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The best mark in the Bolivar League in 1953 went to Maracaibo at 97-63, winning their second straight North Division title. The Mariners finished nine games better than second place Bogota. In the South, defending league champ Cali was the top team at 92-70, seven better than Callao. For the Cyclones, it is seven straight playoff berths. It would ultimately be their final playoff appearance until the 1970s.

Cali had the league MVP and Pitcher of the Year for the 1953 season. 33-year old RJ Correa won his second MVP with the 33-year old Colombian leading the league with a .403 OBP and 1.029 OPS, adding 8.9 WAR, 43 home runs, and 122 RBI. AJ Fernandez won Pitcher of the Year as “Mushy” in his age 32 season had a 22-8 record, 2.51 ERA, and 7.1 WAR over 283.2 innings with 300 strikeouts. The Cyclones also had the Reliever of the Year as Alvaro Fernandez won it for the second straight season. The 23-year old closer had 42 saves and a 1.18 ERA.



In the Southern Cone League, the best overall record went to Cordoba. The 1951 Copa Sudamerica winner bounced back after missing the playoffs last year to take the South Division at 102-60, eight games ahead of Buenos Aires. Sao Paulo won the Brazil Division at 96-66 for their first playoff berth since 1945, beginning what would become a nine-year playoff streak. Brasilia was second at 90 wins while last year’s Copa Sudamerica champ Belo Horizonte dropped to third at 86-76.

Although Asuncion struggled as a team, 1B Adrian Calvo earned his second MVP. The 28-year old Paraguayan socked a league-best 54 home runs and .601 slugging percentage, adding 8.3 WAR and 102 RBI. Cordoba’s Nono Louciero picked up his second Pitcher of the Year in three seasons. The 29-year old Argentinian led in WAR (10.4), and strikeouts (336), posting a 20-9 record, 1.98 ERA, and 31 quality starts.

In the Bolivar League Championship Series, Maracaibo downed Cali in six games, giving the Mariners their second league title (1941). Cordoba bested Sao Paulo in five games for the Southern Cone title, the second for the Chanticleers in three years. Cordoba added a second Copa Sudamerica win by sweeping Maracaibo for the title. It is the fifth time that the overall championship has gone to a team in Argentina with two for the Chanticleers and three for Buenos Aires.





Other notes: Evan Yho made it to 5500 strikeouts, the second to ever reach the mark. Barry Hernandez and Luisao Capucho both crossed 4000 career strikeouts. Capucho and Lincoln Parra both crossed 200 wins. Angel Gabriel Cornejo and Adrian Yannoni became the third and fourth BSA hitters to 2500 career hits. Eduardo Santana became the fourth to reach 500 home runs. In award notables, Mesquito Vignali won his eighth Gold Glove at 3B and Loury Nova won his eighth at CF. SS Diego Pena won his record 15^th and final Silver Slugger, a total yet to be matched.