2002-2003 Cuban National League
From BR Bullpen
The 2002-2003 season was the forty-second season of Cuba's national baseball system.
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[edit] Serie Nacional
The 42nd Serie Nacional was won by Industriales, who were managed by Rey Vicente Anglada.
The leones posted 66 – 23 record in the regular season, the most wins in a serie, and then lost two a single game in their quarterfinal matchup against La Habana. In the semifinals versus Pinar del Río, who had defeated Cienfuegos 3 – 2, Industriales won another series 4 – 1. In the finals, they swept Villa Clara for their ninth title and first in seven years. Villa Clara had been the class of the Zona Oriental as it was the only team to finish over .500 - Granma was 45 – 45, while both Camagüey and Santiago de Cuba went 44 – 46.
Las Tunas' Osmani Urrutia wins his third straight batting title by posting a .421, 123 hits in 292 at-bats. Urrutia's teammate Joan Carlos Pedroso hits 28 home runs, breaking Lázaro Junco's ten year old record. Industriales' Enrique Díaz scores a record 100 runs, breaking Eduardo Paret's record of 99 from two years earlier. Díaz also leads the league with 28 stolen bases, his tenth title. Javier Méndez of the champions drives in 92 runs, three more than Daniel Lazo had last year. Matanzas's Juan Manrique breaks another year-old record (his own) by getting walked 105 times. Last year's rookie star Kendry Morales is the top batter for the champion Industriales club. Morales's .391 average is second best in the league.
Industriales righthander Yadel Martí sports the league's best win-loss record at 10 – 2 , while Adiel Palma of Cienfuegos has the most victories at 14 and strikeouts at 172. Pinar del Río's Alaín Soler records the lowest earned run average in the league at 2.01, 28 earned runs in 125.1 innings pitched; it is the first in fifteen years that an ERA league leader sports one over 2.00.
Industirales' outfielder Javier Méndez ends his 22-year career by moving into the top placing on the career leader board for doubles with 381 and eighth in base hits with 2,101. In his final season, Méndez hits for a .332 average with 19 home runs, drives in 92 runs and slugs .599. Enríque Díaz break's Víctor Mesa's longstanding steals mark of 588 during the season.
[edit] Standings
- Bold indicates Zona champion; Italics indicates Serie Nacional champion
[edit] Zona Occidental
| Grupo A | Grupo B | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB | |||||||||
| Pinar del Río | 90 | 56 | 34 | 0.622 | -.- | Industriales | 89 | 66 | 23 | 0.742 | -.- | |||
| Isla de la Juventud | 89 | 41 | 48 | 0.461 | 14.5 | Cienfuegos | 90 | 52 | 38 | 0.578 | 14.5 | |||
| Matanzas | 90 | 41 | 49 | 0.456 | 15.0 | La Habana | 90 | 51 | 39 | 0.567 | 15.5 | |||
| Metropolitanos | 90 | 41 | 49 | 0.456 | 15.0 | Sancti Spíritus | 90 | 49 | 41 | 0.544 | 17.5 | |||
[edit] Zona Oriental
| Grupo C | Grupo D | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB | Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB | |||
| Villa Clara | 90 | 56 | 34 | 0.622 | -.- | Granma | 90 | 45 | 45 | 0.500 | -.- | |||
| Camagüey | 90 | 44 | 46 | 0.489 | 12.0 | Santiago de Cuba | 90 | 44 | 46 | 0.489 | 1.0 | |||
| Ciego de Ávila | 90 | 37 | 53 | 0.411 | 19.0 | Holguín | 90 | 43 | 47 | 0.478 | 2.0 | |||
| Las Tunas | 90 | 25 | 65 | 0.278 | 31.0 | Guantánamo | 90 | 28 | 62 | 0.311 | 17.0 | |||
[edit] Playoffs
| Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Finals | |||||||||||
| OCC1 | Industriales | 3 | |||||||||||
| OCC4 | La Habana | 1 | |||||||||||
| OCC1 | Industriales | 4 | |||||||||||
| Occidental | |||||||||||||
| OCC2 | Pinar del Río | 1 | |||||||||||
| OCC2 | Pinar del Río | 3 | |||||||||||
| OCC3 | Cienfuegos | 2 | |||||||||||
| OCC1 | Industriales | 4 | |||||||||||
| OTE1 | Villa Clara | 0 | |||||||||||
| OTE1 | Villa Clara | 3 | |||||||||||
| OTE4 | Santiago de Cuba | 2 | |||||||||||
| OTE1 | Villa Clara | 4 | |||||||||||
| Oriental | |||||||||||||
| OTE2 | Granma | 2 | |||||||||||
| OTE2 | Granma | 3 | |||||||||||
| OTE3 | Camagüey | 1 | |||||||||||
[edit] All-Star Game
The eighteenth Juego de las Estrellas (All-Star Game) was held at Cienfuegos in Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos (Serie Nacional)|Cienfuegos on February 23, 2003. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 8 to 6. Oriente had 14 hits to Occidentales's 10, while the errors were 0 to 2 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Yolexis Ulacia and the losing pitcher was Orestes González.
