2008 Summer Olympics / Baseball (Qualification)

At the XXIX. At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing , a baseball competition was held with eight men's teams.

In addition to the People's Republic of China , the host, four places were awarded in regional qualifying tournaments: two teams from America, one from Asia and one from Europe. A qualifying tournament from March 7-14, 2008 decided on the remaining three participants.

The following teams have qualified for the tournament:

People's Republic of China  Netherlands

United States  Canada

Cuba  South Korea

Japan  Chinese Taipei

Regional tournaments

America

From August 25, 2006 to September 5, 2006, the American qualifying tournament with twelve teams took place in the Cuban capital Havana . Of these, two qualified directly for the competition in Beijing. The three stadiums “ Latinoamericano ”, “Santiago Mederos” and “Nelson Fernández” were the venues for the games .

Preliminary round

Group A

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	Cuba	5	5	0	.1000
2	Panama	5	4th	1	.800
3	Nicaragua	5	3	2	.600
4th	Dominican Republic	5	2	3	.400
5	Colombia	5	1	4th	.200
6th	Ecuador	5	0	5	.000

In Group A, the teams from Cuba, Panama, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic qualified for the final round after 15 games. Colombia (with only one win) and Ecuador (without a win) were eliminated.

game	date	Stadion	encounter			Result
1	08/25/2006, 9:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Cuba	-	Colombia	14: 00
2	08/26/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Santiago Mederos	Nicaragua	-	Ecuador	11: 01
3	August 26, 2006, 2:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Panama	-	Dominican Republic	03: 02
7th	08/27/2006, 10:00 am	Santiago Mederos	Colombia	-	Nicaragua	00: 04
8th	08/27/2006, 10:00 am	Nelson Fernández	Dominican Republic	-	Ecuador	13: 01
9	08/27/2006, 10:00 am	Latinoamericano	Cuba	-	Panama	07: 06
13	08/28/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Santiago Mederos	Ecuador	-	Colombia	05: 09
14th	08/28/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Nelson Fernández	Nicaragua	-	Panama	01: 03
18th	08/28/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Dominican Republic	-	Cuba	03:17
19th	08/29/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Santiago Mederos	Ecuador	-	Panama	03:15
20th	08/29/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Nelson Fernández	Colombia	-	Dominican Republic	03: 09
24	08/29/2006, 8:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Nicaragua	-	Cuba	00:11
25th	08/30/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Santiago Mederos	Panama	-	Colombia	11: 03
26th	08/30/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Nelson Fernández	Dominican Republic	-	Nicaragua	04: 06
30th	08/30/2006, 8:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Cuba	-	Ecuador	15: 01

(All times are local time)

Group B

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	United States	5	4th	1	.800
2	Mexico	5	4th	1	.800
3	Canada	5	3	2	.600
4th	Venezuela	5	2	3	.400
5	Puerto Rico	5	1	4th	.200
6th	Brazil	5	1	4th	.200

In Group B, the teams from the United States, Mexico, Canada and Venezuela qualified for the final round after 15 games. Puerto Rico and Brazil were eliminated with only one win each.

game	date	Stadion	encounter			Result
4th	August 26, 2006, 2:00 p.m.	Santiago Mederos	Brazil	-	Mexico	01: 02
5	August 26, 2006, 2:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Puerto Rico	-	Venezuela	01: 02
6th	08/26/2006, 8:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	United States	-	Canada	09: 03
10	08/27/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Santiago Mederos	Canada	-	Puerto Rico	06: 05
11	08/27/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Mexico	-	Venezuela	05: 04
12	08/27/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	United States	-	Brazil	08: 07
15th	08/28/2006, 10:00 a.m.	Latinoamericano	Venezuela	-	Canada	05: 07
16	08/28/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Santiago Mederos	Brazil	-	Puerto Rico	06:10
17th	08/28/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Mexico	-	United States	03:15
21st	08/29/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Santiago Mederos	Canada	-	Mexico	01: 02
22nd	08/29/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Puerto Rico	-	United States	02: 05
23	08/29/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Venezuela	-	Brazil	05:10
27	08/30/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Santiago Mederos	Canada	-	Brazil	07: 03
28	08/30/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	United States	-	Venezuela	09:12
29	08/30/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Mexico	-	Puerto Rico	08: 07

(All times are local time)

Final round

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	United States	7th	6th	1	.857
2	Cuba	7th	6th	1	.857
3	Mexico	7th	5	2	.714
4th	Canada	7th	4th	3	.571
5	Venezuela	7th	3	4th	.428
6th	Panama	7th	2	5	.286
7th	Nicaragua	7th	2	5	.286
8th	Dominican Republic	7th	0	7th	.000

The table for the final round also includes all games that were played in the preliminary round against teams that also reached the final round. The match between Venezuela and Nicaragua had to be canceled on September 3rd due to rain and was played one day later.

