Poland’s Stal Kutno got off to a great start as the first of two Federation Cup tournaments began in Trnava, Slovakia. Meanwhile, in the afternoon game, the home side Angels faced Bulgaria’s Sofia Blues. Vålerenga, the representative from Norway, had the day off.

The tournament runs from June 8–13, while the second Federation Cup takes place in Kaunas featuring four additional teams. Each tournament features a round robin, with the top two teams from each group advancing to a championship game. The Federation Cup is the third-ranked of four WBSC Europe cups. For more, consult our introduction here [link].

Box scores can be found here [link].

Results
June 8
Herts 0 – Kutno 10 (5)
Trnava 4 – Sofia 7

June 9
Herts – Vålerenga
Kutno – Trnava

Final Standings

The final of the Federation Cup Qualifier featured the combination of great pitching and timely hitting that both Utenos Titani and Jánossomorja’s Rascals had shown all week, but the home side overcame two runs by the Lithuanians in the top of the first by posting a five-run fourth and working around a pair of late doubles to win the tournament. The first two games of the day saw Sweden’s Kristiansand Suns take third place and Finland’s Puumat explode for 20 runs in the fifth-place game.

Jánossomorja has boasting superb pitching all week, surrendering only eight runs in its first four games. Neither of its first two pitchers had much success, but with two runners on in the second, Ramón Ulacio came in for the second day in a row, and fired six scoreless innings to ice the game for the Hungarian baseball club. He struck out eight and working around seven baserunners, only a day after throwing 51 pitches to ensure a win for the Rascals in the semis. In total, the right-hander threw 14.2 innings in the Federation Cup Qualifier, whiffing an eye-popping 26 batters while surrendering only six hits and four walks to go 2-0 with a 0.61 ERA, 0.68 WHIP, and .120 batting average against.

As he has done repeatedly this week, young Martin Morua delivered on offence, leading the team with a 3-for-4, two RBI day. The pitcher-catcher-shortstop-centerfielder finished with 11 hits in 18 at bats. Michael Savino gave Utena three shutout innings to start the game, and was 3-for-3 with two doubles at the plate.

See final results and standings below.

Individual Batting Leaders

• Panayot Zhaltov (Lions) led in each of the triple slash categories: .636/.714/1.364 (slugging tied) and was one of five players to hit two home runs. He tied for the lead in runs (8). For his efforts, he was named “Leading hitter”.
• Edward Crasnean (Botoșani) led in home runs (3) and slugging percentage, tying for second in total bases (15). He slashed .455/.500/1.364.
• Morua led in RBI (11) and doubles (4, tied), and was second in average and fourth in OBP, SLG, and OPS, slashing .611/.632/1.000.
• Ben Bové (Puumat) led in steals (8), despite only playing in four games, was second in hits (10), and was third in average (.588).
• Michael Savino (Utenos) tied for the lead in doubles (4), was third in OBP, and hit .500/.650/.786.

Individual Pitching Leaders
Rate leaders are for those with four or more innings pitched. Note that on the statistics page, all ERAs are calculated incorrectly (earned runs are divided by seven, rather than nine). They are rendered correctly here.

• Five players earned two wins. Ulacio, Morua, and Rey Rivera (Puumat) were the ones to go 2-0, while Emiliano Rivera and Richard Cirigliano went 2-1. Rivera and Zhaltov each tossed two complete games.
• Morua led in scoreless innings (0.00 ERA) and was fourth in ERA (0.48) and opponents’ BA (.107). He struck out 14 in 8.2 innings with a 0.73 WHIP. Morua was honored as Tournament MVP.
• Ulacio was second in strikeouts (26) and innings (14.2), fourth in WHIP (0.70), and fifth in opponents BA (.120).
• Rivero (Tampere) was the only pitcher to start three games, also leading in innings (16) and strikeouts (28), in addition to tying for the lead in wins and complete games. He had a 3.94 ERA
• Zhaltov was two-way star, finishing third in strikeouts (20) and innings (14.1), walking only two and finishing with a 4.40 ERA.
• Cirigliano (Utenos) also was a difference-maker on both sides of the ball, striking out 18 in 12 innings, pitching in four-of-five games. He had a 3.75 ERA and a 0.75 WHIIP and was named Best Pitcher. At the plate, he slashed .400/.550/.933 and stole three bases.
• Nooa Määtä (Puumat) did not allow an earned run or a hit over four innings, thus leading in opponents’ BA (.000). He struck out eight and walked six.
• Amila Wanniarachchi Kankanmage (Kristiansand) did not allow an earned run over six innings and was second in opponents’ BA (.056).

For more on the European Cup, see our coverage: Day 1 [link], Day 2 [link], Day 3 [link], Day 4 [link], Day 5 [link]. Box scores can be found here [link]. All games played to seven innings, rather than nine.

Playoff Results
June 5
Seventh: Kyiv 6 – Lions 11
Semi: Tampere 3 – Utenos 8
Semi: Kristiansand 0 – Jánossomorja 3

June 6
Fifth: Puumat 20 – Botoșani 7
Third: Kristiansand 7 – Tampere 1
First: Jánossomorja 5 – Utenos 2

Final Standings

Kranjski Lisjaki put an exclamation point on its undefeated run through the European Cup, never falling behind against Sweden’s Rättvik Butchers in the championship game thanks to a superb pitching performance by Johan Belisario and Christian Sumoza. Earlier in the day, a back-and-forth game between the Therwill Flyers and the London Mets saw the Swiss baseball club break a 4-4 deadlock through six and fend off a spirited comeback in the third-place game. And, in the fifth-place game, the hosts finished strong in an all-Austria derby, with Diving Ducks Wiener Neustadt upending the Dornbirn Indians.

