The 2021 European championship continues in earnest today, with the four scheduled quarterfinals announcing the beginning of the knockout rounds. The four group winners — Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, and Spain — all went undefeated in group play, with Italy, Spain and the Netherlands, in particular, qualifying after dominant performances in their respective groups. At […]
By John W. Miller The state of baseball in Europe’s capital is strong. I spent much of July and August at Kangaroo Field in Northeast Brussels checking in on the club where I played, coached, umpired, and organized between 1994 and 2011. When I moved to Pittsburgh from Brussels at the end of 2011, I […]
By Victor Shestopalov MOSCOW — On the mild, late summer day of Aug. 29, the Moscow teams RusStar and Wolves wrapped up the 2021 Russian Series at the picturesque RusStar Arena field. Leading Russian baseball’s championship three games to one, RusStar needed just one win to celebrate back-to-back Russian championships. It would not be easy, though, as […]
PAID POST Can the Yankees keep their hot streak alive and overtake the Rays just like they did the Red Sox? Can the Mariners end their playoff drought and nab a wildcard? And in the National League, will the Giants run out of steam, or will they manage to fend off the juggernaut Dodgers for […]
The World Baseball Softball Confederation today announced the 12 participants and groups of the upcoming III WBSC U-23 Baseball World Cup, which will run from 23 September to 2 October in the state of Sonora, Mexico. The Czech Republic and Germany have both been drawn in a group with Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Taiwan, while the Netherlands […]
By Gabriel Fidler BRASSCHAAT, Belgium — Olimpija Karlovac made a big statement as play continued in the Federation Cup, blasting Vienna 23-6 and evading the hometown Braves 10-6 in the nightcap. José Herrera was 8-for-8 with two more homers in the doubleheader sweep for the Croatian baseball champions, driving home 11 runs. Brasschaat and the Wanderers […]By Francisco Barreto BRASSCHAAT, Belgium — After Day Two of the Federation Cup was lost to heavy rain, Croatian champion Olimpija Karlovac wasted no time on Day Three of the event, scoring nine runs in the first two innings on the way to a 16-6 defeat (box score) of the Vienna Wanderers. With two wins […]By Gabriel Fidler Day 2 of the Federation Cup was a complete washout, with precipitation causing the postponement of two games for Olimpija Karlovac, one each against the Vienna Wanderers (1-1) and the Brasschaat Braves (0-1). Standings Team W-L RF RA Olimpija Karlovac 1-0 7 3 Vienna Wanderers 1-1 10 11 Brasschaat Braves 0-1 4 […]By Gabriel Fidler and Francisco Barreto BRASSCHAAT, Belgium — A significantly condensed Federation Cup commenced in the northern stadium of Belgium’s twin baseball cities. A regular host of CEB events, the Brasschaat Braves were originally meant to host six teams in the third-tier tournament for European baseball clubs, but half of the field had to withdraw […]
By Gabriel Fidler BOGUSLAV, Ukraine — The Tenerife Marlins set multiple Federations Cup Qualifier records as it finished a dizzying dash past its opponents in Ukraine. Utena was the victim of the Spanish club’s fourth consecutive shutout, a one-hitter by Ernesto Piño and Eduardo Miliani that also meant that Marlins’ pitchers would conclude the tournament […]
By Gabriel Fidler BLAGOEVGRAD, Bulgaria — Well aware of the stakes in the Federations Cup Qualifier championship, the London Mets mashed from the first pitch of the game, holding off multiple rallies from RusStar Moscow in a 9-5 victory in the title game. The Mets finished with a perfect record in the CEB tourney, only […]BOGUSLAV, Ukraine — Rain delayed the final pool game of the Federations Cup Qualifier in Ukraine, but only after Tenerife claimed a spot in the championship with its third consecutive shutout. Tony Noguera was aces on the bump for the Marlins, and Jesús Ustariz carried over his monster Spanish Baseball League campaign with a big […]By Gabriel Fidler BLAGOEVGRAD, Bulgaria — The London Mets wrapped up group play at the third Federations Cup Qualifier with its fourth win, an easy 19-5 drubbing of the hapless hosts, Sofia Athletic. The 4-0 record marked only the second time in British baseball history that a club won all of its games at a […]By Gabriel Fidler BOGUSLAV, Ukraine — Leslie Nacar duplicated Jesús Montaño’s six scoreless innings from Game One and the Marlins romped to another effortless win the Federations Cup Ukraine Qualifier. Montaño backed up his rotation-mate with a longball in the 15-0 victory over Utenos Titanai, which had cavorted to a 27-11 shellacking of the London […]By Gabriel Fidler BLAGOEVGRAD, Bulgaria — On an important day for Moscow in the Bulgaria pool of the Federations Cup Qualifier, the RusStars came up one run short in a rollercoaster game with the unbeaten London Mets before claiming its first win, a 10-3 triumph over Sofia. Brian Lainoff did not surrender a hit or […]By Gabriel Fidler BOGUSLAV, Ukraine — Tenerife and London were each victorious as the CEB Federations Cup Qualifier in Ukraine commenced. The entry level qualification tournament is the first ever hosted by Boguslav, a city south of Kyiv near the center of the Eastern European country. The Marlins began the day with a 10-0 two-hitter […]By Gabriel Fidler BLAGOEVGRAD, Bulgaria — After convincing wins by the London and Moscow on the opening day of the third Federations Cup Qualifier, the two clubs matched up for the only game on Day Two. Drake Yoshioka and Zachary Stroman propelled the Mets to an early lead, and the four-time defending champions of Britain […]By Gabriel Fidler BLAGOEVGRAD, Bulgaria — The third qualifier for the CEB Federations Cup commenced in southwestern Bulgaria with Athletic Sofia representing the host nation in a battle of clubs from three European capitals. Unusually, the tournament will be played as a double-round robin, as there are only three total teams. Jordan Edmonds and Matteo […]
