Cuban All-Star Game

A Cuban All-Star Game has been played in the Cuban Serie Nacional on occasion. The game matches the best players of the West (Occidentales) versus the East (Oriente).

1962-1967

The first game was held in Havana in the 1962-1963 season. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 5 to 0. Oriente had 9 hits to Occidentales's 5, while the errors were 3 to 1 in favor of Oriente. The winning pitcher was Florentino Alfonso and the losing pitcher was Juan Medina.

The second game was also held in Havana, during 1963-1964. In the game, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 5 to 1. Occidentales had 5 hits to Oriente's 3, while the errors were 4 to 1 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Antonio Rubio and the losing pitcher was Emilio Vargas.

In the third game (for 1964-1965), Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 6 to 5. Oriente had 12 hits to Occidentales's 10, while both teams had 1 error. The winning pitcher was Manuel Hurtado and the losing pitcher was Manuel Alarcón.

The fourth All-Star Game was again held in Havana, for the 1965-1966. In the game, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 3 to 1. Occidentales had 8 hits to Oriente's 6, while both teams had 2 errors. The winning pitcher was Rigoberto Betancourt and the losing pitcher was Aquino Abreu.

In the fifth game (1966-1967), Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 3 to 2. Occidentales had 11 hits to Oriente's 5, while the errors were 3 to 1 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Carlos Gálvez and the losing pitcher was Justino Gavilan

The sixth game (1967-1968) was to be played in Havana on March 7th, 1968, but was rained out. As a result, the Cuban All-Star Series was conceived. Occidentales took four of the five titles in this one-game format.

1980-1987

The All-Star Game was reinstated in the 1980-1981 season. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 4 to 3. Occidentales had 9 hits to Oriente's 8, while the errors were 1 to 2 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Roberto Ramos and the losing pitcher was Pablo Pérez.

In the 1981-1982 season's contest, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 6 to 3. Oriente had 11 hits to Occidentales's 8, while both teams had 1 error. The winning pitcher was Alfonso Ilivanes and the losing pitcher was Rogelio García.

The eight All-Star game (1982-1983) was held in Havana like all the prior ones. In the game, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 4 to 0. Occidentales had 8 hits to Oriente's 6, while both teams had 0 errors. The winning pitcher was Félix Pino and the losing pitcher was Omar Carrero.

In the 1983-1984 Serie Nacional All-Star game, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 7 to 0. Occidentales had 14 hits to Oriente's 2, while the errors were 1 to 0 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Julio Romero and the losing pitcher was Braudilio Vinent.

In the game for 1984-1985, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 5 to 1. Both teams had 7 hits, while the errors were 3 to 0 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Reinaldo Costa and the losing pitcher was Andrés Luis.

The next year, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 4 to 0. Oriente had 6 hits to Occidentales's 5, while the errors were 2 to 0 in favor of Oriente. The winning pitcher was Regino Robaina and the losing pitcher was Pablo Abreu.

In the All-Star game for the 1986-1987 season, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 4 to 3. Both teams had 9 hits, while both teams had 2 errors. The winning pitcher was José Riviera and the losing pitcher was again Pablo Abreu.

The game went on hiatus again for a number of years, with Oriente having won four of the seven games in the second run and Orientales 7 of the 12 to date.

1997-2008

The All-Star Game was reinstated in 1997-1998. The contest was held on March 8, 1998 in Ciego de Ávila Province. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 5 to 2. Oriente had 6 hits to Occidentales' 5, while the errors were 3 to 2 in favor of Oriente. The winning pitcher was Oscar Gil and the losing pitcher was Adrian Hernández. It was the first All-Star Game held outside of Havana.

On February 10, 1999 at Güines, La Habana, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 1 to 0. Oriente had 5 hits to Occidentales' 4, while the errors were 1 to 0 in favor of Oriente. The winning pitcher was Wualberto Quesada and the losing pitcher was Carlos Yanes. Danel Castro had the game's only home run.

The fifteenth Juego de las Estrellas was held in Sancti Spíritus, Sancti Spíritus on February 27, 2000. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 4 to 1. Oriente had 10 hits to Occidentales' 9, while both teams had 1 error. The winning pitcher was Norge Luis Vera and the losing pitcher was Maels Rodríguez.

On February 11, 2001, at Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 5 to 2. Oriente had 8 hits to Occidentales' 7, while both teams had 1 error. The winning pitcher was Raúl Valdés and the losing pitcher was Eliecer Montes de Oca.

The seventeenth All-Star Game was held in Holguín, Holguín on March 17, 2002. In the game, Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 8 to 1. Occidentales had 14 hits to Oriente's 7, while the errors were 0 to 1 in favor of Oriente. The winning pitcher was Carlos Yanes and the losing pitcher was Vladimir Hernández.

At Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos on February 23, 2003, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 8 to 6. Oriente had 14 hits to Occidentales' 10, while the errors were 0 to 2 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Yolexis Ulacia and the losing pitcher was Orestes González.