Belisario and Sumoza each had a superb tournament for the Slovenian baseball heavyweights. A ten-year minor league veteran who topped out in Triple-A, Belisario tossed six one-run innings against the Butchers, who had scored 45 runs in their first four games. He struck out six, improving his pitching line to 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA, 0.50 WHIP, .118 batting average against, and 15 strikeouts in 10 innings. Meanwhile, Sumoza, himself an ex-Yankees farmhand, earned the save with a trio of three-up, three-down frames, punching out seven of nine hitters. The right-hander’s line for the tournament was remarkable: 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 15 K, with an .053/.143/.035 line by opposing batters.

See final results and standings below.

Individual Batting Leaders

• Sam Boermans (Borgerhout) led the tournament in home runs (3, tied), slugging percentage (1.286), and OPS (1.936), and slashed .500/.650/.1.286.
• Bryan Estati (Sundbyberg) led in in home runs (3, tied) and slashed .500/.619/1.188. Quin Cotton (London), who launched all three of his home runs in one game, and Kasey Caras (Lisjaki) also had three homers. Caras led in total bases (22).
• Dariel Rodríguez (Lisjaki) led in walks (6, tied), runs (10, tied), and RBI (12), while hitting .526/.654/.1.000. He was named “Leading Hitter”.
• Kilian Bloat (Lisjaki) led in hits (11) and runs (10, tied), hitting .458/.536/.708.
• Daniel Johnson (Rättvik) led in stolen bases (7) and slashed .444/.500/.611.
• Two-way player Joel Johnson (Rättvik) led in doubles (5) and was second in total bases (21), hitting .476/.500/1.000.
• The MVP was Ricardo Meléndez (Kranjski), who hit .318/.423/.364 with no strikeouts as one of the eight best hitters on the powerful Lisjaki squad. As a catcher-outfielder, he fielded .982.

Individual Pitching Leaders

• Belisario, Joel Johnson, and Hide Oshima (Therwil) all went 2-0.
• Ferlon Gijsbertha (Therwil) led the tournament in innings (11.2) and strikeouts (23), and had a 2.31 ERA.
• Belisario was second in strikeouts (15, tied) and third in innings (10). He was named Best Pitcher.
• Sumoza led in batting average against (.053) and was second in strikeouts (15, tied).
• Joe Cosgrove (London) was second in batting average against (.059) and, like Sumoza, through six scoreless innings, the most by any pitchers.

For more on the European Cup, see our coverage of: Day 1 [link], Day 2 [link], Day 3 [link], Day 4 [link], Day 5 [link]. Box scores can be found here [link].

Playoff Results
June 5
Seventh: Borgerhout 23 – Sundbyberg 21
Semi: Therwil 2 – Kranjski 8
Semi: London 5 – Rättvik 9

June 6
Fifth: Dornbirn 3 – Wiener Neustadt 11
Third: Therwil 11 – London 6
First: Rättvik 1 – Kranjski 5

Final Standings

Utenos Titani and Jánossomorja’s Rascals remained perfect with strong semifinal performances, and will match up for the Federation Cup Qualifier and promotion to the Federation Cup itself. In the seventh-place game, Bulgaria’s Lions NSA got into the win column against Kyiv.

In the win for the Hungarian hosts, Martin Morua and ex-Cardinals’ farmhand Ramón Ulacio combined for a one-hitter with 16 strikeouts. Ulacio earned the win in relief, punching out 10 consecutive hitters and 11 overall, with the only baserunner reaching on a strikeout with a wild pitch. The right-hander has now struck out 18 in 8.2 innings in the Federation Cup Qualifier, permitting one run on two hits (.067 batting average against) and one walk. Morua, meanwhile, has matched him nearly pitch-for-pitch, and started the game with 3.1 one-hit frames, whiffing five. The righty has 14 Ks and has allowed only six baserunners in 8.2 innings. After an 0-for-3 in the semifinal, Morua is still hitting .571/.600/1.071 with no strikeouts and three stolen bases in four games.

Meanwhile, Lithuania’s Titans featured the two-headed monster of first baseman Lukas Sirgėdas and pitcher Richard Cirigliano in the victory over Tampere. With the club from Utena losing 3-2 in the fourth, Cirigliano came in from centerfield and posted four hitless, shutout innings, sending down six on strikes. He was backed up by Sirgėdas, who ripped a two-run shot in the first, a run-scoring single in the fifth, and a two-run safety in the sixth as part of a 4-for-4, five RBI day. The righty-swinger is hitting .500/.538/1.000, numbers similar to his 2023 Federation Cup Qualifier performance: .625/.650/1.125.

In addition to the title decide between Jánossomorja Rascals and Utenos Titanai, today’s games also feature Kristiansand Suns and Finland’s Tampere Tigers aiming for third place, while Romania’s Thunder Wolves Botoșani and Finland’s Puumat contest five.

For more on the European Cup, see our coverage: Day 1 [link], Day 2 [link], Day 3 [link], Day 4 [link]. Box scores can be found here [link]. All games played to seven innings, rather than nine.

Playoff Results
June 5
Seventh: Kyiv 6 – Lions 11
Semi: Tampere 3 – Utenos 8
Semi: Kristiansand 0 – Jánossomorja 3

June 6
Fifth: Puumat – Botoșani
Third: Kristiansand – Tampere
First: Jánossomorja – Utenos

Suddenly, there were only two. The European Cup final will feature clubs from Slovenia and Sweden, as Kranjski Lisjaki dispatched Switzerland’s Therwill Flyers in one semifinal, while the London Mets’ historic run finished in a matchup with Rättvik Butchers in a game determined by defense. It was the seventh-place game, however, that proved to be the most entertaining, as the Borgerhout Squirrels and Sundbyberg Heat combined for 44 runs, 45 hits—including 11 doubles, a triple, and three home runs, plus 16 walks and 16 strikeouts.

