidro Pérez	Citricultores Ganaderos Azucareros	8
Win-Loss Percentage	Gaspar Legón Rafael Rodríguez Isidro Pérez	Ganaderos Citricultores Azucareros	0.889	'8 - 1 8 - 1 8 - 1
Earned Run Average	Isidro Pérez	Azucareros	0.90	6 ER in 60.1 IP
Innings Pitched	Lázaro Santana	Granjeros	93.1
Games Pitched	Manuel Rivero	Constructores	15
Games Started	Lázaro Santana	Granjeros	11
Games Relieved	Ramón Villabrille Lázaro Borroto José Cruz	Metropolitanos Forestales Ganaderos	14
Complete Games	Lázaro Santana	Granjeros	10
Shutouts	Gaspar Legón	Ganaderos	4
Hits Allowed	Aniceto Montes de Oca	Arroceros	71
Strikeouts	Rogelio García	Vegueros	97
Base-on-Balls	Rogelio García	Vegueros	37
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Silvino Gómez	Cafetaleros	7
Hit Batters	Osberto Llópiz	Serranos	8

Award Winners

The Most Valuable Player (Jugadores más Valiosos) was Isidro Pérez a pitcher with Azucareros. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Isidro Pérez of Azucareros. Lourdes Gourriel Sr. of Azucareros was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).

Series Selectivas

The third Series Selectivas was won by Camagüeyanos, managed by the Carlos Gómez.

Standings

Team	G	W	L	WPCT	GB
Camagüeyanos	54	36	18	0.667	-.-
Las Villas	54	33	21	0.611	3.0
Pinar del Río	54	30	24	0.556	6.0
Habana	54	28	26	0.519	8.0
Orientales	54	25	29	0.463	11.0
Industriales	54	18	36	0.333	18.0
Matanzas	54	18	36	0.333	18.0

Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average: .381 - Wilfredo Sánchez, Matanzas
• Base Hits: 85 - Wilfredo Sánchez, Matanzas
• Runs Scored: 49 - Pedro Jova, Las Villas
• Doubles: 16 - Elpidio Mancebo, Orientales
• Triples: 6 - Ubaldo Alvarez, Industriales; Giraldo Iglesias, Pinar del Río
• Home Runs: 16 - Pedro José Rodríguez, Sr., Las Villas
• Runs Batted In: 56 - Pedro José Rodríguez, Sr., Las Villas
• Stolen Bases: 18 - Rey Anglada, Habana

Pitching

• Win-Loss Percentage: 1.000 (3 - 0) - Ariel Martínez, Orientales
• Games Pitched: 20 - Eladio Iglesias, Habana; Rafael Rodríguez, Matanzas
• Complete Games: 10 - Braudilio Vinent, Orientales
• Wins: 10 - Lázaro Santana, Camagüeyanos
• Innings Pitched: 124.1 - Braudilio Vinent, Orientales
• Strikeouts: 122 - Rogelio García, Pinar del Río
• Earned Run Average: 1.28 - Félix Pino, Pinar del Río

Sources

• (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 1977 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
• (March 22, 2004). "Tabla de Posiciones de la XVI serie 1977 (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