1948 Amateur World Series
{{Short description|10th Amateur World Series, held in Managua, Nicaragua}}
{{Infobox international baseball tournament
| country = {{NIC}}
| image = 1948 AWS stamp.jpg
| num_teams = 8
| continents = 3
| venues =
| cities =
| defending_champion = Colombia
| prev_year = 1947
| medal_type = world cup
| champion = Dominican Republic
| num_championships =
| second = Puerto Rico
| second-flagvar = 1952
| third = Colombia
| fourth = Mexico
| fourth-flagvar = 1934
| games =
| mvp =
| prevseason = 1947
| nextseason = 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.{{cite web |title=Historia de la Copa Mundial/World Cup History I-X (1938-1948) |url=http://www.baseballdecuba.com/WCup2011/History.html |website=Baseball de Cuba |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111212001843/http://www.baseballdecuba.com/WCup2011/History.html |archive-date=12 December 2011 |language=es}}{{cite news |title=Fué inaugurada hoy en Nicaragua la Serie Mundial de Beisbol Amateur |url=https://prensacr.info/data/5e90d0ca445c2c4d2c735c56? |agency=La Prensa Libre |access-date=15 March 2025 |language=es}}
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.{{cn|date=June 2022}}
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.{{cite news |title=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 |url=https://prensacr.info/data/5e90cf60445c2c4d2c735b21 |page=10 |access-date=3 November 2024 |agency=La Prensa Libre |date=21 October 1948 |language=es}} 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.{{cite news |title=Así fue la inauguración del viejo Estadio Nacional de beisbol hace 69 años |url=https://www.laprensani.com/2017/10/17/deportes/2315115-inauguracion-del-viejo-estadio-nacional |access-date=15 March 2025 |agency=La Prensa |date=17 October 2017 |language=es}}
After Nicaragua lost a game against Mexico, Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza fired the team's Cuban manager, Juan Ealo, and took over the reigns of the team himself. However, the team still limped to a dismal 1–6 record.{{cite journal |last1=Gonzalez Echeverria |first1=Roberto |title=The Magic of Baseball (Keynote Lecture) The Magic of Baseball (Keynote Lecture) |journal=Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies |date=Fall 2000 |volume=8 |issue=1 |page=150 |url=https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1207&context=ijgls |access-date=3 November 2024}}{{cite web |title=Buck Canel: The Voice of Beisbol, Boxeo and FDR |url=https://blogs.loc.gov/now-see-hear/2021/10/buck-canel-the-voice-of-beisbol-boxeo-and-fdr/#_edn3 |website=Library of Congress Blogs |access-date=3 November 2024 |date=12 October 2021}}
Final standings
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center; font-size:95%" | ||
| width=25|Rk
!width=170|Team !width=25|{{Tooltip|W|Total wins in the tournament}} !width=25|{{Tooltip|L|Total losses in the tournament}} !colspan=2| | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1
|align=left|{{bb|Dominican Republic}} |8 | 1 | colspan=2|18px |
| 2
|align=left|{{bb|Puerto Rico|1952}} |6 | 1 | colspan=2|18px |
| 3
|align=left|{{bb|Colombia}} |5 | 2 | colspan=2|18px |
| 4
|align=left|{{bb|Mexico|1934}} |5 | 2 | |
| 5
|align=left|{{bb|Panama}} |3 | 4 | |
| 6
|align=left|{{bb|Guatemala}} |2 | 5 | |
| 7
|align=left|{{bb|Nicaragua|1908}} |1 | 6 | |
| 8
|align=left|{{bb|El Salvador}} |0 | 7 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Baseball World Cup}}
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