Among the highlights of the Belgium–Sweden slugfest were two home runs from Borgerhout’s Sam Boermans; a dinger, two doubles, a single, and six RBI from Sundbyberg’s Linus Sjölund; and four hits from the Heat’s Lukas Jellnor and Daniel Franco, with the victors’ Nils Imbert also posting a quartet of base knocks.

The final day of play will determine the remaining six positions of the European Cup. For more on the European Cup, see our coverage of: Day 1 [link], Day 2 [link], Day 3 [link], Day 4 [link]. Box scores can be found here [link].

Playoff Results
June 5
Seventh: Borgerhout 23 – Sundbyberg 21
Semi: Therwil 2 – Kranjski 8
Semi: London 5 – Rättvik 9

June 6
Fifth: Wiener Neustadt – Dornbirn
Third: Therwil – London
First: Rättvik – Kranjski

Lithuania’s Utenos Titani and Jánossomorja’s Rascals each finished round robin play with a win on Day 4, advancing to the semifinals of the Federation Cup Qualifier with perfect 3-0 records. Kristiansand Suns joined the Titans in Group A, while a thrilling game between Finland’s Tampere Tigers and Romania’s Thunder Wolves Botoșani proved the decider for the second position in Group B.

For more on the European Cup, see our coverage: Day 1 [link], Day 2 [link], Day 3 [link]. Box scores can be found here [link]. All games played to seven innings, rather than nine.

Results
June 1
Utenos 7 – Kristiansand 0
Puumat 5 – Lions 2

June 2
Utenos 4 – Lions 2
Kristiansand 7 – Puumat 6

June 3
Lions 5 – Kristiansand 25 (3)

June 4
Puumat 3 – Utenos 14 (5)

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Kyiv 3 – Botoșani 5

June 2
Jánossomorja 11 – Tampere 0

June 3
Kyiv 0 – Tampere 10 (5)
Botoșani 3 – Jánossomorja 11

June 4
Tampere 4 – Botoșani 2
Jánossomorja 8 – Kyiv 5

Group B Standings

Playoffs
June 5
Seventh: Lions – Kyiv
Semi: Tampere – Utenos
Semi: Kristiansand – Jánossomorja

The final day of pool play at the European Cup was a wild one, as first place in Group B finished as a three-way tie, while the second spot in Group A was similarly knotted. The one spot that was in no doubt, however, was the top position in the first pool, as Slovenia’s Kranjski Lisjaki continued its astonishing performance at WBSC Europe’s penultimate-ranked cup, plating 20 runs for the second game in a row.

In the other Group A contest, the London Mets pulled off a stunning finish to round robin competition, putting together a complete effort in a shutout victory over the hosts, Wiener Neustadt. In doing so, it eliminated the Diving Ducks from the European Cup playoffs and secured its own place over Sweden’s Sundbyberg Heat. All three finished 1-2, but using the WBSC’s Total Quality Balance (TQB) formula [link to explanation]—essentially, run differential, but accounting for innings played—the Mets were the clear No. 2.

A single game in Group B, meanwhile, matched up an undefeated Rättvik Butchers and Switzerland’s Flyers (1-1). The thrilling decider went to 10 innings, with Therwil claiming the victory. The result meant both clubs finished at 2-1, equal to the Dornbirn Indians. Once again, TQB came into play, and in this instance, the result was less surprising: Sweden’s Rättvik would advance over Dornbirn, the former having triumphed in convincing fashion over the latter on Day One.

For more on the European Cup, see our coverage of: Day 1 [link], Day 2 [link], Day 3 [link]. Box scores can be found here [link].

Results
June 1
Sundbyberg 10 – Wiener Neustadt 16

June 2
Kranjski 15 – London 1 

June 3
Sundbyberg 15 – London 12
Wiener Neustadt 12– Kranjski 22 (8)

June 4
Kranjski 20 – Sundbyberg 2 (5)
London 6 – Wiener Neustadt 0

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Rättvik 18 – Dornbirn 0 (5)
Therwil 12 – Borgerhout 1 (8)

June 2
Therwil 1 – Dornbirn 9
Borgerhout 7 – Rättvik 14

June 3
Dornbirn 11 – Borgerhout 4

June 4
Rättvik 4 – Therwil 5 (10)

Group B Standings

Playoffs
June 5
Seventh: Borgerhout – Sundbyberg
Semi: Therwil – Kranjski
Semi: London – Rättvik

Kristiansand Suns climbed into second position in Group A of the Federation Cup Qualifier, eliminating Bulgaria’s Lions NSA with a 25-5 drubbing that was mercifully ended in part due to heavy rains in Jánossomorja, Hungary. Lithuania’s Utenos Titani and Finland’s Puumat will play today, setting up the possibility of tie in the first pool of the cup.

Meanwhile, Jánossomorja’s Rascals moved to 2-0 with another complete effort, once more featuring prospect Martin Morua. In two games, the two-way, multi-positional player if 6-for-7 with two doubles and a homer and has won both games for the Hungarian club on the mound, striking out nine and permitting only four baserunners in 5.1 shutout innings. Romania’s Thunder Wolves Botoșani dropped to 1-1 in the loss, while Finland’s Tampere Tigers joined them in joint second with a 10-0 bashing of Kyiv.

For more on the European Cup, see our coverage of Day 1 [link] and Day 2 [link].

