Caribbean World Series definitely worth a look
Spring training gets under way in a couple weeks. But if you’re a baseball junkie like me, you can get an early fix all this week on the new MLB Network.Starting today at 5 p.m. and running through Saturday, every game of the Caribbean World Series in Mexicali, Mexico, will be broadcast in English on the MLB.
The Caribbean World Series, or Serie del Caribe as it’s known in Latin America, is affiliated with Major League Baseball’s Winter League program. Championship teams featuring MLB players and prospects from the four winter leagues in the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Venezuela square off in a round-robin tournament to decide the Caribbean champion.
This year, the Dominican is represented by Licey; Mexico is represented by Mazatlan; Puerto Rico is represented by Ponce; and Venezuela is represented by Aragua.
Mazatlan is managed by former Sumter Flyers (Expos) manager Lorenzo Bundy. While I was working as the beat writer for the Gastonia Rangers of the South Atlantic League in 1991, Bundy was managing the Flyers to a 64-79 record and fifth-place finish in the SAL’s Northern Division.
The fact that the league had two Bundy's in one season was kind of wild considering only a handful of Bundy's have ever been involved with pro baseball.
Among the players on Sumter's roster in 1991 were future major leaguers Rondell White, Shane Andrews, Jolbert Cabrera, Gabe White, Carlos Perez, Kevin Foster, Tavo Alvarez, Ben Van Ryn, Derek Aucoin and Kirk Rueter.
As a 19-year-old, Rondell White batted .262 with 23 doubles, six triples, 13 home runs, 68 RBI and 50 stolen bases in 67 attempts.
White was about the only offense on a Sumter team that hit .230 that year. Had the Flyers had more offense, their record would certainly have been better as their pitching was pretty darn good. Good examples of that is Perez was just 2-2 in 16 outings (12 starts) despite a 2.44 ERA, and Gabe White was just 6-9 in 24 starts despite a 3.26 ERA.
Deciding who to pull for in the Caribbean World Series will be tough. My favorite Winter League team has always been Licey. But Pudge Rodriguez, whom I covered as the beat writer for the Gastonia Rangers in 1989, is playing for Ponce and there’s a Bundy managing Mazatlan.
I'll probably still be pulling for Licey, though. Should be good stuff.
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on 02/02 at 02:09 PM
