1972 Caribbean Series

The XV edition of the Caribbean Series (Serie del Caribe) was played in 1972. It was held from February 1 through February 6 with the champions teams from Dominican Republic (Aguilas Cibaeñas), Mexico (Algodoneros de Guasave), Puerto Rico (Leones de Ponce) and Venezuela (Tigres de Aragua). The format consisted of 12 games, each team facing the other teams twice. The games were played at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, D.R., which boosted capacity to 14.000 seats, and the first pitch was thrown by Joaquín Balaguer, by then the President of Dominican Republic.

Puerto Rico won the Series with a 5-1 record and was managed by Frank Verdi. The Leones de Ponce was in the middle of the pack in runs scored (33), prevailing their strong pitching. The club got a fine offensive performances from 1B and Series Most Valuable Player Carlos May, who won the batting title with a .455 batting average (10-for-22), while three of the four series home runs were belted by outfielders Don Baylor (grand slam), Tommy Cruz and Rusty Torres. The pitching staff posted a collective 1.67 ERA, including two shutouts by Gary Neibauer (one-hit) and Daryl Patterson, and received fine efforts from Gary Jones (2-0, 0.81 ERA, 11.0 innings pitched), and Jim Magnuson (1-0, 1.00 ERA). Other significant players in the roster included Sandy Alomar (2B), Bernie Carbo (OF), Pat Corrales (C), José Cruz (OF), Jackie Hernández (SS), José Ortiz (OF), Santiago Rosario (PH) and Chris Zachary (P).