Plenty of Nothing

2019 Serie del Caribe

Estadio Antonio Herrera Gutiérrez in Basquisimeto, Venezuela, where this year's series is not happening. Source.

It's la Serie del Caribe 2019. The teams are: Leñadores de Las Tunas (Cuba), Estrellas Orientales (Dominican Republic), Cangrejeros de Santurce (Puerto Rico), Cardenales de Lara (Venezuela), Toros de Herrara (Panama) and Charros de Jalisco (Mexico).

The games take place at the Estadio Nacional Rod Carew in Panama City. Venezuela was to have been this year's host, but between the disputed presidential election and the hyperinflation it seemed better to relocate. Which is good of the Panamanians because originally they weren't even invited. This is their first involvement since 1960.

The tournament begins today and goes till February 10th.

Cangrejeros are the only one of this year's participants to have won the series before. They've done it five times: in 1951, 1953, 1955, 1993 and 2000.

Leñadores are lumberjacks, estrellas orientales are eastern stars, cangrejeros are crabbers. Cardenales are cardinals, the bird not the papal elector. Toros are bulls, and charros are horsemen.

[Toros de Herrara beat Leñadores de Las Tunas 3 - 1 in the final. It's Panama's first Caribbean Series championship since 1950.]

Venezuelans are using the country's money, the bolivar, as craft paper. Source.

Caribbean Series 2018

Estadio Panamericano in Zapopan, Mexico, near Guadalajara. Source.

It's the 2018 Caribbean Series, the baseball tournament contested each February by the champions of Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, and the Pacific League of Mexico. It has been going on since 1949, but who ever talks about it in the North?

This year's teams are: Alazanes de Granma (Cuba), Tomateros de Culiacán (Mexico), Criollos de Caguas (Puerto Rico), Águilas Cibaeñas (Dominican), and Caribes de Anzoátegui (Venezuela). These clubs have won their national leagues within the past few days. The Puerto Rican league held a hurricane-shortened season.

Each team plays each other once in a round robin. The top four move on the semifinals. The final is February 8th. All games are played at Estadio Panamericano, home of los Charros de Jalisco of the Pacific League.

Águilas Cibaeñas have won the series five times; Criollos de Caguas have won four times, including last year; Tomateros twice. The Dominican Republic is historically the most successful country, followed by Puerto Rico.

[Criollos beat Águilas 2 - 0 in the final.]

Bankuba no Asahi

Japanese director Yuya Ishii has made a film about the Vancouver Asahi, the championship baseball team drawn from Vancouver's Japanese-Canadian community between the wars. It stars Satoshi Tsumabuki, and was filmed in Japan, with Ashikaga doubling as 1930s Vancouver.

Carp

The Hiroshima Carp Official Goods Shop keeps coming out with such good goods.

Bleachers

Dock Ellis' LSD/Benzedrine No-Hitter

Baseball has the best stories.

Seven Famous Views of Mazda Stadium

Fans who buy a group ticket at a Hiroshima Toyo Carp home game receive a set of seven towels printed with ukiyo-e views of the concourse, sports bar and party floor at Mazda Stadium, the club's home field.

Hideki Matsui

New York Times photo

Tranquility Base As A Baseball Diamond

It's Apollo 11 Week at Plenty of Nothing.  Here we have a US Geological Survey map comparing of the Tranquility Base landing site to a baseball diamond.  As you can see, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin pretty much stuck to the infield, except for that one ramble into centre field by Armstrong.  In addition to the first walk by humans on the moon, 1969 saw the Mets win.  Source: Talcott Mountain Science Centre.

 

Carp!

 

North American sport is a jungle populated by lions, tigers, panthers and jaguars . . . and comparatively few fish.  Here in a poster promoting a Chiba Lotte Marines home game against the Hiroshima Toyo Carp we sense the destructive potential of koi.  Such a fish could . . . cause a lot of splashing.  Good thing the Marines are at hand.  See the full set here.