Pinar del Río wins
National Baseball Championship
• Pinar del Río won Cuba’s 53rd National Baseball Series, taking the championship final series 4-2, defeating Matanzas, runner up for
a second consecutive year

Yoe Tejeda / Photos: Ricardo López Hevia

From the island’s easternmost Punta de Maisí to Cabo de San Antonio in the west, all of Cuba followed every detail of the 53rd National Baseball Championship Series, between two combative teams, Pinar del Río’s Vegueros and the Cocodrilos from Matanzas.

Pinar’s team enjoyed the final game played on Matanzas’ home field April 16, as if it were their own, with the stands painted green with hundreds of supporters who made the trip. Fans poured onto the field to congratulate the champions and share the 9-6 victory, which put an end to the final series at six games – no need for a seventh, once Pinar had won four.

Also known as the Green Tsunami, the Pinar team had been obliged to return to Victoria de Girón stadium in Matanzas to decide the title, although they did so with an advantage of three games to two, and their best pitchers rested. (The sixth game was originally cancelled due to rain, giving the teams an extra 24 hours to recuperate.)

Pinar began the final series in Matanzas, splitting the first two games, 3-5 and 12-5. The Cocodrilos had won the right to start the championship on their home turf, by finishing the regular season in first place. They were not, however, considered heavy favorites, since the play-offs are a different ball of wax.

Many were leaning toward Pinar, given the experience and winning record of manager Alfonso Urquiola, as well as the team’s impressive performance in the semi-finals against a strong opponent, Havana’s Industriales.

No doubt, a good number of fans chose Pinar simply because they don’t like Matanzas manager Víctor Mesa, who may be controversial, but has taken the team to the play-offs for three straight years.

The third, fourth and fifth games were played at Pinar del Río’s Capitán San Luis Stadium, with record crowds in attendance, and the home team continued its unstoppable progress, winning two of the three games scheduled on their home field, 7-3, 3-4 and 9-8.

They could have ended the series there, but the Cococrilos took advantage of mistakes during the second game and forced Pinar to return to Matanzas to finish the series.

Urquiola didn’t need to win the first game scheduled; he would have two shots at the title. Victor Mesa, on the other hand, was against the wall, needing to win both games, albeit on his home field with a delirious crowd of supporters in attendance.

Pinar rolled out its heavy artillery, not wanting to wait for a seventh game in their opponent’s stadium. On the pitcher’s mound was non other than Yosvany Torres, the regular season’s Most Valuable Player. When he wavered, Urquiola brought in reliever Vladimir Gutiérrez, chosen by sportswriters as Rookie of the Year and, to ensure the final win, he took his chances playing Vladimir Baños, who had been scheduled to pitch a hypothetical seventh game. Baños had put on a great performance during the first game in the Capitán San Luis and did so again, after coming onto the field with two men on base, no outs.

During the post-game press conference, and in his emotional words after receiving the trophy - his ninth as a manager and player - Urquiola never tired of repeating that the team’s cohesion, its unity, its ability to work together on and off the field, was key to the victory, saying that being a champion required more than batting, fielding and pitching.

No doubt the high stakes created tension, and defensive errors, as well as Cuba’s acknowledged weakness in pitching, led to poor quality play at times, little noticed given the excitement, when no lead seemed safe until the final out.

Pinar del Río’s won its last championship in 2011, also under the leadership of Urquiola, who now has three titles to his name as manager, having additionally led the team to victory during the 37th Series in 1998.

After the country re-organized its provinces in 1976 - creating a total of 14, plus the Isle of Youth Special Municipality - the league followed suite in 1978 with provincial teams. Since that time, Pinar has had the best record, with a total of 10 titles, six won by the former Vegueros and four by the current Pinar del Río team. Next is Santiago de Cuba, with 8 championships and Industriales, 7.