Box scores can be found here [link]. All games played to seven innings, rather than nine.

Results
June 1
Utenos 7 – Kristiansand 0
Puumat 5 – Lions 2

June 2
Utenos 4 – Lions 2
Kristiansand 7 – Puumat 6

June 3
Lions 5 – Kristiansand 25 (3)

June 4
Puumat – Utenos

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Kyiv 3 – Botoșani 5

June 2
Jánossomorja 11 – Tampere 0

June 3
Kyiv 0 – Tampere 10 (5)
Botoșani 3 – Jánossomorja 11

June 4
Tampere – Botoșani
Jánossomorja – Kyiv

Group B Standings

Correction: London Mets were not eliminated in the loss.

Kranjski Lisjaki put itself in the pole position for the semifinals of the European Cup with a 22-12 outburst against the hosts, Diving Ducks Wiener Neustadt. Elsewhere in Group A, Sweden’s Sundbyberg eliminated Great Britain’s London Mets in a wild 15-12 game despite three home runs from the British club’s Quin Cotton, a former Reds’ minor leaguer. Dornbirn Indians eliminated Belgium’s Borgerhout Squirrels, putting the Austrian club in contention for the semifinals alongside Rättvik Butchers and Therwil Flyers, who play each other today. For more on the European Cup, see our coverage of Day 1 [link] and Day 2 [link].

Box scores can be found here [link].

Results
June 1
Sundbyberg 10 – Wiener Neustadt 16

June 2
Kranjski 15 – London 1 

June 3
Sundbyberg 15 – London 12
Wiener Neustadt 12– Kranjski 22 (8)

June 4
Kranjski – Sundbyberg
London – Wiener Neustadt

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Rättvik 18 – Dornbirn 0 (5)
Therwil 12 – Borgerhout 1 (8)

June 2
Therwil 1 – Dornbirn 9
Borgerhout 7 – Rättvik 14

June 3
Dornbirn 11 – Borgerhout 4

June 4
Rättvik – Therwil

Group B Standings

Issued with the headline “Zimbabwe [B]aseball Names bloated African Championship squad”, the equatorial nation revealed a roster with 37 names for this year’s African Baseball Championship. Although no information about the African Championship has been publicized, Zimbabwe is now the second African baseball federation to refer to the tournament with the expectation of its occurrence this year.

Zimbabwe Baseball Association (ZBA) also named a new head coach, Americo Juma, who has been a member of the national team coaching staff since 2015, including the 2019 African Baseball Championship, and coached for MLB’s PLAY BALL programme in Johannesburg in 2016. A seasoned baseball umpire, Juma is also the head coach of South Africa’s Baseball5 team. Zimbabwe is ranked No. 3 (out of 7) in African baseball and No. 57 (out of 85) in the world by the WBSC. The full roster can be seen below.

A whopping 10 of the 18 members of the 2025 Under-23 African Championship roster graduate to the senior national team this year: Ashton Chivizhe (previously Chivizve), Panashe Chirara, Ropes Gavaneni, Brendon Mazhamba (previously Mazhambe), Marshall Mondo, Clayton Mpofu, Takudzwa Mudzingwa, Albert Mukandla (previously Mkandla), Thabo Ncube, and Phineus Verengai.

Eight players return from the Zimbabwe squad at the 2019 African Championship. The list reveals the growth of baseball in the land-locked country in the nearly seven years since, as five of the seven returning players based in Zimbabwe hailed from Harare whereas just under one-third of the current roster is from the the capital’s baseball association.

• Tadiwanashe Bhasera (2B) went 0-for-3 with two walks.
• Vincent Chiama (previously Vincent Chaima) played RF, going 1-for-6 with a walk, a steal, two runs, and a RBI.
• Vinti Cliff (previously Cliff Vint) (P) topped the African Baseball Championship in strikeouts (11) and was second in innings (11). He earned the win against a strong Burkino Faso squad on Day One, losing to Uganda in the semifinals.
• Blessing Fredy (or Blessing Freddy) was 0-for-4 as a 1B.
• Tanyaradzwa Hungwe (1B-2B-SS) slashed .235/.381/.294 with a team-leading eight runs in five games.
• Tanyaradzwa Katsaruware (CF-P) was 0-for-1 with a walk and a steal and took the loss in his only appearance.
• Tinashe Kwangwari (CF) went 0-for-4, but was also the the MVP of the 2017 Zimbabwean baseball finals [link].
• Emmanuel Moyo (LF) had a superb showing, hitting .500/.571/.667 in three games, scoring six runs, and topping the African Baseball Championship in steals (7-for-7).

ZBA consists of six member associations, some as baseball-only associations (B.A.) and others as baseball and softball (B.S.A.): Bulawayo B.S.A., Harare Metropolitan B.A., Manicaland B.S.A., Mashonaland West B.A., Masvingo B.A., and Midlands B.S.A.

Utenos Titani improved to 2-0 on Day Two of the Federation Cup Qualifier in Hungary, while the host club, Jánossomorja Rascals, earned a convincing shutout win in its first game. Sweden’s Kristiansand Suns put a “1” in the win column as well, as the qualification event continued to feature good pitching performances. For more on the European Cup, see our Day 1 coverage [link].

Box scores can be found here [link]. All games played to seven innings, rather than nine.

