The United States Baseball Federation,doing business as USA Baseball,commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer,is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that acts as the national governing body for baseball in the United States. USA Baseball is a member of the United States Olympic Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The organization is responsible for the selection of the United States national team for various international competition,including the senior professional team,the collegiate national team,the various youth national teams,and the women's national team.
The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is the former worldwide governing body of baseball. It has since been superseded by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC),and continues to exist as the WBSC's baseball division. Between 1944 and 1975,it was known by its Spanish-language name,as the Federación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur,or FIBA.
The Baseball World Cup (BWC) was an international baseball tournament for national teams around the world,sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). First held in 1938 as the Amateur World Series (AWS),it was,for most of its history,the highest level of international baseball competition in the world. Even after it was supplanted in this regard in 2006 by the modern World Baseball Classic (WBC),the Baseball World Cup was still considered by the IBAF to be a major world championship,along with the WBC and the Summer Olympic Games.
Baseball at the Summer Olympics unofficially debuted at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris,and was first contested as a demonstration sport at the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. It became an official Olympic sport at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona,then was played at each Olympiad through the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The sport was then dropped from the Summer Olympic program,until being revived for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo for a single appearance. It is next expected to be part of the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
The International Softball Federation (ISF) is the former international governing body for the sport of softball with its world headquarters and training centre at Plant City,Florida. The ISF is a non-profit corporation recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and SportAccord.
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.
The Italy national baseball team represents Italy in international baseball competitions. The Italian national team was ranked 16th in the world as of 2022. Like the country's association football team and other national teams,the national baseball team is known as the Azzurri,and wears traditional Savoy blue on its uniforms.
Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing was held from August 13 to August 23. All games were played at Wukesong Baseball Field,a temporary venue constructed at the Beijing Wukesong Culture &Sports Center. For the third time in Olympic competition,professional baseball players were eligible to participate,though no active players from Major League Baseball were available.
William Paul "Dutch" Fehring was an American football and baseball player,coach,and administrator. Fehring was president of the United States Baseball Federation,and oversaw the return of the U.S. national team to international baseball competition. He also briefly led the World Amateur Baseball Federation,better known as FEMBA,during its split from the International Baseball Federation in the early 1970s.
The World University Baseball Championship is an under-23 international college baseball competition sponsored by the International University Sports Federation (FISU) and was first held in 2002 in Italy. Until 2013,it was sanctioned by the then-International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and was one of several tournaments considered by the IBAF to be a minor world championship,and as such the results of the tournaments affected the IBAF World Rankings. For its men's world rankings,the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) -- successor to the IBAF—now uses the results of WBSC's biennial 23U Baseball World Cup.
The U-18 Baseball World Cup is the 18-and-under baseball world championship sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and its successor,the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC),and was first held in 1981 in the United States. Because it is a world championship,the results of the U-18 Baseball World Cup affect the WBSC World Rankings.
The WBSC World Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in baseball,softball,and baseball5. The teams of the member nations of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC),baseball's world governing body,are ranked based on their tournament results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. A point system is used,with points being awarded based on the results of WBSC-recognized international tournaments. Under the existing system,rankings are based on a team's performance over the last four years,with major international tournaments awarded a higher weighting compared to minor international and continental tournaments.
The 125th IOC Session took place at the Buenos Aires Hilton in Buenos Aires,Argentina,from 7 to 10 September 2013. On 7 September,the International Olympic Committee (IOC) elected Tokyo as the host city of the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. Wrestling was restored to the Olympic sports program for 2020 and 2024. Thomas Bach was elected to an eight-year term as IOC President on 10 September.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for the sports of baseball,softball,Baseball5 and Blind baseball. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and International Softball Federation (ISF). Under the WBSC's organizational structure,the IBAF and ISF serve as the confederation's baseball and softball divisions,respectively. Each division is governed by an executive committee,while the WBSC is governed by an executive board.
The WBSC Premier12 is the international baseball tournament organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC),featuring the 12 highest-ranked national baseball teams in the world. The first tournament was held by Taiwan and Japan in November 2015. The second tournament,2019 WBSC Premier12,was held in November 2019,and served as a qualifier for two teams for baseball at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
The Copa América is the top international baseball tournament contested among national teams from the Americas. Organized under the auspices of WBSC Americas under various names since 1985,including as the Pan American Championship,it has historically served as the qualifier for major international tournaments like the Olympics and the Pan American Games. The Pan American Championship was suspended after the cancellation of the Baseball World Cup in 2011,though the World Baseball Softball Confederation is reportedly planning on reviving the tournament under the Copa América name.
This article contains lists of achievements in major senior-level international baseball and softball tournaments according to first-place,second-place and third-place results obtained by teams representing different nations. The objective is not to create combined medal tables;the focus is on listing the best positions achieved by teams in major international tournaments,ranking the nations according to the most number of podiums accomplished by teams of these nations.
Baseball5 is a simplified variation of baseball and softball which is governed at the international level alongside those sports by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).
Manuel Ricardo González Guerra was a Cuban baseball executive and president of the International Baseball Federation from 1976 to 1980. He was the first president of the organization elected after the splinter group FEMBA rejoined in 1976.
