With a Baseball World Cup held every two years in the under-12 category, and Softball World Cups for junior men and women staged on the same cycle, baseball/softball truly is a sport for all ages.

First staged in 2011 in Taiwan, the Under-12 Baseball World Cup is the most elite and highest level of competition in its age category.

Unlike other youth international competitions like the Little League World Series, which involve local clubs, it is the only global event across baseball, and all of sport, to feature national teams in this age group - 11 to 12-year-olds.

Dimensions of regulation Under-12 Baseball World Cup ballparks are significantly increased compared to local youth leagues, due to the superior nature and strength of the players involved.

Because the event is considered a "World Cup", the results of the tournaments affect the WBSC world rankings, which you can read about by clicking here.

The inaugural 13-team competition took place in July 2011 and was won by hosts Chinese Taipei, who overcame Cuba 3-2 in the gold medal match.

The United States then won the competition in 2013, 2015 and 2017, defeating Chinese Taipei in the final on each occasion.

Chinese Taipei regained the trophy in 2019 by beating Japan in the final, but the US claimed it back in 2022 as they won the final against Venezuela.

In 2023, the US won the title for a fifth time by beating Chinese Taipei 10-4 in the final.

Each edition of the event has been held in Tainan in Chinese Taipei.

Through the tournament, the WBSC is aiming to assume a leadership position for this age bracket in conjunction with major youth baseball organisations to further develop and promote baseball across the world.

The junior Softball World Cups are held biennially.  

Open to under-19 national teams, both events were first held in 1981.

Japan are the reigning Under-18 Men's Softball World Cup champions, after beating Australia 9-2 in the final in Palmerston North, New Zealand, in 2020.

Hermosillo in Mexico will host the next edition in November 2023.

The Under-18 Women's Softball World Cup was last held in Peru in December 2021, with the United States winning their fourth-straight title.

Baseball World Cups at under-15, under-18 and under-23 level are also firmly established on the calendar.

Japan are the holders of the under-23 event thanks to their victory over South Korea in the 2022 final in Taiwan, where they prevailed 3-0. 

The Japanese are also the current under-18 world champions after winning in Taipei in 2022, beating hosts Chinese Taipei 2-1 in the final.

At the Under-15 World Cup in Hermosillo in Mexico in August and September 2022, the Americans beat Cuba 4-3 in the final to win their second consecutive title.

This was the seventh world title in this age bracket for the US.

The shining lights from the age-restricted competitions can then set their sights on making their mark at the major senior events, such as the WBSC's flagship international baseball competition, Premier12.

Other events include the Women's Baseball World Cup and the men's and women's Softball World Cups.

2016 calendar

Softball

• 14th Junior Women's European Championship - Gavà, Spain August 1 to 6
• Japan Cup 2016 - Takasaki City, Japan September 2 to 4

Baseball

• VII Women's Baseball World Cup - Gijang County, South Korea September 3 to 11
• 2017 World Baseball Classic Qualifier - New York - Brooklyn, United States September 22 to 25
• Under-23 Baseball World Cup - Monterrey, Mexico October 28 to November 6

2017 calendar

Softball

• 9th World Masters Games - Auckland, New Zealand April 21 to 30
• 20th Women's European Championship - Bollate, Italy June 25 to July 1
• XV Men's Softball World Championship - Whitehorse, Canada July 7 to 16
• 9th Cadet Girls' European Championship - Ostrava, Czech Republic July 10 to 15
• XII Junior Women's Softball World Championship - Clearwater, United States July 24 to 30
• XII Junior Men's Softball World Championship - Prince Albert, Canada July 7 to 15

Baseball

• 2017 Summer Universiade - Taipei - Taipei, Chinese Taipei August 19 to 30

Baseball

The WBSC men’s baseball world rankings weigh a country’s entire national team programme from under-12 to professional in international competition.

The rankings reflect a four-year cycle and a data set of more than 1,000 international contests.

A listing in rank order of its Member Associations was first published in January 2009, providing a basis for comparison of the relative strengths of the teams. 

Beginning in 2015, the rankings also determine which 12 teams participate in the WBSC Premier12 tournament.

The men’s baseball world ranking points methodology can be accessed by clicking here. 

The initial women's baseball rankings were based upon results from past Women's Baseball World Cups. 

