Baseball world championship
The baseball world championship was an international baseball tournament between the national teams, which was organized by the international baseball association IBAF together with national associations. It took place every two years in years with an odd number. The last world champion was the selection of the Netherlands , who won the tournament in Panama in 2011 . From 2006, world championships with professionals and players from minor league baseball were held under the direction of the World Baseball Classic .
Importance of the tournament
Although the baseball world championship was held with the support of the world association, it received little public attention. Although professionals have been allowed to participate since 1996 and some minor league baseball players have competed, the most important professional league, North American Major League Baseball , did not allow its players to participate, so that the national teams at the World Cup did not consist of the best players. In negotiations between several international leagues and the world federation, the World Baseball Classic was created in 2006 , in which the players of the major leagues and other professional leagues also take part and which is intended to reach a wider audience. This competition replaced the World Cup from 2013.
history
The competitions before the Second World War , which were originally held as ordinary international tournaments, were subsequently elevated to world championships, so the first world championship took place in 1938. After being held annually at the beginning, the 1960s saw the transition to a four-year rhythm. In 1973 there were two world championships after the World Association of Amateur Baseball split off from the IBAF. Since 1974 the tournament has taken place every two years with the exception of the Olympic years 1992 and 1996. After the 1998 tournament, 2001 switched to the odd-numbered rhythm.
The record champions were Cuba's team, which won 25 titles in 30 appearances.
mode
In the last few tournaments there were two phases: a continental qualification phase and a final round, in which 16 national teams participated. In the final round, two groups of eight teams each played the quarterfinals. Semi-finals and finals followed. Unlike most national championships, these finals consisted of only one game.
The 2009 tournament was divided into three rounds and the final phase: In the first round, 20 teams in five groups in Barcelona , Zagreb , Regensburg , Stockholm and Prague each played a round robin round. The two best teams in each group and the four best third-placed teams in all groups played another round-robin round in two groups in Italy and the Netherlands. Italy and the Netherlands intervened in the tournament in this second round. The top four teams in one group then played in the third round against the top four in the other group. Then the first placed played the world champion in a game, the second placed played for bronze and the third and fourth of both groups the games for the places.
In 2011 two groups of 8 teams were formed again. The four best in each group qualified for the second round. A round-robin tournament was also held there. In the end, the two best teams played for the world championship title.
IBAF medal winner
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Medal table of the IBAF
| nation | gold | silver | bronze | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cuba
|
25th | 4th | 2 | 31 |
 United States
|
4th | 8th | 3 | 15th |
 Venezuela
|
3 | 2 | 4th | 9 |
 Colombia
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 6th |
 South Korea
|
1 | 5 | 2 | 8th |
 Puerto Rico
|
1 | 4th | 4th | 9 |
 Dominican Republic
|
1 | 3 | 2 | 6th |
 United Kingdom
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Netherlands
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Nicaragua
|
0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
 Mexico
|
0 | 4th | 1 | 5 |
 Japan
|
0 | 1 | 5 | 6th |
 Chinese Taipei
|
0 | 1 | 3 | 4th |
 Panama
|
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
 Canada
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
WBC medalist
| year | Host country | Attendees | gold | silver | bronze |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | United States | 2 |
Japan
|
Cuba
|
South Korea
|
| 2009 | United States | 3 |
Japan
|
South Korea
|
Venezuela
|
| 2013 | United States | 7th |
Dominican Republic
|
Puerto Rico
|
Japan
|
| 2017 | United States | 9 |
United States
|
Puerto Rico
|
Japan
|
Medal table of the WBC
| nation | gold | silver | bronze | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Japan
|
2 | 0 | 2 | 4th |
|
Dominican Republic
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
United States
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Puerto Rico
|
0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
|
South Korea
|
0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
|
Cuba
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
|
Venezuela
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Medal table total
| nation | gold | silver | bronze | total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Cuba
|
25th | 5 | 2 | 32 |
|
United States
|
5 | 8th | 3 | 16 |
|
Venezuela
|
3 | 2 | 5 | 10 |
|
Dominican Republic
|
2 | 3 | 2 | 7th |
|
Colombia
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 6th |
|
Japan
|
2 | 1 | 7th | 10 |
|
Puerto Rico
|
1 | 6th | 4th | 11 |
|
South Korea
|
1 | 6th | 3 | 10 |
|
United Kingdom
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Netherlands
|
1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
|
Nicaragua
|
0 | 5 | 5 | 10 |
|
Mexico
|
0 | 4th | 1 | 5 |
|
Chinese Taipei
|
0 | 1 | 3 | 4th |
|
Panama
|
0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|
Canada
|
0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Individual evidence
- ^ History of the IBAF ( Memento from August 2, 2003 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ IBAF: Italy to be Main Host Country for 2009 Baseball World Cup ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- History of the World Championships on the IBAF website
- en: World Baseball Classic