[edit] Leaders
- Bold indicates either wooden bat record or aluminum bat record (1976-1977 to 1998-1999), Italics indicate Serie Nacional record
[edit] Batting
[edit] Pitching
[edit] Award Winners
The Most Valuable Player (Jugadores más Valiosos) was Javier Méndez a outfielder with Industriales. The Most Valuable Pitcher (Lanzadores más Valiosos) was Adiel Palma of Cienfuegos. Yordanis Samón of Granma was the Series' Rookie of the Year (Novatos del Año).
[edit] Súper Liga
The second Súper Liga was won by Centrales who defeated Occidentales in the best-of-three championship series. Centrales (Súper Liga)|Centrales was managed by the Lourdes Gourriel.
[edit] Standings
| Team | G | W | L | WPCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centrales | 20 | 13 | 7 | 0.650 | -.- |
| Occidentales | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0.524 | 2.5 |
| Orientales | 21 | 11 | 10 | 0.524 | 2.5 |
| Habaneros | 20 | 6 | 14 | 0.300 | 7.0 |
[edit] Playoffs
The Súper Liga Championship Playoff featured the first and second place teams in a best-of-three series. The second place Centrales defeated the first place Occidentales, 2 games to 1.
[edit] Leaders
[edit] Batting
- Batting Average: .435 - Frederich Cepeda, Centrales
- Base Hits: 32 - Luis Rivera, Occidentales; Michel Enríquez, Occidentales
- Runs Scored: 21 - Frederich Cepeda, Centrales
- Doubles: 6 - Yulieski Gourriel, Centrales; Yunieski Betancourt, Centrales
- Triples: 2 - Yulieski Gourriel, Centrales; Frederich Cepeda, Centrales
- Home Runs: 7 - Frederich Cepeda, Centrales
- Runs Batted In: 20 - Frederich Cepeda, Centrales
[edit] Pitching
- Win-Loss Percentage: 1.000 (4 - 0) - Yovani Aragón, Centrales
- Games Pitched: 10 - Alexander Quintero, Centrales
- Wins: 4 - Yovani Aragón, Centrales
- Innings Pitched: 30.1 - Jonder Martínez, Habaneros
- Strikeouts: 21 - Norberto González, Centrales
- Earned Run Average: 1.21 - Luis Rodríguez, Orientales
[edit] Sources
- (March 17, 2004). "Cronología: 2003 (Spanish)". Radiococo. Radiococo. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- (May 24, 2006). "42 Serie Nacional de Béisbol (Spanish)". {{{title}}}. Redacción Deportiva del Periódico Granma. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- (November 18, 2005). "Guía Digital 2005-06". Guía Oficial de Béisbol 2005 (Digital). Instituto Nacional de Deportes, Educación Física y Recreación. Retrieved October 29, 2006.
- Peter C. Bjarkman. A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864–2006. : McFarland, 2007. ISBN 0786428295