After a total of 16 final round games, the United States and Cuba qualified directly for the Olympic competition. For the final qualifying tournament in March 2008, Mexico and Canada qualified.

game	date	Stadion	encounter			Result
31	09/01/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Santiago Mederos	Canada	-	Panama	15:12
32	09/01/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	United States	-	Dominican Republic	12: 02
33	09/01/2006, 8:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Mexico	-	Nicaragua	02: 00
34	09/01/2006, 8:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Venezuela	-	Cuba	01:10
35	02.09.2006, 2 p.m.	Santiago Mederos	Panama	-	Venezuela	02: 06
36	02.09.2006, 2 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Dominican Republic	-	Mexico	04: 05
37	02.09.2006, 8:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Nicaragua	-	United States	02: 05
38	02.09.2006, 8:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Cuba	-	Canada	09: 00
40	09/03/2006, 2:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	Canada	-	Dominican Republic	13: 01
41	03.09.2006, 8:00 p.m.	Nelson Fernández	United States	-	Panama	11: 05
42	03.09.2006, 8:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Mexico	-	Cuba	00: 04
39	04.09.2006, 10:00 a.m.	Santiago Mederos	Venezuela	-	Nicaragua	05: 06
43	05.09.2006, 10:00 a.m.	Santiago Mederos	Dominican Republic	-	Venezuela	02: 08
44	05.09.2006, 10:00 a.m.	Nelson Fernández	Nicaragua	-	Canada	01: 03
45	05.09.2006, 10:00 a.m.	Latinoamericano	Panama	-	Mexico	07:10
46	05.09.2006, 8:00 p.m.	Latinoamericano	Cuba	-	United States	05: 08

(All times are local time)

Asia

From December 1, 2007 to December 3, 2007 , the Asian qualification tournament with four teams took place in Taipei , the capital of the Republic of China (Taiwan) , in order to determine a permanent Asian participant (in addition to host China). The teams from the Republic of China, Japan and South Korea were seeded for this qualifying tournament. As the fourth participant, the Philippines prevailed against Hong Kong, Thailand and Pakistan in a pre-qualifier from November 26th to November 28th.

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	Japan	3	3	0	.1000
2	South Korea	3	2	1	.667
3	Chinese Taipei	3	1	2	.333
4th	Philippines	3	0	3	.000

game	date	Stadion	encounter			Result
1	December 1st, 2007, 1 p.m.	Taichung	Chinese Taipei	-	South Korea	02: 05
2	December 1st, 2007, 6:00 p.m.	Taichung	Japan	-	Philippines	10: 00
3	December 2nd, 2007, 1 p.m.	Taichung	Philippines	-	Chinese Taipei	00: 09
4th	December 2nd, 2007, 6:00 p.m.	Taichung	South Korea	-	Japan	03: 04
5	December 3rd, 2007, 1 p.m.	Taichung	South Korea	-	Philippines	13: 01
6th	December 3rd, 2007, 6:00 p.m.	Taichung	Chinese Taipei	-	Japan	02:10

(All times are local time)

Europe

From September 7, 2007 to September 16, 2007 the European qualifying tournament with twelve teams took place in the Catalan city ​​of Barcelona . One of these qualified directly for the competition in Beijing. The three stadiums "Montjuïc", "Viladecans" and "Sant Boi" were the venues for the games. This was also the European baseball championship.

→ Main article : 2007 European Baseball Championship

Preliminary round

Group A

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	Netherlands	5	5	0	.1000
2	Germany	5	4th	1	.800
3	Sweden	5	3	2	.600
4th	Croatia	5	2	3	.400
5	Austria	5	1	4th	.200
6th	Czech Republic	5	0	5	.000

In Group A, the teams from the Netherlands, Germany and Sweden qualified for the final round after 15 games. Croatia, Austria and the Czech Republic could not move into the next round.

The Czech Republic originally had two wins, but these were subsequently rated 9-0 for the opponents. The reason for this was that three major league baseball players in the Czech team did not have the necessary playing rights.

