1948 Amateur World Series

1948 Amateur World Series

Tournament details
Country	Nicaragua
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Dominican Republic
Runners-up	Puerto Rico
Third place	Colombia
Fourth place	Mexico
Awards
MVP	Ramón del Monte
←  1947 1950  →

The 1948 Amateur World Series was the 10th edition of the Amateur World Series. It was held in Managua, Nicaragua from November 20 through December 12, 1948. ^{[1] [2]}

Participants

The usually-powerful Cubans did not field a squad; in the wake of the integration of organized baseball, many top Cuban amateurs had been signed by Major League Baseball teams that had previously refused to sign the darker-skinned Cubans.^{[ citation needed ]}

Venezuela also did not send its national team, due to strained relations between the Venezuelan government, led by Rómulo Gallegos, and Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza García. Somoza accused the Venezuelan government of promoting revolutionary groups in Central America. ^[3] The democratically-elected Gallegos would be removed from power in a military coup on Nov. 24, 1948, midway through the tournament).

Tournament summary

The first pitch, at the new Estadio Nacional in Managua, was supposed to be thrown by the president of Nicaragua, Víctor Manuel Román y Reyes, but he instead allowed Anastasio Somoza García, head of the National Guard and the country's de facto dictator, to throw the first pitch instead. Chale Pereira, Nicaraguan president of the International Baseball Federation, was also present. ^[4]

After Nicaragua lost a game against Mexico, Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza fired the team's Cuban manager, Juan Ealo, and took over the reins of the team himself. However, the team still limped to a dismal 1–6 record. ^{[5] [6]}

Final standings

Rk	Team	W	L
1	Dominican Republic	8	1
2	Puerto Rico	6	1
3	Colombia	5	2
4	Mexico	5	2
5	Panama	3	4
6	Guatemala	2	5
7	Nicaragua	1	6
8	El Salvador	0	7

References

1. "Historia de la Copa Mundial/World Cup History I-X (1938-1948)". Baseball de Cuba (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 December 2011.
2. "Fué inaugurada hoy en Nicaragua la Serie Mundial de Beisbol Amateur" (in Spanish). La Prensa Libre. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
3. "NO SE CREE QUE ASISTA LA SELECCIÓN DE VENEZUELA AL CAMPEONATO MUNDIAL DE BEISBOL AMATEUR, DEBIDO A LA TIRANTEZ DE RELACIONES ENTRE LOS GOBIERNOS DE AMBOS PAÍSES" (in Spanish). La Prensa Libre. 21 October 1948. p. 10. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
4. "Así fue la inauguración del viejo Estadio Nacional de beisbol hace 69 años" (in Spanish). La Prensa. 17 October 2017. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
5. Gonzalez Echeverria, Roberto (Fall 2000). "The Magic of Baseball (Keynote Lecture) The Magic of Baseball (Keynote Lecture)". Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies. 8 (1): 150. Retrieved 3 November 2024.
6. "Buck Canel: The Voice of Beisbol, Boxeo and FDR". Library of Congress Blogs. 12 October 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2024.