Results
June 1
Utenos 7 – Kristiansand 0
Puumat 5 – Lions 2

June 2
Utenos 4 – Lions 2
Kristiansand 7 – Puumat 6

June 3
Lions – Kristiansand

June 4
Puumat – Utenos

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Kyiv 3 – Botoșani 5

June 2
Jánossomorja 11 – Tampere 0

June 3
Kyiv – Tampere
Botoșani – Jánossomorja

June 4
Tampere – Botoșani
Jánossomorja – Kyiv

Group B Standings

Rättvik Butchers improved to 2-0 in in Group B, while Slovenia’s Kranjski Lisjaki picked up a lopsided victory in its first game at the European Cup. Dornbirn Indians entered the win column in the other game of the day, as action continued at Diving Ducks Wiener Neustadt. For more on the European Cup, see our Day 1 coverage [link].

Box scores can be found here [link].

Results
June 1
Sundbyberg 10 – Wiener Neustadt 16

June 2
Kranjski 15 – London 1 

June 3
Sundbyberg – London  
Wiener Neustadt – Kranjski

June 4
Kranjski –Sundbyberg
London – Wiener Neustadt

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Rättvik 18 – Dornbirn 0 (5)
Therwil 12 – Borgerhout 1 (8)

June 2
Therwil 1 – Dornbirn 9
Borgerhout 7 – Rättvik 14

June 3
Dornbirn – Borgerhout

June 4
Rättvik – Therwil

Group B Standings

Day One of the Federation Cup Qualifier in Jánossomorja, Hungary, produced wins for Utenos Titani (Lithuania), Puumat Baseball (Finland), and Thunder Wolves Botoșani (Romania) in the two-group event. The Federation Cup Qualifier is the lowest-ranked of WBSC Europe’s four baseball cups, and fifth in the overall tiers of European club baseball. For more, consult our introduction here [link]. The top two teams from each group will meet for the semifinals, with first in one group playing the second-ranked in the other and vice versa.

Box scores can be found here [link]. All games played to seven innings, rather than nine.

Results
June 1
Utenos 7 – Kristiansand 0
Puumat 5 – Lions 2

June 2
Utenos – Lions
Kristiansand – Puumat

June 3
Lions– Kristiansand

June 4
Puumat – Utenos

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Kyiv 3 – Botoșani 5

June 2
Jánossomorja – Tampere

June 3
Kyiv – Tampere
Botoșani – Jánossomorja

June 4
Tampere – Botoșani
Jánossomorja – Kyiv

Group B Standings

Diving Ducks Wiener Neustadt won a slugfest as hosts of the European Cup, with Sweden’s Rättvik Butchers and Switzerland’s Therwil Flyers also producing offensive outburts on Day One in the event. The European Cup is new this year, and slots in as the second-highest cup in the WBSC Europe system, and the third tier overall for European club baseball. For more, consult our introduction here [link].

The European Cup will be played this year with a pair of four-team pools. The top two teams from each group will meet for the semifinals, with first in one group playing the second-ranked in the other and vice versa. It is the highest tier that a British baseball team has ever reached, with the British Baseball Federation represented by the London Mets, winners of the last nine National Baseball League playoffs.

Box scores can be found here [link].

Results
June 1
Sundbyberg 10 – Wiener Neustadt 16

June 2
Kranjski – London  

June 3
Sundbyberg – London  
Wiener Neustadt – Kranjski

June 4
Kranjski –Sundbyberg
London – Wiener Neustadt

Group A Standings

Results
June 1
Rättvik 18 – Dornbirn 0 (5)
Therwil 12 – Borgerhout 1 (8)

June 2
Therwil – Dornbirn
Borgerhout – Rättvik

June 3
Dornbirn – Borgerhout

June 4
Rättvik – Therwil

Group B Standings

On May 30, the City Council of Nettuno voted on a proposed resolution to declare baseball an “intangible cultural heritage” of the central Italian community, agreeing unanimously in favor. This decision is a crucial first step toward the city’s goal of earning recognition for Nettuno baseball by UNESCO. In the same session, Nettuno’s councillors also agreed to establish Cooperstown (N.Y.) as a twin city.

The event began with a festival [see flier below], with a ceremonial procession that featured a brass band, several youth baseball teams, and fans [video]. After proceeding inside, Mayor Nicola Burrini [pictured right] welcomed Deb DiMaggio [left], granddaughter of Joe DiMaggio, offering mementos of the city’s history with baseball and the U.S. military.

The proposal, which has not been published, began as petition with more than 400 signatures, and was debated by the city council in an Extraordinary General Meeting [video]. Each of the 21 councillors (out of 25) present voted in favor of the resolution.

“Nettuno is the city of Baseball — this sport is part of our history, our tradition, and the passion that we put into what we do,” noted Burrini in a statement [link] (translation by author). “This is a starting point, the first step, for achieving the goal of having this beautiful sport recognized as UNESCO World Heritage.”

According to Il Caffe [link], the proposal provides for future initiatives to promote and develop baseball in the city. Among the objectives indicated are cultural, educational, and exhibition activities aimed at schools, associations, and the region. The Municipality of Nettuno also aims to stimulate projects dedicated to the history of baseball in Nettuno and encourage its transmission to new generations.

Baseball’s first game to Nettuno after the Allied landing in 1944. Multiple U.S. military bases were established in Lazio, the region around Rome, with U.S. soldiers bringing gloves and bats in their gear. As happened in so many places in Europe, baseball was not only recreational, but actively used as a tool of friendship. By the following year, Alberto Fasano founded the first club in Nettuno, now known as Nettuno 1945. Since then, the club has won 17 national championships, an Italian record, plus four editions of the Coppa Italia, and seven Champions Cups as the best European club. The wording of the document intentionally stressed the criteria necessary to apply for UNESCO’s “Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage,” passed in 2003 and ratified by Italy in 2007 [link].