The nineteenth Juego de las Estrellas was held at Santa Clara, Villa Clara on January 24, 2004. In the game, Oriente defeated Occidentales by a score of 4 to 3. Oriente had 10 hits to Occidentales' 7, while the errors were 0 to 1 in favor of Occidentales. The winning pitcher was Yolexis Ulacia and the losing pitcher was Carlos Yanes. Reinier Yero and Danel Castro each hit a home run.

On February 26, 2005, at Las Tunas Province, the Occidentales defeated Oriente by a score of 4 to 1. Both teams had 7 hits, while the errors were 0 to 1 in favor of Oriente. The winning pitcher was Yunieski Maya and the losing pitcher was Valeri García. The two sides were now tied at 10 games apiece.

2006 and 2007 - ???

The 2008 All-Star Game was held at Guillermón Moncada Stadium. In the game, the Occientales defeated the Orientales by a score of 6 to 5 behind a home run from MVP Yosvani Peraza. The winning pitcher was Alexei Gil and the losing pitcher was Jorge Longa.

No game was held in 2009 due to the 2009 World Baseball Classic or in 2010.

2011-

The 2011 All-Star Game was held at Estadio 5 de Septiembre in Cienfuegos, Cienfuegos on February 6, 2011. In the game, the Orientales defeated the Occidentales by a score of 15 to 13 in 10 innings. The winning pitcher was Alexander Rodríguez and the losing pitcher was Duniel Ibarra. Yoelvis Fiss homered twice for the champions while Alexander Guerrero drilled a 3-run homer in the 10th. Yasiel Puig drove in five for the losers.

The 2012 All-Star Game was held at Estadio Victoria de Girón in Matanzas, Matanzas on February 19, 2012. The Orientales won another close match, 8-7. The winning pitcher was Pablo Fernández, Yoelkis Cruz got the save and Yadier Pedroso took the loss. Yosvany Alarcón and Reutilio Hurtado both homered for the winners, while Yeison Pacheco drove in the winner with a double.

On March 24, 2013, the 2012-2013 All-Star Game took place at Estadio José Antonio Huelga in Sancti Spíritus, Sancti Spíritus. The Occidentales won, 13-9, with Fiss again putting a show, this time in a losing cause (3 for 5, 2 HR, 3 R, 3 RBI). Yasmani Tomás goes 2 for 4 with a double, homer, 3 runs and 3 RBI for the winners, while José Miguel Fernández scores three times. Vladimir Baños takes the win while Carlos Juan Viera is pounded for 7 runs in 1 1/3 IP in the loss.

On January 12, 2014 the 2013-2014 All-Star Game took place at Estadio Cristóbal Labra in Nueva Gerona, Isla de la Juventud. The attendance was 5,000. The Oriente won, 4-3. Last year's losing pitcher, Carlos Juan Viera, got the win; Leinier Rodríguez took the loss and Freddy Asiel Álvarez had a save. Alfredo Despaigne scored the winning run in the 8th, doubling off Leinier Rodríguez, advancing on a grounder and scoring on a wild pitch by reliever Hector Mendoza.

On December 28, 2014, the 2014-2015 All-Star Game took place at Estadio Martires de Barbados in Bayamo, Granma. The attendance was 10,000. The Occidentales won, 9-4, thanks to a five-run sixth. Lourdes Gourriel Jr. was the big star, going 3 for 5 with a homer and four RBI, while first basemen Alex Malleta and Yunier Mendoza combined for four hits for the victors. Cionel Pérez got the win despite two runs in his lone inning while Norge Ruiz took the defeat.

On December 12, 2015, the 2015-16 All-Star Game took place at Estadio Julio Antonio Mella in Victoria de las Tunas, Las Tunas. The game was cut short in the top of the 5th due to a rain-out. The Occidentales were cruising with a 5-0 lead, thanks to a 3-run homer by Yurisbel Gracial and four innings of no-hit pitching from Erlis Casanova, Yosvani Torres, Wilber Pérez and Vladimir Baños.

On October 29, 2016, the 2016-17 All-Star Game took place at Estadio Victoria de Girón in Matanzas, Matanzas. The Occidentales beat the Orientales, 2-1. Julio Pablo Martínez led off the game with a homer off Yoanni Yera but the Orientales did not get another hit the rest of the way against nine different hurlers. Adrián Sosa got the win and José Angel García the save. The Occidentales tied it in the second off Freddy Asiel Álvarez when Leonardo Urgellés hit a sacrifice fly to score Yordanis Samón. Urgellés homered in the 5th off Dairon Riera for the game's last run.

On October 22, 2017, the 2017-2018 All-Star Game took place at Capitán San Luis Stadium in Pinar del Río, Pinar del Río. The Orientales beat the Occidentales, 6-4, in a game cut short in the 7th inning by rain. DH Lázaro Cedeño scored three runs for the Orientales and Yoalkis Cruz got the win with two shutout innings. Noelvis Entenza took the loss.

On October 21, 2018, the 2018-2019 All-Star Game took place at Estadio José Ramón Cepero in Ciego de Ávila, Ciego de Ávila. The Occidentales beat the Orientales, 5-4. Geonel Gutiérrez got the win over Rubén Rodríguez while Frank Medina saved it. The Occidentales were aided by 4 early Orientales errors.