Baseball Champions League launched; First-ever professional and world-level competition for clubs
In an historic milestone for international baseball, the Baseball Champions League (BCL) was officially launched during a ground-breaking press conference in Mexico City on Tuesday. Sanctioned by the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) and the Mexican Baseball League (LMB), an "international tournament of champions" has been organised amongst Baseball Leagues of different nations for the first time in the history of baseball.
The champions of the Mexican Baseball League (LMB) - Leones of Yucatán - will be hosts of the inaugural edition at the Kukulcán Alamo Ballpark in the City of Mérida in Yucatán, Mexico from 28 September to 1 October thanks to the collaboration of the Government of the State Yucatán.
The announcement was made before the press by WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari, WBSC Vice President Willi Kaltschmitt, Director of the Sports Agency of Yucatán Carlos Sáenz, American Association of Professional (AA) Baseball Commissioner Joshua Schaub and Deputy Commissioner Josh Buchholz, Executive President of Leones of Yucatán Erick Arellano and LMB´s Executive President Horacio de la Vega.
"I am extremely proud to announce the launch of the Baseball Champions League, which will be the first-ever professional-and world-level competition for clubs, an international tournament of champions," President Fraccari said via video message. "This exciting new competition, which is planned to add other regional elite events and the world finals in the coming years, wouldn’t be possible without the shared vision and support from the various leagues, stakeholders and respective baseball leaders.
"I know the Baseball Champions League will excite baseball fans around the world and I’m sure they are going to enjoy it just as much as we will."
The invitational event later this year will be played between the champions of the following Leagues: Leones de Yucatán (LMB 2022), Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks (AA 2022), Alazanes of Granma (Cuban Baseball League 2022) and Caimanes of Barranquilla (Colombian Baseball League, 2022) with a plan to add other regional elite events and the world finals in the coming years.
ESPN will broadcast the tournament in Mexico, which will feature seven games over four days with a round-robin format before the top two teams advance to the final.
The BCL adds to the WBSC event portfolio of elite National Team events, which includes World Cups from the 12-year-old category, the Olympic Games, the Premier12 and the World Baseball Classic as well as its urban, five-on-five, mixed gender Baseball5 World Cup which took place in Mexico City last year.