2018-2019 Cuban National League

The 2018-2019 Cuban National League saw a new titlist as Las Tunas won their first championship, the third team this decade to join the rank of titlists (Ciego de Ávila and Granma had combined for five titles in the 2010s after having never won previously.

In the opener of the finals, January 12, Las Tunas won at home, beating Villa Clara in a 13-6 rout. LF Jorge Jhonson (4 H, 3 R, 3 RBI), DH Danel Castro (4 RBI) and 2B Jorge Alomá (4 RBI) all provided offensive fireworks to make a winner of Yudiel Rodríguez while Alaín Sánchez took the loss. The next day, Las Tunas again prevailed at home, 8-4, with Alomá going 3 for 3 with 2 runs and a RBI; in a losing cause, DH Carlos Benítez was also 3 for 3 and homered. Dariel Góngora got the win, saved by Rodríguez, and Misael Villa took the loss.

Villa Clara came home on January 15 and got a win, 9-4 behind the pitching of Freddy Asiel Álvarez (W) and Pablo Guillén (Sv); 1B William Saavedra drove in 3 and finished a triple shy of the cycle while Benítez again was 3 for 3, this time with 2 doubles, 2 runs and a RBI. Las Tunas was the first team to get a road win, on the 16th, by a 7-5 score. Yadián Martínez won it while Yoalkis Cruz notched the save. 1B Yasiel Santoya drove in 3. For Villa Clara, LF Yurién Vizcaino had 4 hits and 3 runs and Saavedra drove in 3 while Sánchez lost his second. The series ended on January 17 with another win for Las Tunas, 8-4. SS Alexander Ayala was 4 for 4 with a double, homer, 2 runs and 2 RBI and Jhonson had 3 hits and 4 RBI. Martínez won for the second straight day and again Cruz saved it for him. Yosvani Torres took the loss.

Standings

Team	Classification Phase	Secondary Phase	Manager
Sancti Spíritus	24-21	25-20	José R. Delgado
Las Tunas	27-18	24-21	Pablo Alberto Civil
Industriales	26-19	23-22	Rey Vicente Anglada
Ciego de Ávila	28-17	23-22	Roger Machado
Villa Clara	27-18	22-23	Eduardo Paret
Holguín	28-17	18-27	Noelvis González
Santiago de Cuba	25-20	--	Eriberto Rosales
Mayabeque	24-21	--	Vannoy Arado
Isla de la Juventud	23-22	--	Jose Luis Rodríguez Pantoja
Pinar del Rio	27-18	--	Pedro Luis Lazo
Artemisa	20-23	--	Dany Valdespino
Camagüey	19-26	--	Orlando González
Granma	18-25	--	Carlos Martí
Guantánamo	17-28	--	Eduardo Pavó
Cienfuegos	16-28	--	Alaín Álvarez
Matanzas	14-30	--	Víctor Figueroa

Playoffs

• Semi-finals
• Villa Clara 4, Sancti Spíritus 1
• Las Tunas 4, Ciego de Ávila 1

• Championship Series
• Las Tunas 4, Villa Clara 1

Leaders

Bold indicates either wooden bat record or aluminum bat record (1976-1977 to 1998-1999), Italics indicate Serie Nacional record

Where two teams are listed, the player switched teams at the half

Batting

Stat	Leader	Team	Number	Notes
Batting Average	Jorge Alomá	Artemisa/Las Tunas	.388
Runs Scored	Yuniesky Larduet	Las Tunas	88
Base Hits	Orlando Acebey	Sancti Spíritus	139
Doubles	Dennis Laza Stayler Hernández	Mayabeque/Industriales Industriales/Villa Clara	26
Triples	Dayron Blanco	Artemisa	6
Home Runs	Stayler Hernández	Industriales/Villa Clara	19
Runs Batted In	Yurién Vizcaino	Villa Clara	88
Base-on-Balls	Frederich Cepeda	Sancti Spíritus	68
Intentional Base-on-Balls	Alexander Ayala Yordanis Samón Norel González	Camagüey/Las Tunas Industriales Villa Clara	24
Hit-by-Pitch	Edain Román	Mayabeque	16
Strikeouts	Rafael Viñales	Las Tunas	64
Sacrifice Hit	Andy Zamora	Villa Clara	16
Sacrifice Fly	Yurién Vizcaino	Villa Clara	10
Stolen Bases	Yuniesky Larduet	Las Tunas	30

Pitching

Stat	Leader	Team	Number	Notes
Wins	Dariel Góngora	Camagüey/Las Tunas	12
Win-Loss Percentage	Yadián Martínez	Mayabeque/Las Tunas	.769	10-3
Earned Run Average	Frank Medina	Pinar del Río/Industriales	2.76	130 2/3 IP
Innings Pitched	Yadián Martínez	Mayabeque/Las Tunas	135 1/3
Games Pitched	Rafael Sánchez	Holguín	43
Games Started	Yoalkis Cruz Yariel Rodríguez Alberto Bicet	Las Tunas ?? Santiago de Cuba/Sancti Spíritus	21
Games Relieved	Rafael Sánchez	Holguín	43
Complete Games	Dariel Góngora	Camagüey/Las Tunas	6
Shutouts	Yadián Martínez Alberto Bicet	Mayabeque/Las Tunas Santiago de Cuba/Sancti Spíritus	3
Hits Allowed	Alberto Bicet	Santiago de Cuba/Sancti Spíritus	166
Strikeouts	Yariel Rodríguez	??	118
Base-on-Balls	Yariel Rodríguez	??	66
Intentional Base-on-Balls	José Angel García	Artemisa/Sancti Spíritus	15
Hit Batters	Carlos Santiesteban	Holguín	17
Saves	José Angel García	Artemisa/Sancti Spíritus	12

All-Star Game

On October 21, 2018, the 2018-19 All-Star Game took place at Estadio José Ramón Cepero in Ciego de Ávila, Ciego de Ávila. The Occidentales beat the Orientales, 5-4. Geonel Gutiérrez got the win over Rubén Rodríguez while Frank Medina saved it. The Occidentales were aided by 4 early Orientales errors.

Awards

Jorge Alomá of Artemisa and Las Tunas won the Serie Nacional MVP after batting a league-leading .388 with a .493 OBP and .616 SLG. César Prieto (Villa Clara/Cienfuegos) was named Serie Nacional Rookie of the Year after hitting .356/?/.471 and scoring 73 runs in 89 games.

Offensive All-Stars were C Yosvany Alarcón (Las Tunas), 1B Yunier Mendoza (Sancti Spíritus), 2B Carlos Benítez (Granma), SS Jorge Alomá (Artemisa/Las Tunas), 3B Orlando Acebey (Sancti Spíritus), OF Ariel Sánchez (Matanzas), OF Stayler Hernández (Industriales/Villa Clara), OF Edilse Silva (Santiago de Cuba) and DH Yordanis Samón (Industriales). Alaín Sánchez (Villa Clara) was named the top right-handed pitcher and Dariel Góngora (Camagüey/Las Tunas) the top southpaw. Pablo Alberto Civil won Manager of the Year and Jorge Niebla Umpire of the Year.

Gold Glove winners were C Yulexis La Rosa (Villa Clara), 1B William Saavedra (Pinar del Río), 2B Carlos Benítez (Granma), SS Yorbis Borroto (Ciego de Ávila), 3B Michael González (Mayabeque), OF Andy Zamora (Villa Clara), OF Orlando Lavandera (Mayabeque) and Edilse Silva (Santiago de Cuba).