Lausanne, 1007 Switzerland - -Â Â WBSC Global Newsletter - March 2020
Record 86 nations in latest WBSC Baseball World Rankings
The World Baseball Softball Confederation published the latest WBSC Baseball World Rankings, which have expanded to a record high of 86 nations and territories across the globe. Japan, USA, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Mexico remain atop the baseball world rankings. Guam, El Salvador and New Zealand make the biggest jumps.
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MLB, MLBPA, WBSC reach player agreement for Olympics, Qualifiers
The WBSC has reached an agreement with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to permit players on MLB 40-man rosters to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and the respective qualifiers. National Team roster sizes will increase from 24 players to 26 for the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier and the WBSC Baseball Final Qualifier.
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Federation Focus: Guatemalan Softball finding place on global stage behind ASOSOFT
Guatemalan softball is on a roll having competed in back-to-back WBSC men's junior world championships while in 2020, the Central American country had their highest-ever finish on the global stage, placing sixth at the WBSC Men's U-18 Softball World Cup.
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Africa: Baseball, softball set to expand in Tanzania
The African Development Project (ADP), which was launched by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in 2017 to boost baseball and softball across Africa, has been successfully introduced in the East African nation of Tanzania, which has a population of approximately 57 million. Tanzania becomes the sixth African nation to be included in the ADP, following Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa and Zambia.
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International Women's Day: Po Chun Liu and how she pushed boundaries
As the world observed International Women's Day on Sunday, March 8, the WBSC celebrated one of baseball's key pioneers - Po Chun Liu, the first-ever female international baseball umpire from Chinese Taipei who is an inspiration to many others in her field.
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Bob Stanton, WBSC Softball Umpire Director: "We had a really good mixture here in Palmerston North"
Interview with Bob Stanton, Chair of the WBSC Softball Umpiring Commission, WBSC Softball Umpire Director and Softball Umpire Director at Tokyo 2020. At the recently completed U-18 Men's Softball World Cup, he was the Chief Umpire.
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#StayStrong
Message from the WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari on the coronavirus: The strength of the baseball-softball community will help during these unprecedented times
President Fraccari said the WBSC has taken, and will continue to take, all the necessary measures to safeguard the health and welfare of the entire baseball-softball community and continue to act in a responsible manner to counter the spread of the coronavirus.
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Video: WBSC Coach Commission Members, Instructors reach out to players, fans, officials amid COVID-19 pandemic
The inspirational video message includes baseball and softball instructors from Italy, one of the nations hit hardest by COVID-19, as well as Argentina, Canada, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, USA and Zimbabwe.
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Home alone? Try these indoor baseball-softball drills
If you are having a tough time finding ways to practice and sharpen your baseball-softball skills, here's a very effective 75-minute session that can be organised at home using two tennis balls and a glove.
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Softballers find ways to stay connected, 'playing catch' via social media
The outbreak of COVID-19 has forced the cancellation of all sports activities around the world. But softball teams and players have found a way to remain together in these difficult times of social distancing.
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Tokyo 2020
Olympic Baseball, Softball, Tokyo 2020 Games postponed to 2021
The WBSC welcomed the difficult joint decision of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and Japan Prime Minister Abe Shinzo to postpone the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
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Message from the WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari on the postponement of Tokyo 2020
President Fraccari said baseball-softball's anticipated Olympic comeback will have to wait a short while longer but when the 'Tokyo 2020' Games do get underway in 2021, they will become the symbol of our global recovery and solidarity, and be one of the greatest worldwide celebrations and most anticipated moments in the history of sport.
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New dates for Tokyo 2020 Olympics: 23 July to 8 August 2021
The WBSC has joined the sports world in welcoming the new dates of the Tokyo 2020 Games, which are now scheduled to be staged from 23 July to 8 August 2021. Baseball and softball will return to the Olympic Games in July 2021, following the rescheduling of the Tokyo 2020 Games in response to the coronavirus global outbreak.
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New logo unveiled for first WBSC Men's Softball World Cup in 2021
Following the rolling out of new brand identities for the U-18 Women's Softball World Cup and the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup, the latest WBSC-logo will become the permanent identity of the WBSC Men's Softball World Cup.
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Four different continents were represented in the top four places at the WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup for the first time in another showcase of softball's global expansion and development.
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Palmerston North by the numbers: Stats of the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup
Softball is a game of statistics and numbers.
The U-18 Men's Softball World Cup showed some interesting numbers, including the MVP Hitto Nagayosi tying a world record. Take a look at the main statistics and players of the first-ever U-18 Men's Softball World Cup in Palmerston North, New Zealand.
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Re-live the best plays of the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup
The WBSC published a video with the best plays of the WBSC U-18 Men's Softball World Cup including impressive diving catches, home runs and amazing wins. Three players named to the All-World Team of the tournament are featured in the video, showcasing their incredible skill set.
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Game Time Classics: Watch for free WBSC Baseball, Softball World Cup blockbuster games
The WBSC launched GameTime Classics, an initiative to re-stream full games of top international baseball and softball competitions since leagues and sports around the world have been almost entirely shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic
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National Federation support key to development of Southeast Asian softball - Miyake
Softball Asia Coaching Committee chair Yutaka Miyake pinpointed communication as one of the many areas which can help grow softball in Southeast Asia. "Everyone, in every country in Southeast Asia should communicate and exchange information, skills, ideas and so on to grow together."
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17-year-old pitcher Jakub OsiÄka gives Czech softball bright future
Named the best pitcher of the WBSC U-18 Softball World Cup, the Czech fireballer was the stats leader across six categories including ERA, strikeouts, wins, innings pitched, complete games and games started.
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