Surfeited with premier talent, the 1871 Navegadores de Naguabo won their inaugural division—and nonetheless beached on the Serie Eliminatoria.

They would not return to the torneo until 1877, when a team similarly fraught with good players found themselves unable to make it past the 1880 edition of the silver Interdivisionales, and when La Brújula returned one last time in 1883. That trip to the postseason gave them no more joy than their first.

In 1902, the Naves are the best team in the entire Liga Nacional Puertorriqueña, with 121 wins to their credit—the record for wins in Betances, though not the entire LNP, thanks to the absurdly stacked 1901 Ingenieros. Obviously, that bought them a first-class ticket to the torneo.

Here's what they did when they got there.

Serie Preliminar (vs. #16 Canarios de Hatillo)

As you can imagine from their status as the 16 seed, the 1902 Canarios were an extremely middle-of-the-pack team with the occasional surprising show of strength.

They were not expected to put up much of a fight against the Navegadores, who had beaten them in three of the four games they'd played during the season (and whose one defeat came in the 19th inning), especially as they wouldn't have Demetrio Santana, their leading bat, during the series.

Game 1, in Naguabo: For Ted Balloon's first postseason start, the Navegadores put on a clinic in, uh, being the Navegadores. Despite nine hits, the entirety of their scoring came on a Benji Valdez third-inning double. That forced Ted to pitch at full tension throughout the game, which probably explains why the Canarios' only run was . . . well, you can watch the whole thing yourself.
Game 2, in Naguabo: Things looked bleak for the Flying Scotsman when Tomás Rivera singled, stole second, and went home on an Alarico Molina base hit, especially after Kalsakau responded to this by getting caught in a rundown. The Naves remained unable to string hits together until the sixth, when Rob Feaster followed up a Frank del Castillo hit with a single of his own, stole second (unlike Frank, who was gunned down), went to third on the next base hit and scored the tying run thanks to some bad footwork in Hatillo's center field. Frank would redeem himself in the next inning with a monster bases-clearing triple—and would himself score when Ceinture managed to bat him in with two outs. Navegadores win, 5-2.
Game 3, in Hatillo: Unlike the other two pitchers in the Preliminar rotation, Quinlevan had postseason experience, as the former anchor of the Galway Harbourmastersrotation. Perhaps that lack of pressure explains why, despite allowing a little traffic on the bases, and even putting the tying run on in the eighth with a leadoff double, Quinlevan never faltered, even when it took a couple of errors from the Canarios defense to get the Naves some distance—of their scores, only the Rob Feaster run enabled by Vidal Santiago's full-count single was actually earned. Navegadores win, 4-0.

With the sweep of the Canarios, the Navegadores had declared it: they were not going home early this time.

Ilustre:
RHP Padraic Quinlevan (9 IP, 1-0, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 HsBP, 4 K, 0.00 ERA)

Serie Eliminatoria (vs. #9 Cotorras de Río Grande)

The Cotorras had tied the Navegadores in the season series, with good reason: their lineup featured several of the best players in the entire Liga Nacional Puertorriqueña, and their rotation was mostly made up of dependable pitchers who flew under the radar but did excellent work most times.

There was some drama, too, as Pyotr Orlovsky had gone from an everyday starting right fielder to sharing DH/backup outfielder duties with various other players when he was traded to Naguabo, while David Marrero found the groove he never had with the Naves once he became a Cotorra.

