Steady play has Cuba firmly at #1, Korea surges to 3rd behind strong ‘08

(LAUSANNE, Switzerland) – For the first time ever, Tuesday, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) released its World Rankings, with Cuba sitting comfortably at the #1 overall position.

Developed in conjunction with Scott Goode, a sports information director from Harding University (Arkansas, USA), the rankings are based on a point total which IBAF member federations (teams) earn from IBAF-sanctioned events in a four-year window, or a period of time that encompasses two IBAF Baseball World Cups.

“The IBAF is long overdue for World Rankings,” said IBAF President Dr. Harvey Schiller. “The level of competition worldwide grows stronger every year, and we need to begin to recognise the federations that are fielding teams and performing well, whether it is in an intra-continental tournament or a World Cup.”

Asia led all continents with three teams in the top five, headlined by Korea who surged to 3rd place behind a 2008 that saw it take home two IBAF World Championship events – the “AAA” 18U Junior Worlds in Canada and the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. The United States of America is in 2nd place, and Japan and Chinese Taipei came in at 4th and 5th places, respectively.

Teams earn points based on their finish in an event. A tournament winner takes home 50 points, second place, 40; third place, 30; and fourth place, 15. From there, points are divided evenly among the remaining teams in the event to ensure balance between tournaments that feature different-sized fields.

Once points are rewarded based on a team’s finish, that amount is then multiplied by a number based on the strength of the event. Major world championships, such as an Olympic Games, IBAF Baseball World Cup or World Baseball Classic, all receive 4X multipliers. Minor world championship events (Junior, Youth or FISU University Worlds, or the Honkbol Tournament, for example) have a 1X multiplier, and all other continental championships receive multipliers from 1X-.25X based on how many teams in the top-10 of the current IBAF World Rankings compete in the event.

The Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Panama, and Australia round out the top-10, with Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Italy, Venezuela, China, Spain, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Germany, and South Africa making up the other half of the top-20. In total, 45 of the IBAF’s 126 member federations were listed in the inaugural rankings.

“We are confident that our rankings accurately reflect the performance of our federations over a four-year period,” said Schiller. “We are also proud to say that our top-20 features federations from six continents, further proof of baseball’s continued global growth.”

The multipliers used for the IBAF World Rankings are based on current standings. Theoretical rankings at the time of events prior to 2009 were not considered. The rankings will be used for promotional purposes only and will not necessarily be used by the IBAF or any other governing baseball body to organize events, nor are those groups required by the IBAF to do as such. New rankings will be released following every event recognized or sanctioned by the IBAF.

Contact: Jake Fehling – ibafmedia@yahoo.com, +1 919 474-8721 x225

Founded in 1938, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is a non-governmental organisation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as administering men’s and women’s baseball at the world level. Located in Lausanne, Switzerland – the Olympic Capital – and counting 125 National Member Federations, the IBAF organises the IBAF Men’s and Women’s Baseball World Cup, the AAA (18U) and AA (16U) World Championships, the Olympic Games Baseball Tournament, and it sanctions the World Baseball Classic, among other international baseball tournaments. The IBAF works to develop and grow the game of baseball around the world. For more information, please visit IBAF.org.