“Events like this make it clear the commitment that this Administration intends to place both in supporting and promoting baseball, and in international friendly relations that lead to common social, economic and cultural growth,” said the Assessor to Sport and Twinning, Marco Federici.

The Village of Cooperstown has not made an annnouncment yet. Neither Nettuno 1945 B.C. or Nettuno Baseball Academy has made a public statement regarding the passage of the resolution or twinning of Nettuno with Cooperstown. However, representatives of past Nettuno clubs were out in force according to Il Granchio [link], including ex-managers Alberto De Carolis and Franco Piras. The list of former players included Bruno Laurenzi, Valerio Mastrantonio, Gianni Cancelli, Pietro Cianfriglia, Enzo Lauri, Sergio Morville, Paolo Catanzani, Ruggero Bagialemani, Pietro Monaco, Ettore Morellini, Massimiliano Masini, Marco Mingardi, and Giampiero Faraone.

Photos courtesy Nicola Burrini. Translation by Gabriel Fidler.

June is the start of the busy season for baseball in Europe, with five tournaments in the first three weeks that will determine the winners of all four tiers of European baseball club competition. A total of 20 countries are represented in continental cups, with a quarter of these hosting one of the tournaments.

As it so frequently has been, cup tiers have been reorganized, this time due to the creation of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe, which replaces the Champions Cup, European baseball’s longest-running competition [link]. For 60 years, the cup determined the top baseball club in Europe, but from 2024, Europe’s top leagues were excluded from the competition. These circuits—Czech Republic, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, and Spain—now compete in the BCL.

Replacing the Champions Cup at the top of the tiered system in WBSC Europe, the Confederation Cup has effectively been moved up a tier. Slotting in below it is the new European Cup, while the Federation Cup and the Federation Cup Qualifiers form the bottom two rungs. These four cups will continue to be played as round robin tournaments at a single site over the course of a week, rather than the format of the Baseball Champions League, which is closer to the league play and playoffs played in other sports’ cup competitions.

European Cup (Cup Tier: 2/4)
The European Cup, essentially the middle rung of five levels of continental club competitions from the BCL to Fed Cup Qualifiers, is set to begin on June 1 in Wiener Neustadt (Austria). There are two pools in the event, with the two best teams from each advancing to semifinals.

Group A consists of the host Diving Ducks, Kranjski Lisjaki (Slovenia), London Mets (Great Britain), and Sundbyberg Heat (Sweden). Borgerhout Squirrels (Belgium), Dornbirn Indians (Austria), Rättvik Butchers (Sweden), and Therwil Flyers (Switzerland) comprise Group B. It is the first time a British club has been promoted above the third tier in European club competition. The tournament website is here [link]

Federation Cup Qualifier (Cup Tier: 4/4)
Jánossomorja (Hungary) will host the Federation Cup Qualifier, which runs over the same period as the European Cup. A two-pool event, Group A features Kristiansand Suns (Sweden), Lions NSA (Bulgaria), Puumat Baseball (Finland), and Utenos Titanai (Lithuania). Their counterparts in Group B are Jánossormorja Rascals, Kyiv, Tampere Tigers (Finland), and Thunder Wolves Botoșani (Romania). The tournament website is here [link].

Federation Cup (Cup Tier: 3/4)
There are two Federation Cup tournaments, both beginning June 8. The leagues of the winner of each will be promoted to the European Cup for 2027 [link]. Trnava (Slovakia) will welcome Herts Toucans (Great Britain), Sofia Blues (Bulgaria), Stal Kutno (Poland), and Vålerenga (Norway), with its own Angels Trnava rounding out the event.

The tournament website is here [link].

Federation Cup (Cup Tier: 3/4)
Meanwhile, Kaunas (Lithuania) will play host to the remaining four teams in the Federation Cup. These include Apollo Bratislava (Slovakia), Barracudas Zürich (Switzerland), Kaunas, and Silesia Rybnik (Poland).

The tournament website is here [link].

Confederation Cup (Cup Tier: 1/4)
Last up is the Confederation Cup, which will be hosted by Karlovac (Croatia) from June 15–20. Now the top tier of European baseball cups, it is unclear whether promotion to the Baseball Champions League is possible. Dutch and Italian teams may not contest the trophy, but the Czech Extraliga sends a team this year to both the BCL and Confederation Cup.

Joining Hroši Brno and host club Olimpija Karlovac are Brasschaat Braves (Belgium), Lions de Savigny (France), and Rouen Huskies (France). The tournament website is here [link].

Member countries of WBSC Europe with domestic leagues that have domestic leagues but are not represented in any cup competitions this year include Belarus, Denmark, Estonia, Ireland, Israel, Luxeumbourg, Malta, Portugal, Russia (suspended), and Serbia. All but Estonia, Israel, Luxembourg, Malta, and Portugal have competed in at least one previous Cup.

South Africa Women’s Baseball was set to make history for the country with a tour of the United Kingdom from May 28 to June 9, when both a Senior Women’s team and an Under-23 team were meant to compete against a mixture of all-star squads and national teams. Announced by the federation at the start of May, players received letters informing them that the tour had been postponed until 2027.

The tour was intended to begin in Bristol, where the South African sides were scheduled to train and compete on May 30–31, with games against the South West Select and a Sheffield-Manchester Select teams. The tour would have then moved to London for training at Finsbury Park with the London Mets, nine-time consecutive champions of the British Baseball Federation’s National Baseball League, participation in a Ladies Training Day, and an Evening League All-Stars game. Play would then move at the weekend to Farnham Park for the Great Britain Women’s Baseball Invitational Tournament (more on this event soon).

