Baseball at the 1959 Pan American Games was contested between nine teams. The 1959 edition was the first

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

held in the United States and the third overall. Games were held at

Comiskey Park Comiskey Park was a baseball park in Chicago, Illinois, located in the Armour Square neighborhood on the near-southwest side of the city. The stadium served as the home of the Chicago White Sox of the American League from 1910 through 1990. Buil ...

and

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago Wh ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

from August 27 through September 7. This remains the only Pan American Games baseball championship won by Venezuela.

Team summaries

went 6–1 to claim the title. The team was managed by

José Antonio Casanova José Antonio Casanova (February 18, 1918 – July 8, 1999) was a shortstop and manager in Venezuelan baseball. He batted and threw right handed. (Spanish) Born in Maracaibo, Zulia, Casanova is regarded as the most successful manager in Venezuela ...

and featured future big leaguer

Dámaso Blanco Dámaso Blanco Caripe (born December 11, 1941 in Curiepe, Miranda State, Venezuela), is a former Major League Baseball third baseman/shortstop and right-handed batter who played for the San Francisco Giants (1972–74). In 1977, at the age of 36 ...

. Infielder José Flores led the event with three triples while Enrique Capecchi was 2-0 pitching against Brazil and the US, also Manuel Pérez Bolaños was 2-0 on the mound, as well as 18-year-old Luis Peñalver, about to embark on a 19-year Minor League career, mostly in AAA. won Silver, thanks to a 5–1 record. Irmo Figueroa led the competition in average (.500) while Carlos Pizarro had the most hits (12). R. Vazquez led in RBI (10) and tied for the home run lead with 2. won Bronze at 4–3; their 3–2 win over Cuba helped them lock up the Medal. An A. Hall, presumably Alan Hall, tied for the homer lead with two. Charles Davis had the best ERA (0.69). Future Hall Of Famer

Lou Brock Louis Clark Brock (June 18, 1939September 6, 2020) was an American professional baseball outfielder. He began his 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent most of it as a left fielder for the St. Louis Car ...

was 1-for-10. Another future major leaguer was outfielder

Ty Cline Tyrone Alexander Cline (born June 15, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player, primarily a reserve outfielder and pinch hitter, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cleveland Indians (1960–62), Milwaukee / Atla ...

. Third baseman Jack McCartan later won a gold medal as the goaltender for the United States hockey team at the

1960 Winter Olympics The 1960 Winter Olympics (officially the VIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Squaw Valley 1960) were a winter multi-sport event held from February 18 to 28, 1960, at the Squaw Valley Resort (now known as Palisades Tahoe) in Squaw Vall ...

. had a very disappointing tourney, going 2–4 and failing to take a medal, a contrast with the upcoming state-sponsored

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 200 ...

era teams that breached the amateur code and won 10 Pan Am Games Gold Medals in a row. Urbano Gonzalez hit .353 and Pedro Chavez was 5-for-9. was 5th at 3–2. Roberto Coto led the event with 5 doubles. Mauro Ruiz went 2–0, the only non-Venezuelan to post that record. had one of their best events ever, going 3–3 to finish 6th. They were followed by (7th, 2–4) and (8th, 2–3). finished last, losing all six of their games.

Final standing

Medalists

References

* {{Events at the 1959 Pan American Games

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

Events at the 1959 Pan American Games

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Ame ...