International Amateur Baseball Tournament

International Amateur Baseball Tournament
Tournament details
CountryMexico
CityMexico City
Venue(s)Parque del Seguro Social [es]
DatesNovember 2–10, 1968 (1968-11-02 – 1968-11-10)
Teams4
Final positions
Champions United States
Runner-up Cuba
Third place Mexico
Fourth place Puerto Rico
Tournament statistics
Games played12

The International Amateur Baseball Tournament was held in Mexico City in 1968 between four different national baseball teams.[1][2] The tournament occurred shortly after the 1968 Olympic Games, also in Mexico City, though it was not considered part of the Olympic program. It was billed as the first edition of the tournament, but the format was not continued; future international amateur tournaments, including the following year in Santo Domingo, would continue to bill themselves as the Amateur World Series.

The champion United States team was coached by veteran college coach Danny Litwhiler.[3] It lost only one game, in a ten-inning shutout to Mexico.[4][5] The U.S. team included several future major leaguers, namely Brent Strom, Larry Gura, Lenny Randle, and Steve Rogers. Other future major leaguers included Puerto Rico's Miguel Fuentes.[6]

  1. ^ "De los pocos que han ganado a EU" (in Spanish). Delicias, Chihuahua. El Diario de Delicias. 14 September 2022. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  2. ^ Robert Wood (November 2022). "Olympic Baseball Demonstration Mexico 1968". Topend Sports.
  3. ^ "Danny Litwhiler". American Baseball Coaches Association.
  4. ^ Martin Ortiz Mares (3 June 2020). "Juan Palafox, El Pitcher Que Venció A Estados Unidos" (in Spanish). Delicias, Chihuahua. El Diario de Delicias. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
  5. ^ "En Diez Actos, Mexico Derroto a Estados Unidos una a cero" (in Spanish). El Informador. Nov 2, 1968. p. 19.
  6. ^ "Estados Unidos Derrotó a México y Empató en la Cima con Cuba" (in Spanish). El Informador. Nov 10, 1968. p. 21.