Instead, players have been told that South African Baseball has been invited to field its women’s team at this year’s PONY World Series in Shanghai, from Aug. 2–9. As with the UK tour, players are responsible for raising their own funds. It is worth noting that these endeavors are meant, in part, to bid for a wild card in future WBSC Women’s World Cup events, as stated by a South African Baseball press release:

“This international series forms part of a broader strategic push for recognition on the global stage. South Africa is actively working towards securing a wild card opportunity and ultimately targeting the African qualification spot for future global competitions.“

Although the ambitious tour of Britain has been postponed, South Africa’s federation has been increasing opportunities for its female baseballers, with an end-of-year tour to Zimbabwe in 2025. Its senior men’s national team will be touring Spain and France later this year [link].

According to a statement by South African Baseball: “The squads have been selected following the South African National Baseball Championships in Boksburg, Gauteng, supported by ongoing talent identification over the past four years. The process reflects a clear commitment to developing a strong pipeline of players capable of competing at international level.“

Full rosters for South African Baseball’s senior women’s national team and its Under-23 national team can be found here [link].

The Greenwich Giants will host the the UK’s only official MLB PLAY BALL Weekend activation on Saturday, June 6, at the University of Greenwich Avery Hill campus in Eltham, welcoming children, families and first-time players from across Southeast London for a free day of baseball activities. The Greater London PLAY BALL event forms part of a worldwide programme taking place simultaneously across dozens of countries between 5-7 June.

PLAY BALL Weekend is an annual initiative led by Major League Baseball to grow participation in baseball and softball worldwide. Open to all ages and abilities, the event is designed to introduce new participants to baseball in a fun, inclusive and accessible environment. The first 100 children to attend will receive a free t-shirt and gift bag.

Event Programme

• 9:45–10:45 am — Session for children aged 4–7 (girls & boys)
• 11:00 am–1:00 pm — Session for children aged 8–14 (girls & boys)
• 1:30–3:00 pm — Open session, all ages, including adults
• After the event, there will be an Adult baseball game for anyone aged 14+ to give it a go, no experience needed.

Key information

Date: Saturday 6th June 2025
Time: 9:45 am – 3:00 pm (adult game to follow)
Venue: University of Greenwich, Avery Hill Campus, Eltham, London SE9 2UG
Cost: Free to attend
Registration: Short online form available (recommended but not required)
More information: greenwichgiantsbaseball.com/playball

“We are so excited to bring the thrill and joy of Major League Baseball to the children of Southeast London,” remarked Will Lintern, Club Chair, Greenwich Giants Baseball Club. “The day is perfect for anyone who has ever thought about hitting a home run or wanted to try their hand at pitching — regardless of ability or experience.”

The Greenwich Giants are a community baseball club based in Southeast London, founded in 2024 and affiliated with the British Baseball Federation. The club offers sessions for children aged 4–12, youth players, women & girls, and mixed adults, with a focus on inclusive, skills-based, family-friendly sport.

The Greenwich event joins official MLB PLAY BALL activations in Japan, India, China, Australia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Germany, Austria [link], Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines — placing Southeast London at the centre of a worldwide celebration of baseball participation and community sport. 

South African Baseball has announced new coaching appointments across multiple age groups in the national team programme with each set for major international and continental events during the year ahead, including the Under-23 World Cup and the Under-15 World Cup, along with a European tour for South African Baseball’s senior national team [link]. The appointments were made after a nomination process through the provincial baseball organizations.

Notable within the revamped coaching staff for the senior national team is the return of the first African player to make the majors, former South Africa national player and long-time professional Gift Ngoepe. Ngoepe is uniquely placed given his playing experience with both South African domestic structures and baseball leagues around the world, including 11 years in the minors, plus time in Australia, Canada, and U.S. independent leagues. Since 2023, he has been a manager and coach in the Arizona Diamondbacks’ organization, and is currently bench coach of the Hillsboro Hops (High-A Northwest League). As “Coach Consultant”, Ngoepe will assist the South African Baseball senior men’s team with international preparations while working closely with local counterparts.

For the senior team, the coaching staff for the Africa Championship and European tour includes Tyrone Baglione as head coach, assisted by Dean Mckinon, Daryn Smith, Kevin Leak, and Neil Adonis, with Ngoepe also on board. Gavin Bennett will serve as Head of Delegation (HOD).

The SA National Men’s U23 team preparing for the World Cup in Nicaragua will be led by Clive Pretorius, with Theodore Speelman, Daniel Mokgehle, Jonathan Viljoen, and Tyrone Baglione named as assistant coaches. Lindi Leigh Erasmus has been appointed as HOD.

For the SA National Boys U18 team preparing for the African Championships, Liall Mauritz has been named Head Coach together with assistant coaches Daniel Coetzer, Kyle Titus, and Talent Rikhotso. Lionel Long will serve as HOD.

The SA National Boys U15 team heading to the World Cup in Mexico will be led by Paul van der Merwe as Head Coach, assisted by Gareth Long, Tony Alexander, and Thabang Letsoalo, while Deidre Marquard has been appointed as HOD.

For the SA National Boys U12 team preparing for the African Championships, Shawn Schwartz has been appointed as Head Coach alongside assistant coaches Quinton Amos and Alroy Savides. Daryn-Ann Boniface will serve as the Head of Delegation.

