The Indios de Oriente was a baseball club which played from 1956 through 1964 in the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

. They played its home games at the Estadio Municipal de Puerto La Cruz in

Anzoátegui Anzoátegui State (, ) is one of the 23 states of Venezuela, states of Venezuela, located in the northeastern region of the country. Anzoátegui is well known for its beaches that attract many visitors. Its coast consists of a single beach approx ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

History

The Indios de Oriente replaced the

Navegantes del Magallanes Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...

franchise for the 1956–1957 season. The team finished second in the first half with a 13-14 record, but slumped to 10-15 in the second half to finish last in the four-team league, out of contention. They improved to a 22-19 mark in 1957–1958, good for a second place and a playoff berth, but failed in the opening round. In 1958–1959 Oriente finished second during the regular season. Then advanced to the playoffs and clinched the Championship title. As the league champions, the team represented Venezuela in the 1959 Caribbean Series played in

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

. With a low-profile squad, Oriente came in on an honourable second place behind

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

's Alacranes de Almendares after finishing 4-2. Managed by Kerby Farrell, the offensive was anchored by RF/1B and Series MVP Norman Cash, who collected a .360 average and 11 RBI, while slugging .680. Babe Birrer was the top pitcher with a 2-0 record, including a 13-inning victory, a 1.25 ERA and 18 strikeouts in innings of work. Besides, 3B Luis ′′Camaleón′′ García and OF Jesús Mora tied for the batting title with a .417 average. All of them made the All-Star team. The 1959–1960 VPBL season was suspended because of a players' strike. Returning to action the next season, the team finished second with a 29-23 record but lost the semifinal round to the eventual champion team, the

Industriales de Valencia Industriales is a professional baseball team in the Cuban National Series. Located in Cerro, La Habana, it is known as the only team representing the country’s capital, Havana. Industriales is historically the most successful team in the Nati ...

. In 1961–1962, for the fourth time in team's history, the Indios ended in second place during the regular season after going 29-22. Lastly, Oriente was beaten by the Leones del Caracas in the best-of-seven championship series, four to one games. The Indios de Oriente declined considerably in 1962–1963, posting an 8-25 record before retiring during the midseason.

Estrellas de Oriente

The franchise was renamed and restructured to become the Estrellas de Oriente for the 1963-64 season. They also were misspelled as the Estrellas Orientales or simply Oriente. Nonetheless, the changes did not create a more competitive team, as they finished fourth with a 21-29 record. At the end of the year, the franchise owners acquired the brand

and continued in the league the following season.

Yearly team records

Noted players

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* Steve Bailey * Babe Birrer * Oswaldo Blanco * Carl Boles * José Bracho * Chico Carrasquel * Néstor Chávez * Harry Chiti * Jimmie Coker * Joe Collins * Ray Crone * Tony Curry * Bob Darnell * Bob Duliba * Doc Edwards * Dick Egan * Harry Elliott * Dick Fowler * Jim Frey * Luis García *

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* Rod Graber * Eli Grba * Bert Hamric * Jack Hiatt * Aaron Pointer * Julián Ladera *

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* Jack Lohrke * Joe Lonnett * Hank Mason * Ramón Monzant * Jesús Mora *

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* Mel Nelson * Chi-Chi Olivo *

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* Aaron Pointer *

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* Don Rudolph * Johnny Schaive * Wally Shannon * Dick Simpson *

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* Jerry Snyder * Ron Taylor * Fred Valentine * Gale Wade * Ray Webster * Mike White

Sources

*Gutiérrez, Daniel; González, Javier (1992). ''Numeritos del béisbol profesional venezolano (1946-1992)''. LVBP, Caracas. *Nuñez, José Antero (1994). ''Serie del Caribe de la Habana a Puerto La Cruz''. JAN Editor.

External links

BeisbolVenezolano.net – Equipos del béisbol venezolano
{{Venezuelan Professional Baseball League , state=collapsed 1956 establishments in Venezuela Defunct baseball teams in Venezuela Baseball teams established in 1956 Defunct Venezuelan Professional Baseball League teams