The Naranjeros de Hermosillo gave Mexico its first Caribbean Series championship title. Managed by legendary Cananea Reyes, the team outscored their opponents 36 to 18 over the six-day tournament in Dominican Republic, winning five consecutive games to pull an upset in the opener and prevailing behind their fine pitching, which gave up just 16 earned runs in 57 innings (2.53). Rich Hinton (seven-hit shutout) and George Brunet (1-0, 1.50) each turned fine performances, while 1B Héctor Espino, OF Jerry Hairston, 3B Celerino Sánchez and 2B Bump Wills paced the hitting attack. Also in the roster were C Sergio Robles, SS Eddie Leon, OFs Arnoldo de Hoyos and Chet Lemon, and Ps Ed Acosta, Francisco Barrios and Vicente Romo. Espino was named the Most Valuable Player, while the team had six players in the All-Star team.
The Dominican Republic team, with Tim Murtaugh at the helm, disappointed their home fans after going 2-4 to finish in third place. The Águilas Cibaeñas, who had won their second title in a row, usually put players on the bases but lacked the necessary clutch hitting to bring them home. OFs Miguel Diloné and César Gerónimo provided good defense and speed on the bases, while 3B Winston Llenas and 1B/C Bill Nahorodny smashed the only home runs for the team. Besides this, their most effective starters in ERA had losing records: Rick Waits (0-1, 2.13) and Rick Langford (0-1, 3.00), while starter Jerry Augustine (6.00 ERA) and reliever Kent Tekulve (11.59 ERA) delivered the only wins for Dominican Republic. Other members of the team included Ps Tom Dettore, Nino Espinosa and Juan Jiménez; C Ed Ott, 2B Bob Sheldon, SS Frank Taveras, OF Morris Nettles, and DH Manny Mota.
The favored reigning champion, Vaqueros de Bayamón, tied for third with a 2-4 record. One victory came from Juan Pizarro, who hurled a three-hit shutout in Game 7. The Puerto Rico team, piloted by José Pagán, scored the fewest runs (23) and committed the most errors (15) in the Series. Inexplicably, the anemic Boricua offense combined for a paltry .246 average, even though the team had a solid lineup that included 1B Dan Driessen, Of Ken Griffey, Sr., 3B Art Howe, SS Iván de Jesús, C Ellie Rodríguez and the outfield brothers, Héctor and José Cruz among others.
WP:Kent Tekulve (1-0) LP:Francisco Barrios (0-1) Notes: The Dominican Republic scored the winning run after Barrios issued a bases-loaded walk to Morris Nettles in the bottom of the 10th inning.
WP:Mark Wiley (2-0) LP:Rick Waits (0-1) Notes: Wiley allowed only an earned run and struck out seven batters without giving a walk in his complete game.
WP:George Brunet (1-0) LP:Bill Campbell (0-1) Notes: Brunet struck out five and walked one over nine innings, while his only run allowed was unearned and came in the fourth after he threw a wild pitch.