 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2009 |
| Country | Canada |
| Venue(s) | Citizen Field, Prince George, British Columbia |
| Continent | North America |
| Most recent champion(s) | Team Japan (2016) |
| Most titles | Four teams (1 each) |
The World Baseball Challenge is an international baseball competition based in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. The tournament was established in 2002 by Larry Seminoff, who is also the founder of the Grand Forks International.
The current incarnation of the event, beginning in 2009, has been held every two years at Citizen Field in Prince George, British Columbia, Canada. It is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, Baseball Canada and Baseball BC. The field of participants for the event typically consists of amateur or competitors such as the United States Collegiate National Team, the Cuban National baseball B squad, independent Canadian club teams and Japanese industrial clubs. [1]
The USA National Collegiate Baseball Team defeated the German National Team by a score of 8–1 in the final. [2] Drew Pomeranz of the University of Mississippi pitched a one-hitter against the tournament's only European team. German starting pitcher Tim Henkenjohann was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. [3] Team USA included several future Major League Baseball players, such as Trevor Bauer, Gerrit Cole, Yasmani Grandal, Sonny Gray, Kolten Wong and Pomeranz. [1] Canada, British Columbia, Prince George Axemen and the Bahamas National Team finished in third through sixth place respectively. [3] [4]
Cuban National Baseball B Team defeated Chinese Taipei 10–5 in the final. [5] The Cuban squad included future American League Rookie of the Year José Abreu.
The Ciego de Ávila Tigres of the Cuban National Series defeated Japan's JX-ENEOS 14–4 by mercy rule in the championship game. [6] Team USA, with a roster featuring players from the Northwest Collegiate Baseball League, finished third in its return to the tournament.
In 2015, the event's organizers announced that that year's tournament would be postponed until 2016 due to a lack of sponsor support. Canada was to be represented by the Langley Blaze U18, facing the winners of Japan's InterCity baseball tournament and players from the Northwest Collegiate Baseball League (Team USA). Teams from the Bahamas and Cuba were also expected to play in the tournament.
The 2016 tournament is August 12–20, 2016. Roswell Invaders of the Pecos League are one of two teams from the United States. [7] [8] Other teams participating are Kamloops Sun Devils, Sidearm Nation (Calgary), Team Japan and the Thurston County Senators (Olympia) of the Puget Sound Collegiate League. [9]
Team Japan went undefeated to capture the gold medal. They defeated Roswell Invaders 5–4 in the finale, scoring the winning run on a passed ball.
| Year | Gold medal | Silver medal | Bronze medal | Other participants |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | USA Baseball Collegiate National Team | Team Germany | Team Canada | Team British Columbia, Prince George Axemen, Bahamas National Baseball Team |
| 2011 | Cuba National Baseball Team "B" | Team Chinese Taipei | Toshiba (Japan) | Team Canada, Bahamas National Baseball Team, Beijing Tigers [10] |
| 2013 | Ciego de Ávila Tigres | JX-ENEOS (Japan) | Team USA | Team Chinese Taipei, Team Canada |
| 2016 | Team Japan | Roswell Invaders | Sidearm Nation | Thurston County Senators, Kamloops Sun Devils |
Today, baseball is a popular sport around the world with numerous countries practicing it at amateur and professional levels.
1994 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.
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.
Baseball at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held on two separate diamonds within the Helliniko Olympic Complex, from 15 to 25 August. For the second time in Olympic competition, professional baseball players were eligible to participate, though no active players from Major League Baseball were available.
Professional baseball leagues, amateur-baseball organizations, sportswriting associations, and other groups confer awards on various baseball teams, players, managers, coaches, executives, broadcasters, writers, and other baseball-related people for excellence in achievement, sportsmanship, and community involvement.
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 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 tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, but the only one which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".
The United States national baseball team represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th 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 Puerto Rico national baseball team is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 11th in the world, while its women's counterpart is 12th. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Pan American and Central American/Caribbean champion, as well as the World Baseball Classic runner-up.
Women's baseball is played in several countries. The strongest and most organized women's baseball leagues are in the United States, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Cuba, Hong Kong, and Canada. Those countries have national governing bodies that support girls' and women's baseball programs. Other countries/regions that currently have organized women's baseball are Germany, France, Netherlands, Croatia, India, South Korea, Venezuela, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Colombia, Brazil, Dominican Republic, and Pakistan. There also is a handful of women playing baseball in Vietnam currently on the Fishanu team at Hanoi University and on the Hanoi Baseball Club.
Rugby union is a moderately popular sport in Canada; it is quite strong as a participation sport, particularly in several hotspots like British Columbia, Atlantic Canada, and Ontario but does not attract the same level of spectator support yet, likely because the CFL's popular brand of Canadian Football is still similar to rugby in many ways, whilst also being the dominant football code in the country. Rugby Canada is the administrative body for rugby union in Canada. Every province also has its own union.
The World Junior A Challenge (WJAC) is an annual under-20 international ice hockey tournament sponsored by Hockey Canada, the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL), and the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament showcases Junior A level players and is modeled after the IIHF World U20 Championships, which displays the best of all junior-aged hockey players. It has been hosted by Canadian cities every year in CJAHL markets.
The Cayman Islands national rugby union team represents the Cayman Islands in the sport of rugby union. They have thus far not qualified for a Rugby World Cup, but have participated in qualifying tournaments. The sport in the Cayman Islands is governed by the Cayman Rugby Union. The Cayman Islands have players throughout the squad playing through the UK, Ireland, South Africa, Canada and the USA.
The Israel national baseball team represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Israeli-American former Major League Baseball World Series champion, World Baseball Classic champion, All Star, and Olympian Ian Kinsler.
Thomas Andrew "Drew" Pomeranz, nicknamed Big Smooth, is an American professional baseball pitcher for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the Colorado Rockies, Oakland Athletics, Boston Red Sox, San Francisco Giants, and Milwaukee Brewers. Pomeranz was an MLB All-Star with the Padres in 2016, and a World Series champion with the Red Sox in 2018.
Jozzen Cuesta Padrón is a Cuban professional baseball infielder.
Amanda Karlene Asay was a Canadian baseball and ice hockey player. She played on the Canada women's national baseball team from 2005 to 2021, and was its longest-serving member at the time of her death. She batted and threw right-handed, and played at catcher, first base, and starting pitcher.
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.
Founded in 2010, the Puget Sound Collegiate League (PSCL) is a collegiate summer baseball league based in the Olympia, Washington area.
The following are the baseball events of the year 2022 throughout the world.
International baseball | ||
|---|---|---|
| WBSC Events |  | |
| Minor World Events | ||
| Defunct World Events | ||
| Africa | ||
| Americas | ||
| Asia | ||
| Europe | ||
| Oceania | ||