Group B

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	Great Britain	5	4th	1	.800
2	Spain	5	4th	1	.800
3	France	5	3	2	.600
4th	Italy	5	3	2	.600
5	Ukraine	5	1	4th	.200
6th	Russia	5	0	5	.000

In Group B, the teams from the United Kingdom, Spain and France qualified for the final round after 15 games. Surprisingly, the Italian team, which won the silver medal at the 2005 European Championships, failed to qualify for the final round and finished the tournament in seventh place. Ukraine and Russia were also unable to advance to the next round.

Final round

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	Netherlands	5	5	0	.1000
2	Great Britain	5	3	2	.600
3	Spain	5	3	2	.600
4th	Germany	5	3	2	.600
5	France	5	1	4th	.200
6th	Sweden	5	0	5	.000

The table for the final round also includes all games that were played in the preliminary round against teams that also reached the final round. After a total of nine final round matches, the Dutch team won their 20th European title and qualified directly for the Olympic competition. The United Kingdom and Spain were eligible for the final qualifying tournament in March 2008. Since the United Kingdom waived, Germany started there.

Qualifying tournament

rank	country	S.	G	V	Pct.
1	Canada	7th	6th	1	.857
2	South Korea	7th	6th	1	.857
3	Chinese Taipei	7th	5	2	.714
4th	Mexico	7th	4th	3	.571
5	Australia	7th	4th	3	.571
6th	Germany	7th	2	5	.286
7th	Spain	7th	1	6th	.143
8th	South Africa	7th	0	7th	.000

Eight teams took part in the final qualifying tournament, which took place from March 7th to 14th, 2008, of which the three best qualified for the Olympic competition. Participants were:

• Winner of the 2007 continental championship from Africa: South Africa 
• Oceania 2007 Continental Championship winner: Australia 
• Third place in the American qualifying tournament: Mexico 
• Fourth place in the American qualifying tournament: Canada 
• Runner-up in the Asian qualifying tournament: South Korea 
• Third place in the Asian qualifying tournament: Chinese Taipei 
• Runner-up in the European qualifying tournament: Great Britain (withdrawn), replaced by Germany  
• Third place in the European qualifying tournament: Spain 

Canada finished the tournament ahead of South Korea and the Republic of China. The German team was able to stage itself as the second best European team overall and won against both South Africa and Spain. Against Canada a respectable success was achieved when they only lost 2-1 after the tenth inning .

game	date	Stadion	encounter			Result
1	07.03.2008, 12:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	South Africa	-	South Korea	00: 05
2	07.03.2008, 12:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Mexico	-	Canada	10:15
3	07.03.2008, 7:00 p.m.	Intercontinental	Chinese Taipei	-	Spain	13: 03
4th	March 8, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Germany	-	Australia	01: 04
5	08.03.2008, 12:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Canada	-	South Africa	10: 00
6th	08.03.2008, 12:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Mexico	-	Chinese Taipei	01: 06
7th	March 8, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	South Korea	-	Australia	16: 02
8th	09.03.2008, 6:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Spain	-	Germany	00: 01
9	March 9th, 2008, 12:30 pm	Intercontinental	Germany	-	Chinese Taipei	00: 02
10	March 9th, 2008, 12:30 pm	Tou-liou	Australia	-	Canada	10: 05
11	09.03.2008, 6:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	South Africa	-	Spain	01: 02
12	March 10, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	South Korea	-	Mexico	06: 01
13	March 10, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Germany	-	South Africa	04: 03
14th	March 10, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Spain	-	South Korea	05:14
15th	March 10, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Chinese Taipei	-	Canada	05: 06 (10th)
16	March 11, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Australia	-	Mexico	04: 07
17th	March 12, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	South Korea	-	Germany	12: 01
18th	March 12, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Canada	-	Spain	11: 00
19th	March 12, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Mexico	-	South Africa	05 00
20th	March 13, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Chinese Taipei	-	Australia	05: 00
21st	March 13, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Australia	-	Spain	09: 00
22nd	March 13, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Germany	-	Mexico	00: 04
23	March 13, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Canada	-	South Korea	04: 03
24	March 14, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	South Africa	-	Chinese Taipei	00: 04
25th	March 14, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Spain	-	Mexico	01: 02
26th	March 14, 2008, 12:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	South Africa	-	Australia	11:13
27	March 14, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Intercontinental	Chinese Taipei	-	South Korea	03: 04
28	March 14, 2008, 6:30 p.m.	Tou-liou	Germany	-	Canada	01: 02 (10th)

(All times are local time)