As the Serie del Caribe came to a close yesterday with the Tiburones de La Guaira blanking the Tigres del Licey 3-0 to take the series crown. Cubans Miguel Romero, Ariel Miranda and Yasiel Puig played a big part in the team reaching and winning the tournament.
Although Puig hit a key opening night homerun in a 3-1 win over the same Tigres del Licey he hit a paltry .200 with a homerun and with two RBIs. During the championship series in Venezuela the outfielder from Palmira, Cuba hit a robust .421 leading La Guaira to a 4-1 series win over Lara.
El derecho Miguel Romero nos habla sobre lo que significa ganar una @beisboldecaribe para el y como la llegada de Ozzie Guillen cambió el equipo de los @tiburones_net .#pelotacubana #LVBP #SerieDelCaribe2024 pic.twitter.com/rMQlIDhPJi
— Yusseff305 🇨🇺🇺🇲 (@yusseff305) February 10, 2024
In Romero’s case he did not pitch for the last month of the season, but was masterful in the Serie del Caribe going 2-0 with key wins over Licey on Opening night and a semifinal victory versus Curaçao. In total the right-hander posted a 2.53 ERA. The hurler will pitch in México this summer with the expansion Conspiradores de Querétaro of the Liga Mexicana de Béisbol.
Miranda on the other missed the last month of the season due to an undisclosed illness and was shelled in his only start against Panama, giving up three earned runs in 2 ⅓ innings of work en route to a 11.57 earned run average. This season between the LIDOM and LVBP he had a 3-2 record, 5.02 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 41⅔ innings pitched.
With the way these three Cubans helped out during the regular season, playoffs and Serie del Caribe for the Tiburones, expect these players to be back next year and maybe even a few more of their countrymen for the Venezuelan squad. In a memorable year for La Guaira and Venezuela, some thing tells me that the team or the country might brighter days ahead.