| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Cuba |
| Teams | 10 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  Cuba (11th title) |
| Runner-up |  Colombia |
| Third place |  Nicaragua |
| Fourth place |  Puerto Rico |
| ← 19701972 → | |
The 1971 Amateur World Series was the 19th Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (which titled it the Baseball World Cup as of the 1988 tournament). The tournament took place, for the seventh time, in Cuba, and was won by the host Cuba national baseball team, their 11th title. They finished with an undefeated record of 9–0, recording six shutouts and scoring 60 runs while allowing only four.
Participants
There were 10 participating countries. The United States, which had returned to the international baseball scene just two years prior after a 27-year-absence, declined to take part in the tournament. The U.S. delegation to the 1970 FIBA Congress reportedly pledged that they would boycott the competition due to political differences with the regime of Fidel Castro. This decision was confirmed by United States Baseball Federation in June 1971, though USBF president Dutch Fehring claimed it was due to financial reasons.
Colombia notably protested that the Mexican team illegally used three professional players. Mexico were later stripped of several victories, dropping them to ninth place in the standings.
Final standings
| Pos | Team | W | L |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
Cuba |
9 | 0 |
 |
Colombia |
7 | 2 |
 |
Nicaragua |
6 | 3 |
| 4 | Puerto Rico |
6 | 3 |
| 5 |  Panama |
5 | 4 |
| 6 |  Canada |
4 | 5 |
| 7 |  Dominican Republic |
4 | 4 |
| 8 |  Italy |
2 | 7 |
| 9 |  Mexico |
2 | 7 |
| 10 |  Netherlands Antilles |
0 | 9 |
Honors and awards
Statistical leaders
|
|
All-Star team
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| C | Lázaro Pérez
|
| 1B | Elpidio Mancebo
|
| 2B | Rafael Obando
|
| 3B | Abel Leal
|
| SS | Rodolfo Puente
|
| OF | Luis Escobar
|
| Luis Mercado
| |
| Wilfredo Sanchez
| |
| P | Carlos Lowell (LHP)
|
| Santiago Mederos (RHP)
|
References
- ^ "Cuba Wins Amateur World Series". Miami Herald. December 6, 1971. p. 38. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Flores, Ike (December 8, 1971). "Cuba Leaving Mark in 'Amateur' Sports". Miami Herald. p. 89. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- Turner, Justin W.R. (2012). Baseball Diplomacy, Baseball Deployment: The National Pastime in U.S.-Cuba Relations (Thesis). University of Alabama.
- "Protest Key to Colombia Hopes". Miami Herald. December 4, 1971. p. 52. Retrieved November 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Historia de la Copa Mundial/World Cup History XI-XX (1950-1972)". Baseball de Cuba (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 22 November 2011.
External links
- World Cup Cuba Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine