1996 Caribbean Series

The 1996 Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was the twenty-sixth edition of the second stage of the Caribbean Series. It was held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from February 3 to February 8. The series featured four teams from Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela. The Tomateros de Culiacán of the Mexican Pacific League won the series in a major upset over the highly favored the Dominican League champion Águilas Cibaeñas. The Mexican team was managed by Francisco Estrada. The Most Valuable Player was Darryl Brinkley, an outfielder with the Tomateros de Culiacán.

Culiacan had never won a Series before and the Mexicans had only won twice previously - in the 1976 Caribbean Series and 1986 Caribbean Series. They kept up the 10-year trend under the guidance of Frank Estrada, the catcher in 1986. Mexico only had two big-leaguers, SS Benji Gil and P Esteban Loaiza. Their leader was OF Darryl Brinkley, who batted .350, scored five and drove in five. Luis Melendez did not allow a run in 7 innings over two appearances.

On the other hand, the Dominican and Puerto Rican clubs were loaded with major-league talent. The Dominican team was managed by Terry Francona and featured Julio Franco, Raul Mondesi, Pedro Martinez, Jose Mesa, Juan Guzman, Mel Rojas, Luis Polonia and Jose Vizcaino. They only went 2-4, edging the Magallanes Navigators of the Venezuelan League (1-5) for the worst record in this Caribbean Series. The Puerto Rican team featured Ivan Rodriguez, Bernie Williams, and Leo Gomez, among others.

Also having solid Series efforts were Martinez (1-0, 0 R, 2 H in 8), Franco (.471), Gomez (.458, .917 SLG, 9 RBI), Robinson Checo (1-0, 0 R in 6 for the Dominicans in one of their two wins) and Felipe Murillo (2-0, 1.50 for Mexico).

Final Standings[edit]

Team	League	G	W	L	WPCT	Manager
Tomateros de Culiacán	MEX Mexican Pacific League	6	5	1	0.833	Francisco Estrada
Lobos de Arecibo	PRI Puerto Rican League	6	4	2	0.667	Pat Kelly
Águilas Cibaeñas	DOM Dominican League	6	2	4	0.333	Terry Francona
Navegantes del Magallanes	VEN Venezuelan League	6	1	5	0.167	Gregorio Machado