Summary
Tigres de Aragua of Venezuela clinched its first team Caribbean Series title and seventh as a country with a 5-1 record. Guided by Buddy Bailey, the Venezuelan club took the top spot much more than expected, especially considering the absence of big name stars, which was compensated by playing small-ball. In addition, the opportune hitting and sharp defense were bolstered by above average running speed and strong bullpen support. Venezuela clinched the title with a 5–3 win over host Mexico before an overflow crowd at Mexicali's stadium. Closer Francisco Buttó set records with more saves in a series (4) and most saves in series history (6, including 2007 and 2008 editions), which was enough to be named the Most Valuable Player of the series. Also were helping in the offense SS Luis Maza (.300 batting average), CF Selwin Langaigne (.280, three runs, three RBI) and 2B Ramón Castro (.286 BA, four RBI). The team only committed three errors and the pitching staff posted a collective 2.41 earned run average. Venezuela blasted only one home run in the series, but it was a good one as first baseman Héctor Giménez' 12th-inning, walk-off solo homer in Game 4 pushed the Tigers to a 1–0 victory over the Mexican team. The only winning starter on their staff was Horacio Estrada (one earned run, three strikeouts in 5 ⅓ innings of work). Other members of the team included starter Tim Harikkala (0.00 ERA in six innings) and relievers Ronald Belisario, Iván Blanco, Marcos Carvajal, Andrew Lorraine and Víctor Moreno; catching tandem of Alex Delgado and Wilson Ramos; DH Raúl Chávez; 3B Luis Ugueto, and outfielders Rodney Medina and Jackson Melián.
Experienced Lorenzo Bundy managed the Mexican club, represented by the Venados de Mazatlán, and finished in second place with a modest 3-3 mark. A strong offense and solid defense (three errors) were not enough to compensate poor pitching and a lack of speed on the basepaths. Leading the offensive charge were Édgar González, who had the series' highest batting average at .423 (.454 OBP, .577 SLG), though his brother Adrian Gonzalez did hit .286 with eight RBI and a .714 SLG, and hit three home runs in a game to set a series record. SS Héber Gómez (.368 BA, .474 SLG, five runs, three RBI) and RF Christian Quintero (.318 BA, three runs, three RBI) also carried much of the offensive weight. One of the few bright spots in the pitching staff was Walter Silva, who posted a 1-1 record with 12 strikeouts and a 2.25 ERA in two starts. The roster also included veterans pitchers as Francisco Córdova and Pablo Ortega; catcher Miguel Ojeda; outfielder Rubén Rivera, and infielders Freddy Sandoval, Robert Saucedo and Óscar Robles.
Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico finished tied in third place with a 2-4 record.
The defending champions Tigres del Licey, of Dominican Republic, was a pale shadow of the glorious franchise that won 10 series titles (three undefeated) and posted a 65-24 record (.730 percentage) in 15 appearances between 1971 and 2008. Managed by José Offerman, the offense mustered little punch (.220 BA) and led the series with seven errors. The most prominent players were starters Alfredo Simón (1-0, five hits, seven SO in 7.0 innings) and Ramón Ortiz (1.42 ERA, five SO, 6 ⅓ innings); reliever Julio Mañón (two saves), and DH Ronny Paulino (.381 BA, .762 SLG, five RBI). Also were in the roster pitchers Wilton Chávez, Valerio de los Santos, Julio Mateo, José Mercedes, Jailen Peguero, Carlos Pérez, Oneli Pérez and Jorge Sosa; catcher Salvador Paniagua; infielders Erick Aybar, Willy Aybar, Ronnie Belliard, Anderson Hernández and D'Angelo Jiménez, and outfielders José Bautista, Fernando Martínez, Ricardo Nanita and Timo Pérez.
Puerto Rico returned to the Series after a one-year absence, represented by the Leones de Ponce and managed by Eduardo Pérez, former big leaguer and ESPN Baseball Tonight broadcaster. The Boricuas team outscored their rivals, 18–16, despite a negative record of 2-4. The pitching staff was led by Giancarlo Alvarado (1-0, 16 SO and a 2.32 ERA in 11 ⅔ innings), and posted one of the two shutouts in the series, while the offense was paced by SS Luis Figueroa (.389 BA, 4 RBI), 1B Carlos Rivera (.360 BA, 4 RBI) and 2B Andy González (.333 BA, 4 RBI). The rest of the roster was filled with starters Josué Matos (1-0, 5.0 innings), Héctor Mercado (1.29 ERA, seven SO, 6 ⅔ innings) and Bill Pulsipher (1.42 ERA, seven SO, 6 ⅓ innings); relievers Iván Maldonado (one save, 4 SO, 3 ⅔ innings), Josh Rainwater (0.00 ERA, 5.0 innings) and Fernando Cabrera; catchers Eli Marrero, Robinson Cancel and Raúl Casanova; infielders Fernando Cortez and Iggy Suarez, and outfielders Jesús Feliciano and Raúl González, among others. To fill the void last winter, Perez, who took over as Ponce's manager just one day before the start of the regular season, created the Winter Training Program for professional and amateur players on the island, and is cautiously optimistic that winter baseball in Puerto Rico is back to stay.
Read more about this topic: 2009 Caribbean Series
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