While the calculations of the women's rankings are similar to that of the men's, one main difference is that they are inclusive of the three most recent World Cups whereas the men's rankings only include the last two. 

Points are weighted in favour of the more recent results.

Softball

The overall ranking is based by gender, with 80 per cent of the points being awarded to the Senior World Championship ranking, and 20 per cent being awarded to the Junior World Championship ranking.

In order to operationalise these parameters, the format sees points allocated directly by finish. 

The first place team at an event is given the number of points equal to the number of teams in the World Championships, to a maximum of 16 points and multiplied by 100. 

In the case of an event with 16, or more teams, the first place team receives 1,600 points, second place 1,500 points all the way down to 16th place which receives 100 points. 

In the case of an event with less than 16 teams, the maximum number of points available is equal to the number of teams competing.

The Premier12 is the flagship international tournament organised by the WBSC, featuring the 12 best-ranked national baseball teams in the world. The first tournament was held in Taiwan and Japan in November 2015 with the next scheduled to be held in 2019. 

Professional baseball is also played in domestic leagues throughout the world:

United States and Canada

Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canadian city Toronto consists of the National League and the American League.

Historically, teams in one league never played teams in the other until the World Series, in which the champions of the two leagues played against each other.

This changed in 1997 with the advent of interleague play.

In addition to the major leagues, many North American cities and towns feature minor league teams.

An organisation officially styled Minor League Baseball, formerly the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, oversees nearly all minor league baseball in the US and Canada.

The minor leagues are divided into classes AAA, AA, High A, Low A, Short-Season A, Advanced Rookie, and Rookie.

These minor league divisions are affiliated with major league teams and serve to develop young players and rehabilitate injured major-leaguers.

Asia

Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the highest level of baseball in Japan, currently consists of two six-team circuits, the Central League and the Pacific League.

Each season the winning clubs from the two leagues compete in the Japan Series, the Championship Series of NPB.

Ten teams compete in South Korea’s KBO League, which was originally founded with six franchises in 1982.

Other Asian leagues include the Chinese Professional Baseball League, the top tier of the sport in Taiwan.

Europe

The Italian Baseball League consists of eight teams, each contesting 42 games; a team plays two three-game series against every other team.

The four teams that finish with the best regular season record qualify for a round-robin playoff.

The first and second-place finishers of the round-robin are cast into the best of seven Italian Baseball Series and compete for the championship, referred to as the Scudetto.

The Honkbal Hoofdklasse is the highest level of professional baseball in The Netherlands.

It is an eight-team league that plays a 42-game schedule and is overseen by the Royal Dutch Baseball and Softball Association.

The season runs from April to September and is followed by the playoffs among the four best teams, which culminates in the Holland Series between the two winners of the playoffs. 

Croatia, France and Germany are among the other European countries to have a national baseball league.

The Caribbean

Several leagues exist in Carribbean countries, such as the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) and the Puerto Rico Baseball League.

LIDOM is the highest level of professional baseball in the Dominican Republic, consisting of six teams.

The winter league's players include a number of prospects that go on to play in MLB in the US.

The LIDOM winners advance to play in the annual Caribbean Series, the highest baseball tournament at club level in Latin America that also features the champions of Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela.

Central America

The Mexican Pacific League is an independent winter league with the eight-team regular season running from October to December, and a playoff series taking place in January to determine the champion.

The Mexican Baseball League is an AAA league organised in Minor League Baseball, one grade below MLB.

Unlike the other two AAA circuits, the International League and the Pacific Coast League, Mexican League teams are not affiliated with MLB teams.

Panama and Nicaragua also have professional baseball leagues with the former being played in the winter and consisting of four teams. 

The latter was re-established in 2004 having shut down in 1967 due to Nicaragua's economic difficulties. 

South America

The Colombian Professional Baseball League is a winter competition held over three months during the MLB off-season.

Venezuela also has a professional league, housing eight teams in one single division.

The tournament is divided into a regular season consisting of two rounds and a postseason consisting of two semi-final rounds and one final.

Oceania

The Australian Baseball League  is jointly funded by the Australian Baseball Federation, MLB and the Australian Federal Government. It uses the same name as a now defunct competition held during the 1990s, but is considered to be a separate competition.

The WBSC formed a Development Commission which has been mandated to perform a number of functions in conjunction with the WBSC Member Federations. insidethegames spoke to Commission chair Angelo Vicini of San Marino to find out more...