Game 1, in Naguabo: For the second time, Ted Balloon's number came up; for the second time, he delivered, although Salcedo Díaz let him rest after the seventh inning when the game was well in hand. Ángel González, the pride and joy of the Río Grande rotation, found himself bullied off the mound after just fifteen outs, forcing Guillermo Ramos, who had been a Cotorra for about a week, to take over on an emergency basis. Vidal Santiago starred with a 4-hit day that included a double and a walk, but del Castillo (3-6, 2 RsBI), Shrdlu (3-4, 3 R, BB) and Underwood (1-2, R, 2 RsBI) all helped pile it on. Navegadores win, 11-1.
Game 2, in Naguabo: Facing their old friend Marrero, the Navegadores quickly established two things: they did not intend to lose at La Timonera, and they were not going to be nice to him. The Río Grande defense agreed: after Marrero managed to get two outs in the second, an error allowed Benji Valdez to score, setting up a bases-loaded walk to Ceinture and a Rob Feaster grand slam that put the game nearly out of reach before the halfway point. The Cotorras tried to get back into it, but for once, it was the other team that was having trouble slapping runs together. Navegadores win, 7-2.
Game 3, in Río Grande: Quinlevan's luck did not hold out—but then, neither did anyone else's. The Cotorras were up 1-0, taking advantage of some excellent pitching from Ángel González, when the top half of their lineup exploded in the fifth to plate three and chase the chastened Irishman from the game. Underwood proved unable to keep the onslaught at bay, giving up a two-run homer to Jorge Estrada, and Roos had to sweat out a tough inning—but it was when old reliable Big Jack Katoll entered the game and promptly gave up six hits and a walk that things got absurd. Cotorras win, 10-0.
Game 4, in Río Grande: Jeffrey McCarthy had become quite unreliable in the last part of the season, and the Navegadores had responded by keeping him out of the initial playoff rotation. But with Ramos, who had pitched three innings in Game 1, starting for Río Grande, Naguabo wanted to send its most rested starter to the mound. The result was classic McCarthy: though only Kalsakau and Santiago notched multi-hit games, it hardly mattered, as he limited the Cotorras to eight hits and no walks before giving Roos a chance to close it out—a chance Roos came very close to blowing. Navegadores win, 6-3.

The Navegadores would be in the Interdivisionales for the first time in over twenty years—but this is where the competition would get truly fierce.

Ilustre:
LF Vidal Santiago (15 AB, .533/.588/.600, 1 2B, 3 R, 6 RsBI, 2 BB)

Serie Interdivisional (vs. #4 Palomas de Cidra)

How the Palomas had lost three games to the Navegadores was anyone's guess. They had the presumptive Ilustrísimo of Betances in Hércules Guerrero, a lineup filled with excellent trade acquisitions that powered one of the most complete offenses in the entire LNP—disciplined, voluminous, and heavy—and, to boot, boasted a great rotation and defense that kept opponents off the board.

Naguabo would have to bring their A+ game against them.

Game 1, in Naguabo: Yet again, Rob Feaster came to the rescue to secure the early lead on a Benji Valdez sac fly; yet again, Ted Balloon managed a strong six shutout innings. Roberto Kalsakau's third hit of the night, after a daring double steal by del Castillo and Feaster, gave the Naves a 3-0 lead, and a Ceinture RBI double scored him in turn to make it 4-0. That's when it all fell apart—and you can catch every second of it.
Game 2, in Naguabo: Roberto Kalsakau kept things moving with two RBI doubles, along with Ceinture and del Castillo's two hits apiece, but this was Ben Downie's game the whole way. Four hits and six strikeouts secured a dominant win over one of Betances' premier offenses, against the only Cidra pitcher who'd beaten the Navegadores during the regular season. Navegadores win, 5-0.
Game 3, in Cidra: McCarthy wasn't quite as shutdown as the last time, allowing three runs in eight innings, but Frank del Castillo was prepared for that eventuality—his three-hit game included two scores, and a game-tying home run over the left field wall, which allowed Etaoin Shrdlu to come through with the go-ahead hit in the 8th. Varela entered to get his first save of the playoffs by closing down the ninth. Navegadores win, 4-3.
Game 4, in Cidra: After his 12 innings of work in Game 1, the fact that Carlos Rubio would even consider pitching a second game in the series was truly heroic—and the fact that he shut down the Navegadores offense for his fifth win of the season even more impressive. Despite Trevor Glover's three-hit game, Naguabo simply weren't able to get anything. Palomas win, 7-2.
Game 5, in Cidra: Despite Aluino Trujillo striking out nine, the Navegadores romped to an early lead thanks, largely, to Frank del Castillo's second home run of the series. That was good, because Ted was not able to repeat his early success against the Palomas: the top of the lineup managed to tie the game in the fifth. Luckily, in the top of the ninth, Ceinture led off with a double, stole third, and scored on a Trevor Glover two-out single. Varela earned his second save of the postseason. Navegadores win, 5-4.

