1987 Caribbean Series

The 1987 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the seventeenth edition of the second stage of the Caribbean Series. It was held in Hermosillo, México from February 3 to February 8. The series featured four teams from Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela. The Criollos de Caguas of the Puerto Rican League won the series and were managed by Tim Foli and Ramón Avilés. The Most Valuable Player was Carmelo Martínez a first baseman with the Criollos de Caguas.

The Criollos had one of the wierder Caribbean Series victories. After dropping 2 of their first three games (including an 8-error debacle in game three), Caguas fired manager Tim Foli and replaced him with Ramon Aviles, then won the next three to tie the Águilas Cibaeñas at 4-2 in the six-game round-robin. Caguas then beat the Águilas 13-2 in a one-game tie-breaker playoff to win the Series. The Águilas had won their first four, including a two-hitter by Alan Fowlkes, but dropped their last three.

The Criollos set a record with 18 homers, breaking the 31-year-old mark held by Panama in the 1956 Caribbean Series. Though the other teams only hit 12, the total of 30 was a new record.

Final Standings

Team	League	G	W	L	WPCT	Manager
Criollos de Caguas	PRI Puerto Rican League	7	5	2	0.714	Tim Foli
Águilas Cibaeñas	DOM Dominican League	7	4	3	0.571	Winston Llenas
Leones del Caracas	VEN Venezuelan League	6	2	4	0.333	Bill Plummer
Venados de Mazatlán	MEX Mexican Pacific League	6	2	4	0.333	Carlos Paz

Leaders

• Batting Average: .556 - Carmelo Martínez, Criollos de Caguas
• Home Runs: 4 - Candy Maldonado, Criollos de Caguas
• Runs Batted In: 11 - Carmelo Martínez, Criollos de Caguas
• Wins: 2 - Francisco Oliveras, Criollos de Caguas

Sources

• 1988 Baseball Almanac

Further Reading

• Thomas E. Van Hyning: "Caguas Criollos: Five Caribbean Series Crowns and Cooperstown Connections", Baseball Research Journal, SABR, Vol. 47, Nr. 1 (spring 2018), pp. 7-16.