However, only two federations accepted, those of Cuba and Nicaragua; Great Britain, the defending champions, declined for the sake of their domestic league, which began in August of that year.

[a] The ceremonial first pitch was thrown out by Colonel Jaime Mariné, the director of the Cuban sports ministry and a close associate of Fulgencio Batista, who had helped organize the tournament.

[1] The United States was badly outmatched against the Cuban and Nicaraguan pitching staffs — which, unlike the amateur leagues in the U.S., included some of the best pitchers from their countries.

[3] In a report on the 1939 series, Mann concluded that the United States "has the youngsters with the ability to compete with the other countries around the world but it is going to take enthusiastic cooperation on part of those amateur players...

[1] There were no professional players from the Cuban League, in keeping with the tournament's amateur basis (though Adolfo Luque, manager of Almendares and formerly of the Cincinnati Reds, acted as an English-language interpreter).

[4] Instead, the team was made up of the top players from Cuba's amateur circuits, including the clubs of Regla, Fortuna, Circulo Militar, Cienfuegos, and Deportivo Cardenas.