Orientales (Series Selectivas)

From BR Bullpen

The Orientales joined the Series Selectivas in 1976 and finished 33-21, one game behind Habana, the champions. They were led by Braudilio Vinent (12-2), the league leader in wins. In 1977, they fell to 5th at 25-29. The next year, they were last at 21-39.

In 1979, the Orientales improved to 33-26 and second place. Vinent led the league with 105 strikeouts. The club was 19-41 to finish last in 1980. They quickly turned it around to go 38-22 and take the pennant in 1981 and José Alemán led the league in ERA.

In the 1982 Series Selectivas, the Orientales tied Matanzas for second at 30-27. Agustín Arias (.404) won the batting title. In 1983, the team was second at 33-27 and again produced the batting champion, Gerardo Simon (.350).

The Orientales posted a 17-26 record to finish last in 1984 though Orestes Kindelán tied for the league lead with 12 home runs. In 1985, the easterners tied two other clubs for last at 20-25 though Antonio Pacheco had a league-best 60 hits.

The Orientales vanished from the Series Selectivas until 1993 when they returned to go 23-22, good for 3rd place out of four teams. Ernesto Guevara led the league with 7 wins while Orestes Kindelán led with 14 homers and 46 RBI.

In 1994, the Orientales were 18-27 to finish last. During 1995, the league's last season of the century, the Orientales won the pennant at 29-16. They had several league leaders - Rey Isaac won the batting title (.424), Gabriel Pierre led in runs (56), Fausto Alvarez in doubles (19) and RBI (52), Ormari Romero in wins (6) and Guevara in ERA (3.63).