The Serie Nacional has been in a steady decline since 2006 due to the massive wave of defections, which gradually started after the inaugural WBC. Now the influx of Cuban players to the winter leagues started in 2003 when we saw Raúl Valdés win the Pitcher of the Year in the Dominican League.
Speaking of the LIDOM that has been a stomping ground for players departing Cuba. Valdés who has won 53 games in the circuit is not the only pitcher to win the prize, his countrymen Yunesky Maya won the award twice (2011,2015). The right-hander from Pinar del Río, Cuba has become a cult figure in the league and has won 22 games, while also posting a sub-3 ERA in Dominican League.
With the lumber Cubans haven’t done that bad in the Dominican Republic, either. Brayan Peña was crowned the league’s MVP in 2008, while Cuban-American Peter O’Brien won the award in 2020 when he lead the league with 35 RBIs. O’Brien was also Serie del Caribe MVP that season. Last year Henry Urrutia became the first Cuban to win the league’s batting title.
La @Liga_Arco ha nombrado el toletero habanero @eltanquetomas su JMV para la temporada del 2022-2023.#pelotacubana #LigaARCO pic.twitter.com/H0y5M5VfSY
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) January 17, 2023
Urrutia also won a batting title in 2018 in the Venezuelan Winter League with the Cardenales de Lara. That same campaign his teammate and countrymen Jorge Martínez was named Pitcher of Year in that circuit. Urrutia is the only Cuban in history to win a batting title in two different Caribbean Leagues in which one of the is not his native league.
In México is where the Antilleans have been the most dominant, taking three MVPs. Bárbaro Cañizares kicked it of by winning the award in 2013, Dariel Álvarez followed in 2020 and Yasmany Tomás won the prize last season. The Antillean pitching has also been impeccable in the Liga ARCO. Elian Levya (2018,2022) who has won two Pitcher of the Year trophies, also won the league’s triple crown in 2018. Yoanys Quiala almost won the triple crown in LaMP en route to taking the prize in 2020.
Even with the gradually loss of talent the Serie Nacional was able to win a Serie del Caribe in 2015, when Pinar del Río took the crown and Frederich Cepeda was the tournament’s most valuable player. Things leave one to wonder what would have been had Cuban dictator Fidel Castro not closed off Cuba to professional baseball and the world in 1961.
El tunero @HenryUrrutia51 es el único cubano en ganar un título de bateó en 2 diferentes ligas invernales, una no siendo su liga nativa.
*🏆de bateó LIDOM 2023
*🏆de bateó LVBP 2018
* 406 H en Ligas Invernales
* .305 BA en el invierno #pelotacubana #LIDOM #LVBP pic.twitter.com/hDPTn0DA7w— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) November 5, 2023
Awards won by Cubans in Winter Leagues since 2003:
LVBP:
Batting title: Henry Urrutia (Lara) 2018
Pitcher of the Year: Jorge Martínez (Lara) 2018
Liga ARCO:
MVP: Bárbaro Cañizares (Ciudad Obregón) 2013, Dariel Álvarez (Jalisco) 2020, Yasmany Tomás (Los Mochis) 2023
Pitcher of the Year: Elian Leyva (Jalisco) 2018, Yoanys Quiala (Los Mochis) 2020, Elian Leyva (Hermosillo) 2022
LIDOM:
Batting Title: Henry Urrutia (Gigantes) 2023
Pitcher of the Year: Raúl Valdés (Toros) 2004, Yunesky Maya (Escogido) 2011, Yunesky Maya (Licey) 2015,
MVP: Brayan Peña (Gigantes) 2008, Peter O’Brien (Toros) 2020*
*Cuban-American