Federation Name: USA Baseball
Federation President: Paul Seiler
Elite League: Major League Baseball (MLB)
Team Manager: Eddie Rodriguez
Federation Web Link: http://www.usabaseball.com
United States 2009 IBAF Baseball World Cup Roster
Round Three Team Capsule
#1 UNITED STATES (3-0)
How it got here: #1 seed in Pool G. . .faces Venezuela (0-3, #4 Pool F) in Firenze on Tuesday. . .finished the second round at 7-0. . .enters final round with a 3-0 record (record against other three teams from Pool G to advance. . .was the #2 seed at 2-1 coming out of opening round Pool E in Regensburg, Germany.
Rounds 1-2 star hitter/pitcher (cumulative statistics): Justin Smoak (.400 AVG, 9 HRs, 19 RBIs)/Trevor Reckling (2-0, 0.75 ERA, 14 Ks)
Current world rank: 4
Best World Cup result (year(s)): 1st place (three times – 1973, 1974, 2007)
Most recent World Cup (result): 2007 (1st place)
How it advanced to World Cup: Participated in Beijing 2008 Olympic Games
Most recent international competition (result): 2009 World Baseball Classic (4th place)
2009 IBAF Baseball World Cup Player Stats and Current Team Links:
About USA Baseball;
Since 1978 USA Baseball has been the national governing body (NGB) for the sport of baseball. It represents the sport in the United States as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and internationally as a member federation of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).
Nearly every major national amateur baseball organization in America is united as a USA Baseball National Member Organization. As a result, USA Baseball governs more than 12 million amateur players in ballparks and playgrounds across the country.
As the commissioner's office for amateur baseball, USA Baseball is a resource center for its various membership groups, fans, and players. USA Baseball is also responsible for promoting and developing the game of baseball on the grassroots level, both nationally and internationally.
PROFESSIONAL TEAM
Since 1999, USA Baseball has been selecting teams of professional-level minor league players to represent the United States in various international competitions, including the World Baseball Classic, Olympic Games and World Cup.
Among the first teams of professional players that USA Baseball fielded was the 2000 U.S. Olympic Baseball Team, managed by Tommy Lasorda at the Sydney Games. Led by Ben Sheets, the team of minor league players defeated Cuba for the gold medal.
For the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, USA Baseball selected its first team comprised of Major League Baseball players. The team featured such stars as Chase Utley, Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones. In the second installment of the WBC in 2009, with players like Dustin Pedroia, Ryan Braun, Jeter, and Jimmy Rollins donning the red, white and blue, the U.S. team finished fourth, losing to Japan in the semifinals.
Other recent highlights for the Professional Team include World Cup gold in 2007, a team which featured current big league star Evan Longoria, and a bronze medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games behind young prospects Stephen Strasburg, Dexter Fowler and Matt LaPorta.
NATIONAL TEAM (COLLEGIATE)
The USA Baseball National Team consists of the top collegiate baseball players in the country. The team competes each summer in a schedule of exhibition games across the U.S. and overseas against the world's top baseball talent. As part of this schedule, the U.S. squares off against the Japan Collegiate All-Stars nearly every summer, and faces off in international friendship series against the likes of Canada, Chinese Taipei and the Netherlands. Each summer schedule also features a prominent international tournament for the age group, which include the Pan American Games and the FISU World Collegiate Baseball Championships.
Players who have worn the red, white, and blue for the National Team and have gone onto Major League Baseball success include such notables as David Price, Mark Prior, Jason Varitek, Todd Helton, Troy Glaus, Tino Martinez, Jason Jennings, Bobby Crosby, Ryan Howard, Huston Street, Troy Tulowitzki, and Alex Gordon.
18U NATIONAL TEAM
Comprised of the nation's top players ages 17-18, the USA Baseball 18U National Team is a perennial power on the international baseball scene. The team competes in two major events in bi-yearly cycles - the COPABE Junior Pan Am Championship and the IBAF World AAA Junior Championship, and the 18U National Team is a gold-medal favorite in both events each time it takes the field.
Each year, USA Baseball and its National Member Organizations who are competing in the event invite the top high school-aged players in America to the Tournament of Stars presented by Major League Baseball, an all-star tournament featuring the top 18U players in the country. The event is used as the selection vehicle for the 18U National Team, wherein players vie for one of the squad’s 18 roster spots.
Current major leaguers Alex Rodriguez, Matt Holliday, Scott Kazmir, Jeff Francoeur, and B.J. and Justin Upton have all worn the USA jersey as 18U players.
16U NATIONAL TEAM
An international powerhouse, the USA Baseball 16U National Team has proven to be the country to beat on the global baseball scene since USA Baseball began selecting and training players in the 16U age category in the summer of 1997. Since then, the program has medaled each time it has taken the field in such international events as the IBAF World AA Youth Championships.
A staple on the 16U baseball community’s calendar, USA Baseball’s 16U Championships helps the organization identify players for the National Team. The event is held in two regions – East (Florida) and West (Arizona) – and 72 teams compete in each region. USA Baseball representatives and scouts select the top players from each region and from there the National Team is chosen.
Past 16U players who have gone on to play in the major leagues include Casey Kotchman, Billy Butler, Brett Anderson, Delmon Young, and James Loney.
14U NATIONAL TEAM
USA Baseball fielded its first-ever 14U National Team in 2007, and the team was an immediate success, going undefeated in winning the gold medal at the COPABE Pan Am 'A' Qualifier in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Later that year the U.S. sent its second 14U National Team to compete in the COPABE Pan Am ‘A’ Championship, where it too took home the gold.
Members of the USA Baseball 14U National Team are selected from, among other scouting channels, the pool of players participating in the annual USA Baseball National Team Identification Series in Cary, N.C.
WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
The USA Baseball Women's National Team was established in 2004 when USA Baseball began selecting and training an official National Team for women. An 18-player team was chosen following open tryouts across the nation, and the squad went on to capture the gold medal in the first-ever IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. The team repeated as IBAF World Cup gold-medalists in 2006 in Taiwan and took home the bronze medal from the 2008 World Cup in Japan.
When not competing in the World Cup, the Women’s National Team competes in international friendship series, leads youth clinics and works to grow the game of baseball among women in the U.S.
