 | |
| Abbreviation | WBCI |
|---|---|
| Legal status | World Baseball Classic |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
Region served | Worldwide |
Official language | English, Spanish, Japanese |
President | Paul Archey |
Main organ | Congress |
Parent organization | |
| Website | mlb.com/world-baseball-classic |
World Baseball Classic Inc. (WBCI) is an organizing committee that organizes the World Baseball Classic and consists of representatives from Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). [1]
The WBC previously coexisted with Olympic baseball (until 2008) and the Baseball World Cup (until 2011) as International Baseball Federation (IBAF) sanctioned tournaments. [2] The final men's Baseball World Cup was held in 2011. It was discontinued in 2013, after an MLB suggestion to reorganize the international baseball calendar. WBSC accepted the suggestion after an executive meeting, giving the "World Champion" title to the WBC winner on the condition that the Classic should have direct qualifications and follow international anti-doping rules. [3]
The tournament is the first of its kind to have the national teams of IBAF's member federations feature professional players from the major leagues around the world, including Major League Baseball. In addition to providing a format for the best baseball players in the world to compete against one another while representing their home countries, the World Baseball Classic was created in order to further promote the game around the globe.
After a three-year gap between the first two installments of the tournament, plans were made for the World Baseball Classic to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event. The third installment of the Classic was held in 2013, and the fourth was held in 2017.
The fifth and most recent Classic was scheduled for 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the pandemic-induced delay, the 2023 World Baseball Classic was held between March 8–21, with Japan defeating the United States 3–2 in the championship game. [4] [5]
The sixth and next Classic is scheduled for 2026, with the scheduling frequency of future Classic editions being subject to the terms and conditions agreed at the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between MLB, MLBPA. [6]
USA Baseball is the national governing body for baseball in the United States, and 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.
The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy. It is one of the two main senior baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the WBSC Premier12, but is the only one to grant 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 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 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 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.
The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23.
The New Zealand national baseball team, also known as the Diamondblacks, is the representative team at the international level for New Zealand. The team is controlled by Baseball New Zealand, the country's governing body. The team competes in the Oceania Championship, where, in 2007, it withdrew from play, giving Australia an automatic berth into the Final qualification tournament for the 2008 Olympics. The "Diamondblacks" nickname is one of many national team nicknames related to the All Blacks.
The Israel National Baseball Team represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler.
Aldo Notari was an Italian baseball player and executive who served as president of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from 1993 to 2006. He is best known for the creation of the World Baseball Classic during his term. However, his tenure was also criticized for precipitating the removal of baseball from the Olympic Games.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009.
The qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held from September 19 to November 19, 2012. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament. The other four contested the qualifying round along with 12 additional teams invited by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).
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 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 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 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball tournament and the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It began on March 8, 2023, and ran until March 21.
The qualifying round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic was held from 16 September 2022 to 5 October 2022. Teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified for the 2023 tournament. The qualifying round consisted of two tournaments to be participated by six teams each. The qualifiers were planned to be hosted in Tucson, Arizona in the United States but after the delay, the qualifier hosts were changed to the cities of Regensburg, Germany at Armin-Wolf-Arena and Panamá City, Panama at Estadio Rod Carew. Winners and runners-up of each of the two tournaments qualified for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The 2026 World Baseball Classic is an upcoming international professional baseball tournament, planned to be the sixth iteration of the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The pool play rounds will be played in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan. The quarterfinals will be split between Miami and Houston, and the final round will be played in Miami.