WBSC names Annual Award winners: Baseball/Softball Player, Coach, Umpire and Federation of the Year

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WBSC names Annual Award winners: Baseball/Softball Player, Coach, Umpire and Federation of the Year

October 15, 2017

GABORONE, Botswana --Â WBSC names Annual Award winners: Baseball/Softball Player, Coach, Umpire and Federation of the Year

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 15 October 2017

WBSC names Annual Award winners: Baseball/Softball Player, Coach, Umpire and Federation of the Year

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GABORONE, Botswana -- The World Baseball Softball Confederation revealed the Annual WBSC Baseball and Softball Award Winners for the 2014-2017 quadrennial.

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Representatives from 17 nations were honoured at the WBSC Congress Gala held in the Gaborone International Convention Centre, with Japan representatives earning a leading six WBSC awards, while the U.S. earned five, Canada four, and Cuba and New Zealand three.

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USA's Jessica Moore and Japan's Shohei Otani.

WBSC Annual Award Winners represented Botswana, Canada, Cuba, Czech Republic, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Taiwan, United States and Venezuela.

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The host of the WBSC World Baseball Softball Congress in capital city Gaborone -- the Botswana Softball Association -- was named the 2017 Softball Federation of the Year for "providing an excellent world stage that united baseball's and softball's leaders."

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Player of the Year:

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Year	Baseball Player	Softball Player
2017	Triston Casas (USA)	Yukiko Ueno (JPN)
2016	Loidel Chapelli (CUB)	Sean Cleary (CAN)
2015	Shohei Otani (JPN)	Jessica Moore (USA)
2014	Ayami Sato (JPN)	Nathan Nukunuku (NZL)

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National Team Coach of the Year:

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Year	Baseball	Softball
2017	Andy Stankiewicz (USA)	Mark Sorensen (NZL)
2016	Gerty DamiÃ¡n (CUB)	Ken Eriksen (USA)
2015	In Sik Kim (KOR)	John Stewart (CAN)
2014	Koichi Okura (JPN)	Reika Utsugi (JPN)

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Umpire of the Year:

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Year	Baseball	Softball
2017	Jorge Niebla (CUB)	Scott McLaren (CAN)
2016	Edgar Estivison (PAN)	Gianluca Magnani (ITA)
2015	Hua Wen Chi (TPE)	Jose Chaparro (PUR)
2014	Maite Bullones (VEN)	Hideko Okana (JPN)

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National Federation of the Year:

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Year	Baseball	Softball
2017	Nicaraguan Federation of Baseball (FENIBA)	Botswana Softball Association/New Zealand Softball Association
2016	Mexican Baseball Federation (FEMEBE)	USA Softball
2015	Hong Kong Baseball Association	Softball Canada
2014	Czech Baseball Association	Peruvian Federation of Softball (FDPS)

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Contact: media@wbsc.org,Â @WBSCÂ

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About the World Baseball Softball ConfederationÂ

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Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland -- the Olympic Capital -- the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the world governing body for baseball and softball. WBSC has 184 National Federation and Associate Members in 128 countries and territories across Asia, Africa, Americas, Europe and Oceania, which represent a united baseball/softball sports movement that encompasses over 65 million athletes and attracts approximately 150 million fans to stadiums worldwideÂ annually.Â

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The WBSC governs all international competitions involving official National Teams. The WBSC oversees the Softball World Championships (Men, Women, U-19 Men, and U-19 Women), Premier12, World Baseball Classic, and Baseball World Cups (U-12, U-15, U-18, U-23 and Women's).

For more information, visit: www.wbsc.org