About the World Cup

By winning the silver medal in the 2007 European Championships in Barcelona, the Great Britain national baseball team achieved its highest-ever European ranking in the modern era and qualified for the IBAF Baseball World Cup (effectively a world championship event) for the first time. The competition will be played in various European countries during September 9-27 and if the GB team can do well an invitation to compete in MLB’s World Baseball Classic when it returns in 2013 is a distinct possibility.

Great Britain’s first round opponents between September 9-12 are Japan, twice winners of the MLB World Baseball Classic, Nicaragua and hosts Croatia. If GB qualifies from the group (and even a third-place finish might be good enough for this) it will travel to either Holland or Italy to take part in one of the second round pools from September 13. The location will be determined by which position GB places at in the first round group.

Qualification for the second round guarantees Britain at least seven more games and increased profile on the world stage as well as potential mouth-watering meetings with famous baseball nations like Cuba (ranked #1 in the world), Venezuela and the USA (current World Cup holders).

“To the great surprise of much of the baseball world, Great Britain earned its place among such perennial powerhouses by taking the silver medal at the 2007 European Championships in Barcelona,” says GB Head Coach, Stephan Rapaglia, “and GB intends to make the most of this opportunity.”

Given this is Great Britain’s first appearance in a major world competition since it won the inaugural World Championship in 1938, progress to the second round will count as an amazing accomplishment, especially given that it is the only one of the 22 competitors without funding to support it.

Scroll down the page to find out more about the event and how to follow GB’s games.

A ‘Good Luck’ message from British Baseball

The Baseball World Cup is the pinnacle event of the international sport. There is no greater challenge or test of individual and team performance on the world stage.

Great Britain is honoured to be a participant at the 2009 cup. The inclusion of the team is no accident. It comes after many years of effort and striving for success. The team first worked its way from the European B Pool into the A Pool in the 1990s. Over the next decade it made steady progress through the A Pool and then in 2007 took second place in the European Championships for the first time in a generation. In doing so GB out performed nations considered stronger. The team earned by right a place in the impending World Cup.

The challenges to be faced in Croatia should not be underestimated. Japan will be a formidable opponent. It will be an historic first meeting for the countries. As too will the game against Nicaragua. GB has never played against non-European opponents before (excepting the USA). Finally, GB will play hosts Croatia, a team over which GB holds a 4-0 record, but never for stakes as high as the World Cup. Beyond the opening pool round beckons games in the Netherlands and Italy against renowned powerhouses such as Cuba, South Korea and the USA.

With the continued non-inclusion of baseball in the Olympics and the IBAF’s decision not to seek inclusion for the 2020 games, the focus of international baseball rightly turns to the Baseball World Cup, held every two years, and to continental cups such as the European Championships. After decades of diligent hard work Great Britain is now taking its place on the world stage and will rise to yet further challenges and conquer new peaks of achievement. 

Head Coach Stephan Rapaglia and General Manager Alan Smith have worked tirelessly since their appointments in 2004 to assemble the best squad possible of British baseball talent and one that demonstrably can compete and win at the highest levels. This is no small feat, managed on a small budget with no UK government funding and limited sponsorship.

If Coach Rapaglia and GM Smith have achieved so much it is only by standing on the shoulders of the coaches and managers who have gone before them in what is now an earlier century. As Britain writes the next chapter, ending the first decade of this new century, one thing is certain – our national team will play with pride and passion on the fields of Europe this September.

The board offers its full support to Coach Rapaglia and his team as they face the challenges ahead. We also call on the British baseball community to provide the support and enthusiasm that we know is out there for our national team.

Warm regards, 
The Board of British Baseball

Participating teams

Netherlands Antilles Australia Canada China Chinese Tapei Croatia Cuba Czech Republic

Germany Great Britain Italy Japan Korea Mexico Netherlands

Nicaragua Puerto Rico South Africa Spain Sweden USA Venezuela

In the first round 20 teams are split across five groups hosted in Barcelona (Spain), Prague (Czech Republic), Regensburg (Germany), Stockholm (Sweden) and Zagreb (Croatia). The top two teams from each group plus the four best third-place finishers will join second round hosts Italy and the Netherlands in the next stage during September 13-20. Here teams are split into two groups of eight – one group in each country – and will play each other within the group. The top four from each group then progress to the last stage to compete for places in the semi-finals and final (Sept 27).

More details on the schedule can be found at the official Baseball World Cup site.

Follow GB at the World Cup

Great Britain’s World Cup campaign begins in Zagreb, Croatia, on September 10 when it faces Japan. Following this, GB plays Nicaragua on Sept 11 and Croatia on Sept 12 in Group D.

Game reports will be posted here on greatbritainbaseball.com and on the official site of the British Baseball Federation (britishbaseball.org). The official website of the Baseball World Cup, 2009baseballworldcup.com, has wider information on other first round groups and teams.

In the UK, British Eurosport 2 will be televising selected games throughout the World Cup, available on satellite and cable TV. To find out how to get British Eurosport, visit eurosport.com. The channel can also be watched via online streaming – for more information visit the Eurosport Player webpage.