VII WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup 10 days to go: A rich history and a bright future
With 10 days to go until the start of the WBSC U-12 Baseball World Cup, the WBSC takes a look at the history of the tournament, which was launched in 2011 and continues to get bigger and better every time it is staged.
Taiwan has hosted all six previous editions with Taipei City hosting the first two, while Tainan has earned hosting rights through to the 2027 edition.
Tainan inaugurated the Asia Pacific International Baseball Stadium and Training Centre on 30 July 2019, before the fifth U-12 Baseball World Cup, a first-of-its-kind facility designed specifically for the U-12 age bracket. It was built at the cost of US$ 130 million.
To date, the WBSC is the only International Federation to hold a World Cup for this age bracket.
The seventh edition will open in 10 days, on Friday, 28 July. The WBSC OTT platform GameTime will stream all the games live.
Let's look at the 12 participants and their history in the competition.
GROUP A
Japan
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 6
- Highest Finish: 2nd (2019)
- 2022 Finish: 7th
- World Ranking: 1
Japan also won a bronze medal in the 2013 edition. Manager Hirokazu Ibata revealed his final roster earlier this month.
Chinese Taipei
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 6
- Highest Finish: won in 2011 and 2019
- 2022 Finish: 3rd
- World Ranking: 4
Chinese Taipei also earned silver in the 2013, 2015 and 2017 editions. They failed to reach the World Championship game only in 2021. Manager Ming-Jen Chen, who was named the skipper by leading his Hualian County team to win the Hua-Nan Financial Holdings U-12 Championship for the first time in tournament history, announced that he hopes his team will "impress" during the roster presentation. He added, "We will focus on the team's cohesion, character, and attitude."
Mexico
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 6
- Highest Finish: 3rd (2017)
- 2022 Finish: 6th
- World Ranking: 3
Mexico qualified thanks to a third place in the Pan American U-12 Championship in May,
Venezuela
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 5
- Highest Finish: 2nd
- 2022 Finish: 2nd
- World Ranking: 6
Venezuela made it to a historic final in 2021. In the previous edition their best result had been a bronze medal in 2011. They lost the 2021 final and the 2023 Pan Amercan Championship final against the United States.
Australia
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 3
- Highest Finish: 10
- 2022 Finish: 10
- World Ranking: 9
Australia never finished higher then tenth place. They qualified to the 2023 edition thanks to a Wild Card. Manager Phil Hemmer announced his roster on 30 June.
Germany
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 1
- Highest Finish: 12th
- 2022 Finish: didn't participate
- World Ranking: 19
Germany will participate for the second time in their history. They qualified as the U-12 European Champions.
GROUP B
USA
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 5
- Highest Finish: won in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2022
- 2022 Finish: World Champions
- World Ranking: 2
The defending World Champions slugged their way to a fourth U-12 World title in 2022, and their bats also dominated the Pan American Championship. Manager Troy Gerlach took over from David Sharp after the US qualified and selected the final roster after an "extremely competitive week of training camp."
Korea
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 6
- Highest Finish: 4th (2019)
- 2022 Finish: 5th
- World Ranking:5
Korea participated in all six editions but reached the medal round only in 2019. They lost the bronze medal game against Cuba. Asia didn't hold a qualifier for the VII U-12 Baseball World Cup. Japan, Chinese Taipei and Korea earned their right through WBSC World Rankings.
Dominican Republic
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 1
- Highest Finish: 4th
- 2022 Finish: 4th
- World Ranking: 10
The Dominican Republic participated for the first time in the U-12 Baseball World Cup in 2022 and made it to the medal round. They lost the bronze medal game against Chinese Taipei. The Dominicans qualified through a Wild Card.
Panama
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 3
- Highest Finish: 5th (2013)
- 2022 Finish: 8th
- World Ranking: 14
Panama finished fourth in the U-12 Pan American Championship, earning their right to participate. Manager Elpidio Pinto confirmed 15 players who participated in the qualifier on the 18-player U-12 World Cup roster.
Czechia
- U-12 BWC Appearances: 4
- Highest Finish: 8th (2017, 2019)
- 2022 Finish: 9th
- World Ranking: 16
Czechia qualified as the runner-up of the 2022 European Championship but finished fourth in the 2023 edition behind Germany, the Netherlands and Italy. WBSC Europe holds a U-12 European Championship every year.
New Zealand
- U-12 BWC Appearances: never participated
- Highest Finish: ---
- 2022 Finish: ----
- World Ranking: 45
WBSC Oceania appointed New Zealand, thus giving them a chance to participate in the U-12 Baseball World Cup for the first time.