By Gabriel Fidler. Image of Valencia courtesy of WBSC. Danny Valencia hit a go-ahead, two-run homer in the eighth as Israel twice mounted comebacks against No. 7 Dominican Republic, but Los Quisqueyanos saved its own crucial rally until the bottom of the ninth, when a combination of big- and small-ball produced two runs and the victory. […]
Wrap and images courtesy of WBSC. World No. 3 South Korea advanced today to the semifinal of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball competition after beating No. 24 Israel, 11-1, in a mercy-rule, seven-inning game, which was technically another walk-off for the defending gold medalists. Korean batters put on an 18-hit display, as Ji-Hwan Oh and […]
Notes and images courtesy of WBSC. Today’s one-game playoff between baseball powerhouse Dominican Republic and Olympic newcomer Israel will decide whose hopes of a medal will continue. The winner will have the chance to play against the United States for a spot in the second semifinal, which is scheduled for Thursday, 5 August. The other nation’s Olympic […]
Wrap and images courtesy of WBSC. Hyun-Soo Kim hit a laser to right field to cap off a three-run rally in the bottom of the eighth to give world No. 3 South Korea a 4-3 walk-off win over No. 7 Dominican Republic in the knockout stage of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Baseball tournament Sunday night […]Notes and images courtesy of WBSC. The knockout phase begins with an elimination game between Mexico and Israel. The defending gold medalist Korea will face the Dominican Republic in the night game. Two games are scheduled at Yokohama Stadium on Sunday, 1 August, round one of the knockout phase in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic baseball tournament. […]
Wrap and images courtesy of WBSC. Triston Casas hit a game-changing two-run homer in the fourth inning to send world No. 4 USA to the knockout stage as the Group B winner after a 4-2 win over defending gold medallists and world No. 3 Korea in the last game of group play. USA will face […]
The knockout stage, including the semifinals, consists of eight games and runs from 1-5 August, with the medal round to follow on 7 August. The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) today announced the official schedule of Tokyo 2020 Olympic Baseball knockout stage, following the conclusion of the six-game opening round Saturday night at Yokohama Stadium. […]
Wrap and images courtesy of WBSC. Jon Ryan tossed six innings, giving up one run, while the US bullpen ended the game with three scoreless innings. In USA’s first Olympic baseball game since 2008, Tyler Austin collected three hits and three RBI and Eddy Alvarez scored twice and had two RBI to power the US […]PAID POST The MLB trade deadline on July 31 is fast approaching. Who is going to make a deal to grab another big bat or secure an extra arm to shore up the bullpen? With roughly 100 games having been played, the pennant races are heating up! Can the Yankees turn the season around and […]
Wrap and images courtesy of WBSC. Olympic baseball has opened its competition with a pair of dramatic thrillers. After Japan’s come from behind, walk-off win over Dominican Republic yesterday in Fukushima, today South Korea and Israel played 10 innings in a roller-coaster match with a wild end. Korea rallied from behind to score a 10-inning, […]
Press release, WBSC. BRADENTON AND SARASOTA, Fla. – USA Baseball, in partnership with the Sarasota-Bradenton Local Organizing Committee and the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), today announced the postponement of the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Bradenton and Sarasota, Florida, to 2022 due to the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic both domestically and internationally. The […]
Press release and photo courtesy of Great Britain Baseball. Great Britain Baseball is excited to announce the appointment of Scott Bourgeois as the Head Coach for the U15 National Baseball Team. Scott is an experienced youth baseball coach and programme manager. Since 2018, he has served as the President and Director of Baseball Operations for the […]
FUKUSHIMA — Baseball’s first Olympic game in 13 years did not disappoint, with the Dominican Republic holding a 3-1 lead in a tense opener, only to see Japan load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the ninth to set up Hayato Sakamato for a walk-off hit. International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach, baseball […]