The 1945 Amateur World Series was the eighth edition of the Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the

International Baseball Federation The International Baseball Federation (IBAF; Spanish: ''Federación Internacional de Béisbol'', French: ''Fédération internationale de baseball'') is the former worldwide governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee as ove ...

(which titled it the Baseball World Cup as of the 1988 tournament). The tournament took place, for the second time, in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

, which had also hosted the previous (1944) tournament. It was contested by six national teams playing ten games each from October 27 through November 18 in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as 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 ...

. Both

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and Mexico

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

ed this AWS in protest of the events of the previous edition, when controversy surrounded the tournament regarding umpiring decisions, which had led to forfeits of games and general ill-will. The host Venezuelan team finished undefeated with a perfect 10–0 record, winning its second consecutive gold medal and third overall.

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

finished in second place with a 7–3 record and won silver for its first medal in series history, while

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

went 6–4 for a bronze medal. It was also the first medal for the Panamanians in the tournament.

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...

, a former silver medalist both in

1939 This year also marks the start of the Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Third Reich *** Jews are forbidden to ...

and

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

, placed fourth at 5–5. The

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

teams debuted in the Series and shared last place with a 1–9 mark.

Héctor Benítez Héctor Benítez (November 1, 1918 – June 17, 2011) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. Listed at 5' 7" (1.73 m), 160 lb. (73 k), he batted and threw left handed. (Spanish) Born in Caracas, Benítez spent 21 years in Ven ...

of Venezuela earned

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

honors after leading the hitter in batting average (.526), hits (20), RBI (16) and runs scored (16). Teammate Luis Zuloaga was the top pitcher with a 4–0 record, while setting a Series record with seven consecutive wins. Other statistical leaders for Venezuela were Ramón Fernández, with 21 hits, and

Luis Romero Petit Luis Romero Petit (April 11, 1917 – June 29, 2017) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He batted and threw right handed.Gutiérrez, Daniel; Alvarez, Efraim; Gutiérrez (h), Daniel (2006). ''La Enciclopedia del Béisbol en Venezuela''. ...

, who stole nine bases. Another well observed performance came from Panamanian catcher

León Kellman Edric León Kellman (September 4, 1924 – September 13, 1981) was a Panamanian professional baseball player and manager. Listed at 5' 11", 160 lb., Kellman batted and threw right handed. He was born in Gatún, Panama Canal Zone. Although ...

, who was the only player to hit two home runs in the Series. Previously, in

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

, Kellman was the only player to homer in the Series.

Final standings

References

* Bjarkman, P. (2007). ''A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864–2006''. McFarland & Company. .
Baseball World Cup History

(Spanish) {{Baseball World Cup Amateur World Series, 1945 Baseball World Cup

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which nuclear weapons have been used in combat. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. Januar ...

1945 in Venezuelan sport October 1945 sports events in South America November 1945 sports events in South America Sports competitions in Caracas 20th century in Caracas