Current season, competition or edition: 2024 WBSC Premier12 | |
Sport | Baseball |
---|---|
Founded | November 2015 |
Founder | World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) |
No. of teams | 12 |
Continent | International |
Most recent champion(s) | Japan (1st title) |
Most titles | South Korea (1 title) Japan (1 title) |
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.
From 1938 to 2011, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), then the governing body of baseball, considered the Baseball World Cup to be the sport's major world championship. [1] Following the 2011 version of the event, the IBAF chose to discontinue the tournament in favor of the World Baseball Classic. [2]
In 2005 the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that baseball and softball would be removed from the Summer Olympics beginning in 2012. [3] Thereafter, the IOC also officially reclassified baseball and softball as two different disciplines of the same sport. [4] In 2013, the IBAF merged with the International Softball Federation to create the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). [5]
On 27 November 2014, the WBSC announced the creation of the Premier12 tournament, calling it "the new flagship pro baseball nations championship," which would be held every four years. [6] [7] It was viewed as an event to fill in the calendar in place of the Baseball World Cup, since the World Baseball Classic took its place and an attempt to boost baseball's bid for inclusion in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. [8] [9] The WBSC proposed that, if baseball did return to the Olympics for 2020, the 2019 WBSC Premier12 be used as a qualifying tournament. [10]
On 11 September 2023, the WBSC officially announced the third staging of the tournament for 2024, to be hosted in Japan, Taiwan and a venue in the Americas, [11] later chosen to be Mexico. [12]
The field of the tournament consists of the 12 best national teams in the world according to the most recent WBSC World Rankings. [6]
Across three stagings of the tournament a total of 14 teams have qualified for at least one edition, with 10 of those teams having qualified for all three events. Of all the qualified teams, the majority have been from the Americas and Asia and none have qualified from Africa. At least one team from Europe has qualified for every tournament and Oceania has had one team (Australia) qualify for the last two tournaments.
Team | Appearances | ||
---|---|---|---|
Total | First | Latest | |
Chinese Taipei | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Cuba | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Dominican Republic | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Japan | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Mexico | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Netherlands | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Puerto Rico | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
South Korea | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
United States | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Venezuela | 3 | 2015 | 2024 |
Australia | 2 | 2019 | 2024 |
Canada | 2 | 2015 | 2019 |
Italy | 1 | 2015 | 2015 |
Panama | 1 | 2024 | 2024 |
Year | Hosts | Final | Third place game | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Champions | Score | Runners-up | Third place | Score | Fourth place | ||||
2015 Details | Japan Taiwan | South Korea | 8–0 Tokyo Dome, Tokyo | United States | Japan | 11–1 (F/7) Tokyo Dome, Tokyo | Mexico | ||
2019 Details | Japan Mexico South Korea Taiwan | Japan | 5–3 Tokyo Dome, Tokyo | South Korea | Mexico | 3–2 (F/10) Tokyo Dome, Tokyo | United States | ||
2024 Details | Japan Mexico Taiwan | Future event Tokyo Dome, Tokyo | Future event Tokyo Dome, Tokyo | ||||||
Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Korea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
2 | Japan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
3 | United States | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
4 | Mexico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Totals (4 entries) | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
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.
The Japan national baseball team, also known as Samurai Japan (侍ジャパン), is the national team representing Japan in international baseball competitions. It won the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, and 2023 as well as WBSC Premier12 in 2019. The team is currently ranked 1st in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation and is a baseball powerhouse.
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 Mexico national baseball team is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 2nd-ranked baseball team in the world.
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 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 Europe, and the team is also ranked seventh in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). The team is controlled by the Royal Netherlands Baseball and Softball Federation, which is represented in the WBSC Europe.
The Chinese Taipei national baseball team is the national men's baseball team of Taiwan. It is governed by the Chinese Taipei Baseball Association. The team is ranked fourth in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The team is usually made up of professionals from Taiwan's Chinese Professional Baseball League, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, and Major League Baseball and Minor League Baseball from the United States.
The Great Britain national baseball team is the national men's baseball team of the United Kingdom. It is governed by the British Baseball Federation, and is also a member nation of the Confederation of European Baseball.
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.
Riccardo Fraccari is an international sports administrator who is the current president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). He was previously president of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from 2009 to 2013.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, and Baseball5. 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 now 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 U-23 Baseball World Cup is a biennial, professional-level, National Team, baseball world championship of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), replacing Baseball World Cup.
The 2015 WBSC Premier12 was an international baseball championship sponsored by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the inaugural event of the WBSC Premier12. It was held from November 8 to 21 in Taiwan and Japan. The South Korean national team won the championship, and split a US$1 million prize.
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