Today, baseball is a popular sport around the world with numerous countries practicing it at amateur and professional levels.
USA Baseball is the national governing body for organized baseball in the United States, and is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization selects and trains the World Baseball Classic, Olympic, Premier12, and Pan American Games teams ; the USA Baseball collegiate national team; the USA Baseball 18U, 15U, and 12U national teams; and the USA Baseball women's national team, all of which participate in various international competitions each year. In addition, USA Baseball selects players for the 14U, 16U, and 17U national team-development programs. The organization is responsible for the continued proliferation and health of the sport, and leads a number of amateur initiatives through its Sport Development department, including Play Ball and Pitch Smart. USA Baseball also presents the Golden Spikes Award annually to the top amateur baseball player in the country and is responsible for creating the USABat standard.
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament, sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) through the World Baseball Classic Inc. The winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy.
Jorge Orta Núñez is a Mexican former professional baseball second baseman and outfielder. He played fifteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 to 1987 for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Toronto Blue Jays, and Kansas City Royals. He is best remembered for being at the center of one of the most controversial plays in World Series history.
The Australian national baseball team represents Australia in international baseball tournaments and competitions. It is ranked as the top team in Oceania, and is the Oceanian Champion, having been awarded the title in 2007 when New Zealand withdrew from the Oceania Baseball Championship. After achieving a last (16th) place in the 2013 World Baseball Classic, its rank dropped to 13, which is the lowest rank Australia ever received. The highest rank it has achieved is 6th, and its current rank is 10th.
The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United States has won many international tournaments, many of which are now discontinued. Most notably the team won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.
Yulieski Gourriel Castillo, commonly known as Yuli Gurriel and nicknamed "La Piña", is a Cuban professional baseball first baseman for the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for Sancti Spiritus in the Cuban National Series (CNS), the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Houston Astros of MLB. Gurriel is a former member of Cuba's national team, and an Olympic Games gold medalist in 2004. A versatile infielder, he has also played shortstop, second base, and third base in the major leagues.
The Puerto Rico national baseball team, also known as Team Rubio is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 13th in the world. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Pan American and Central American/Caribbean champion, as well as the World Baseball Classic runner-up. The team will compete against Israel, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Nicaragua in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in March 2023 in Miami, Florida.
The Cuban League was one of the earliest and longest lasting professional baseball leagues outside the United States, operating in Cuba from 1878 to 1961. The schedule usually operated during the winter months, so the league was sometimes known as the "Cuban Winter League." It was always a small league, generally 3 to 5 teams, and was centered in Havana, though it sometimes included teams from outlying cities such as Matanzas or Santa Clara. The league became racially integrated in 1900, and during the first half of the 20th century the Cuban League was a premier venue for black and white players to meet. Many great black Northern American players competed in Cuba alongside native black and white Cuban stars such as José Méndez, Cristóbal Torriente, Adolfo Luque, and Martín Dihigo. After 1947, the Cuban League entered into an agreement with Major League Baseball and was used for player development. Following the 1959 Cuban Revolution, however, tensions rose with the new Communist government, and in March 1961 the government decreed the abolition of professional baseball.
Conrado Eugenio Marrero Ramos, nicknamed "Connie", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher. The right-handed Marrero pitched in Major League Baseball from 1950 to 1954 for the Washington Senators. Marrero made his major league debut when he was 38 years old, and was one of the oldest players in the league throughout the duration of his time in the major leagues. He was a popular star in his native Cuba, where he had a long and successful career in amateur baseball, pitching for Cuba in several Amateur World Series competitions, and playing several excellent seasons with the professional Cuban League and the minor league Havana Cubans. His nicknames in Cuba were "El Guajiro de Laberinto", reflecting his rural origins, "El Premier", and "El Curvo."
Yasser Richard Gómez Soto is a Cuban baseball player. Gómez competed for Cuba in international competition, winning an Olympic silver medal. Gómez defected from Cuba, and signed with the Atlanta Braves organization. He most recently played with the Joplin Blasters of the American Association of Professional Baseball.
Lourdes Gurriel Delgado is a Cuban baseball player and Olympic gold medalist.
The 1939 Amateur World Series was the second Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation. Great Britain did not defend the AWS title it had won in the inaugural event the previous year. The tournament took place, for the first time, in Cuba. It was contested by the national teams of Cuba, Nicaragua and the United States, playing six games each from August 12 through August 26. Cuba won its first AWS title – the first of what would be a record 26 titles by the time the series ended in 2011, 22 more titles than the next closest nation.
The 1941 Amateur World Series was the fourth Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation. The tournament took place, for the third consecutive time, in Cuba. It was contested by nine national teams playing eight games each from September 27 through October 22 in Havana. Venezuela won its first AWS title.
The 1942 Amateur World Series was the fifth edition of the Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation. The tournament took place, for the fourth consecutive time, in Cuba. It was contested by four national teams playing twelve games each from September 26 through October 20 in Havana. Cuba won its third AWS title.
The 1943 Amateur World Series was the sixth edition of the Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation. The tournament took place, for the fifth consecutive time, in Cuba. It was contested by four national teams playing twelve games each from September 25 through October 19 in Havana. Cuba, who won its fourth overall, and second consecutive, AWS title.
The 1944 Amateur World Series was the seventh Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation. The tournament took place, for the first time, in Venezuela. It was contested by four national teams playing twelve games each from October 12 through November 18 in Caracas. Venezuela won their second AWS title, though in controversial fashion.
José Dariel Abreu Correa is a Cuban-born professional baseball first baseman for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Chicago White Sox.
The 1945 Amateur World Series was the eighth edition of the Amateur World Series (AWS), an international men's amateur baseball tournament. The tournament was sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation. The tournament took place, for the second time, in Venezuela, which had also hosted the previous (1944) tournament. It was contested by six national teams playing ten games each from October 27 through November 18 in Caracas.
Luis Giraldo Casanova Castillo is a former baseball player in the Cuban National Series who had a successful career in international tournaments. Casanova's teams won many titles in Cuban league play, and he led the league in all three Triple Crown statistics at least once. He led major international tournaments in home runs seven times.
Cuba (2nd title)
Nicaragua 
United States 
Venezuela 