For the first time in their history, the Navegadores—who were once expected to be the dominant team of the Liga Nacional Puertorriqueña, with its best pitcher and best position player—would have a chance at the pennant.

Ilustre:
RF Frank del Castillo (19 AB, .474/.565/.842, 1 2B, 2 HR, 7 R, 5 RsBI, 3 BB, 1 HBP)

Campeonato de Las Ligas (vs. #2 Murciélagos de Camuy)

The Murciélagos, after spending plenty of money to reinforce what was already a highly effective roster, managed to lose Tadeo Ramírez, one of their key acquisitions, for seven weeks at the end of the season. It was likely the only reason they fell to the #2 seed, as they are, by consensus, the most loaded team in the Liga Nacional Puertorriqueña.

This was the first series where Ramírez was available again, and his presence would immediately make itself known.

Game 1, in Naguabo: For the first time all postseason, Ben Downie wasn't an automatic win, though the Navegadores certainly tried to give their opponents a fight. Several errors from the normally-dominant Naguabo defense brought in runs that shouldn't have happened, and, well, why not just watch it all happen?
Game 2, in Naguabo: Second verse, same as the first: After McCarthy tried his best to keep the game winnable, maintaining a 3-1 lead, Gottmo entered to deal with the lefty-righty-lefty part of the lineup . . . and promptly gave up four runs. Katoll couldn't stanch the bleeding either, and before they knew it, the Naves were staring down another three-run loss after another eighth-inning collapse. Murciélagos win, 6-3.
Game 3, in Camuy: Rob Feaster had been Naguabo's most clutch hitter throughout the playoffs, and today, when Quinlevan gave up seven earned and walked five, he realized that he had the key to winning the game: mashing. He put up a five-hit game, including two doubles, driving in five runs and scoring two of his own—which made the entirety of the difference. Varela received the win when Naguabo scratched together two runs in the top of the tenth. Navegadores win, 11-9, in 10 innings.
Game 4, in Camuy: Ted Balloon had yet to lose a playoff game, and he wasn't about to start now. He pitched seven strong innings against Damián Medina, who had won all six of his appearances. This time it was Trevor Glover who showed up for his team: his two-run triple in the 8th scored Santiago and Shrdlu, and gave the Naves a lead that survived Camuy's counterpunch. Varela earned his third save by shutting down the top of the mighty Murciélagos. Navegadores win, 4-3.
Game 5, in Camuy: Poor Ben Downie. You're not supposed to suddenly lose your juice halfway through the most important playoff series your team has ever played—but sometimes you just face a superior pitcher, and Camuy has so many of those that they've got one of the best Canadian pitchers in the league just chilling in the armbarn. Which was unneeded this time, because despite José Guerra letting the Navegadores have seven hits and three walks, it was Jack Katoll, who entered in the bottom of the 9th with a man on, who watched helplessly as Shrdlu's dropped ball at second allowed Cortez to break the scoreless tie and win the game. Murciélagos win, 1-0.
Game 6, in Naguabo: Against the top lineup in the LNP, Jeffrey McCarthy did what he could: 7 innings, 4 runs, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts. The Murciélagos took the lead in the third thanks to a Frank del Castillo throwing error, and expanded it with a single in the fifth. Naguabo responded . . . but was unable to generate any more offense until the bottom of the ninth, by which point Paz and Varela had held the Murciélagos to their four runs. After Shrdlu grounded out, Glover managed a walk, to be replaced by Underwood at first as the tying run. Salmerón struck out swinging. Frank del Castillo singled to move Underwood to second, and—you guessed it—Rob Feaster doubled them both home. A walk-off, series-tying hit to preserve Naguabo's chances. Navegadores win, 5-4.
Game 7, in Naguabo: ?

Ilustre:
?

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