Kevin Edmund Youkilis, nicknamed "Youk", is an American former professional baseball first baseman and third baseman, who primarily played for the Boston Red Sox. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2001, after playing college baseball at the University of Cincinnati. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Red Sox, the Chicago White Sox, and the New York Yankees. He is currently a special assistant to the Chicago Cubs and former Red Sox GM Theo Epstein.
The World Baseball Classic (WBC) 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 the Major League Baseball (MLB). It was proposed to the IBAF by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. It is one of the two main senior baseball tournament sanctioned by the WBSC, but the only one which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".
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 its current rank of 6th.
The United States national baseball team is the national baseball team of the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. Team USA won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.
The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums that are in and around Tokyo, Japan; San Juan, Puerto Rico; Lake Buena Vista, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Scottsdale, Arizona; Anaheim, California; and San Diego, California.
The Netherlands national baseball team is the national baseball team of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, representing the country in international men's baseball. They are currently ranked as the best team in the Confederation of European Baseball, and the team is also ranked ninth in the WBSC World Rankings.
The Panama national baseball team represents Panama at international competitions. They are currently the 12th ranked baseball team in the world.
The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competition. The Italian national team was ranked 16th in the world as of 2018. The team is managed by Mike Piazza, a former New York Mets player and Major League Baseball Hall of Fame inductee.
The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23.
The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to March 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts were Seoul, Tokyo, Miami and Zapopan. The second-round hosts were Tokyo and San Diego, and the championship round was played in Los Angeles.
The French National Baseball team represents the French Federation of Baseball and Softball in international competitions, such as the World Baseball Classic, the European Baseball Championship, and the World Cup of Baseball. They are currently ranked 25th in the world.
The Israel national baseball team represents Israel in international competitions.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009.
Qualifier 1 of the Qualifying Round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held at Roger Dean Stadium, Jupiter, Florida, United States from September 19 to 23, 2012.
Alon Leichman is an Israeli pitching coach of the West Virginia Power, a Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in the South Atlantic League. He has been a baseball pitcher and coach. He coaches for Team Israel and served as Coordinator of Organizational Learning for the Seattle Mariners' player development program. He also plays for Team Israel.
The Qualifying Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held from February 11 to September 25, 2016. Teams which participated at the 2013 World Baseball Classic were automatically qualified for the 2017 tournament except the four nations which ended up last in their respective groups: Australia, Brazil, Mexico, and Spain had to play in the qualifiers along with 12 other national teams. 16 teams participated, divided into four groups of four teams each. The winners of each of the four groups qualified for the 2017 World Baseball Classic.
World Baseball Classic qualification is the process that determines which nations will compete at the World Baseball Classic. Qualification takes place the year prior to the tournament, which itself is played every four years.
Team Israel has competed in the World Baseball Classic since the 2013 World Baseball Classic qualifier round. In 2017 Israel competed at a World Baseball Classic qualifier for the second time, and for the first time qualified for the main tournament.
Alexander Benjamin Katz is an Israeli-American professional baseball left-handed pitcher who is currently a free agent.
Shlomo Lipetz is an Israeli baseball player who pitches for Team Israel. He is also Vice President of Programming and music director at City Winery in New York City.
