The 1969 Amateur World Series was an international baseball tournament held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic from August 15 through August 26, 1969. The competition marked the first time the United States participated in the Amateur World Series since the 1942 tournament. Cuba and the US were both 9-0 when they met in the finals, with Cuba winning 2–1. Gaspar Pérez was the winning pitcher for Cuba and also drove in their first run to tie the game and scored the second, decisive run. Most of the 20,000 fans who watched the finals were pro-Cuba, reportedly due to lingering resentment from the 1965 US invasion of the Dominican Republic.[1]
Joaquín Balaguer used the tournament for propaganda purposes
Cuba returned after being absent for the 1965 tournament in Colombia, which it was unable to attend due to visa issues brought on by the Cold War. Dominican authorities were active to ensure that political protests did not derail the event, detaining several protesters.[3] Nevertheless, historians suggest that Dominican President Joaquín Balaguer used the event as propaganda, as a means of legitimizing his rule and positioning the Dominican Republic as an international actor friendly to both the capitalist U.S. and communist Cuba.[3][4]
Venezuela, which had also not attended in 1965, also made its return.