Each winter, before Major League Baseball’s spring training gets underway, and after national tournaments have concluded, the Serie Caribe helps determine the best baseball team among all the Latin American countries.
Not surprisingly, the Caribbean Series draws interest from major leaguers, and they’re often among the standouts as the nations battle for diamond supremacy.
And, for card collectors of the 1980s (and other eras), there are plenty of familiar faces among the very best players from each year’s tournament, and it’s fun to look back at the overlap.
Here, then, are the nine men who won the MVP award in the Serie Caribe during the 1980s, along with their baseball cards from the years they won … or as close as possible, since there were some cardboard gaps.
¡Pleibol!
1979 Topps Rudy Law (#719) – 1980 MVP
Law didn’t quite make the cut for the Dodgers in 1979, when his Topps rookie card debuted … which meant he didn’t have any cards in 1980.
What Law did do, though, was team with fellow Major Leaguers Leon Durham, Jerry Dybzinski, Damaso Garcia, Dennis Lewallyn and Teodoro Martinez to lead the Dominican Republic’s Tigres del Licey to 4-2 record and the Serie Caribe title the next winter (1980).
For his efforts, Law was named the MVP of the entire series … and he also went on to record a solid rookie season in L.A.
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
No 1981 Serie Caribe (boo!)
There was no Caribbean Series in 1981 due to a strike among players in the Venezuelan League. Thus, no MVP.
1982 Topps Traded Bo Diaz (#29T) – 1982 MVP
By 1982, Bo Diaz was an All-Star catcher in the big leagues, and on his way to the Philadelphia Phillies thanks to a three-team trade in November 1981 between the Phils, Cleveland Indians, and St. Louis Cardinals.
Before heading to Philly, Diaz led the Venezuelan Leones del Caracas to a series victory on the strength of his .412 batting average, two home runs, and five RBI — and his handling of a pitching staff that included Luis Leal, Bud Black, and a couple of other Major Leaguers.
And, though the team also featured the likes of Steve Sax, Andres Galarraga, Ron Gardenhire, and others, it was Diaz who took home MVP honors.
n (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1983 TCMA Salt Lake City Gulls Glenn Walker (#20) – 1983 MVP
Walker was a beast in the batter’s box, crushing long home runs throughout his (long) minor league career.
Alas, like many other minor league mashers, Walker never could quite break through and, in fact, never made it to the majors at all.
Walker did make it to the roster of the Puerto Rican team in the Serie Caribe, where he joined major leaguers like Dickie Thon, Candy Maldonado, Henry Cruz, Ken Phelps, Carmelo Martinez, and others.
And, while Walker’s story took a dark turn in the 1990s, he stood tall as the Caribbean Series MVP in 1983.
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)
1984 Donruss Terry Francona (#463) – 1984 MVP
Before Tito became a Hall of Fame-caliber manager with the Red Sox and Indians, he was a solid bat as a platoon player and pinch hitter for the Montreal Expos and a handful of other teams in the 1980s.
And … he was also the 1984 Caribbean Series MVP as a member of Venezuela’s Águilas del Zulia, who took the whole ball of wax with a 5-1 record.
Joining Francona on that championship team were fellow major leaguers Luis Salazar, Kelly Downs, Porfi Altamirano, Manny Sarmiento, Bobby Ramos, Johnny Paredes, Razor Shines, Manny Trillo, Jeff Stone, César Tovar, and others.
Check prices on eBay (affiliate link)
Check prices on Amazon (affiliate link)