“I am happy to see continuity within our national programmes while also drawing from the national footprint of our coaching structures across South Africa, with a strong focus towards international participation and competitiveness,” said Marc Moreau, President of South African Baseball Union. “The commission recommendations also see a more focused approach towards category-specialist coaching across the various national programmes. I want to thank the provinces for their input and all the coaches and HOD’s who have once again put up their hand to support South African Baseball.“

South African Baseball Coaching Staffs
Senior: Tyrone Baglione (Head Coach); Dean Mckinon, Daryn Smith, Kevin Leak, and Neil Adonis; Gift Ngoepe (Coach Consultant).
U23: Clive Pretorius (Head Coach); Theodore Speelman, Daniel Mokgehle, Jonathan Viljoen, and Tyrone Baglione.
U18: Liall Mauritz (Head Coach); Daniel Coetzer, Kyle Titus, and Talent Rikhotso.
U15: Paul van der Merwe (Head Coach); Gareth Long, Tony Alexander, and Thabang Letsoalo.
U12: Shawn Schwartz (Head Coach); Quinton Amos and Alroy Savides.

South African Baseball also confirmed the additional Elite Training Squad (ETS) [link] coaching structures across the various national programmes as part of the federation’s continued focus on player development and expanding the national coaching pipeline.

South African Baseball Elite Training Squad Coaching Structure
Senior: Tyrone Baglione.
U23: Mark Du Plessis, Braydon Bartle, and Clint Alfino.
U18: Duwane Peters, Reece Groenewald, and Lance Gordon.
U15: Clifford White, Clifton Barnes, and Hendrik Swafo.
U12: Ian Smith, Shawn Garett, Brendon Jooste, Ricardo Marinus, Rey Van Der Ross, and Adam Boniface.

The Mid-America League’s (MAL) Beaumont Oil Barons have signed Croatia’s Bartol Bosanac and France’s Theo García for the 2026 season. The MAL was founded in 2024 to provide opportunities to amateur players, including, but not limited to university players. Beaumont (Texas) is one of four new teams this season, which began play last week.

Bosanac plays for Olimpija Karlovac, long-time juggernauts of the Croatian Baseball League and a force on the European stage. Last year, Karlovac competed in the European Champions Cup, the top level of European club baseball, and it will host the the Confederation Cup this summer. Last year, the young Bosanac pitched in four games for Olimpija, striking out seven in eight innings [stats], his second year pitching in the Hrvatski Baseball Savez.

Capable of playing second, third, and all three outfield positions, thus Bosanac he has only seen action in the field, hitting .200/.200/.233 in nine games. Across the last three seasons, he has a .221/.312/.267 average in 66 games, adding 19 stolen bases. It will be his first experience in the North America.

A statement from the club noted, ‘A big step towards college and professional baseball! Another proof that hard work and dedication are definitely recognized.‘

García, meanwhile, played this spring for New Mexico Junior College as a catcher, seeing action in two games and going 1-for-6 with a walk and a double. The first-year Thunderbird is teammates with the Netherlands’ Tobias Imming. In France, he trained for Pôle Espoir Baseball Montpelier and has played for State Toulousain Tigers in Division 1, for whom he has seen significant playing time over the past two years. In particular, he has shown promise behind the plate, where he threw out 6-of-15 baserunners stealing last year while committing only one error in 13 games.

The Oil Barons are new for 2026 and will play Lamar University’s Vincent Beck Stadium, competiting against teams from Bryan (Texas), Fort Scott (Kansas), Meridian (Kansas), Nacogdoches (Texas), and Piney Woods (Texas).

Those who wish to keep track of Bosanac and García’s seasons can do so on the league website [link]. Bosanac has not appeared in the two games for which box scores are available, while García started at catcher on May 22 against Bryan, going 0-for-1 with four walks in a 9-8 victory [box].

Mid-America League rosters include up to 40 players from NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, community college and junior college players, along with select players who may have exhausted their college eligibility but want to maintain their amateur playing status. Players stay with host families in their local market during the season. Teams employ a head coach, pitching coach, and hitting coach who will work exclusively in the summer to coach and manage their Mid America League team.

Other international players in the league iclude Ki-jun Ham (South Korea), Maikol Pérez (Cuba), Birgilito Santana (Virgin Islands), Keisuke Shibata (Japan), and Hunter Southey (New Zealand), along with several players from the Dominican Republic.

Translation from Croatian by Google.

Eight baseball teams from six countries descended on Attnang-Puchheim for the annual Finkstonball tournament and music festival, which also features a women’s fastpitch tournament. The event was found in 1997, and takes place each spring over the Pentecost long weekend.

Baseball Jobs Overseas’ (BBJO) Globetrotters all-star squad and the host club Athletics were perfect through group play, before BBJO dispatched Budapest Red Wolves 8-4 in one semifinal and Attnang-Puchheim survived a nail-biting semi with Croatia’s Vindija Varaždin, 3-2. The Globetrotters then earned their fifth consecutive Finkstonball title with a 7-2 victory in the final.

Final Standings

Full results can be found here [link].

The cities of Dornbirn and Hard in Vorarlberg, the far western state of Austria, hosted four national teams over the weekend in the inaugural Alpine International Baseball Trophy. Organised by Austrian Baseball Softball Federation, its national team was joined by Germany, Slovakia, and Switzerland in a round-robin tournament over May 23–25. Deutschland Baseball swept through the event with three wins, while Austria finished second.

Germany posted three convincing wins, dispatching Austria and Switzerland in seven innings before Slovakia jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the middle of the third. The Slovakian baseball nine still held a 5-2 advantage in the bottom of the seventh, before Germany posted five runs to surge ahead. The highest-ranked nation in the competition outscored opponents 34–5 in three games.

Austria’s Felix Stephan went 4-for-6 with two doubles and two walks to slash .667/.750/1.000, while Jacob Ritter was super for Slovakia, hitting .636/.692/.727 with a tournament-leading seven hits in 11 at bats. Germany’s Jules Moser scored six runs as part of a .375/.538/.875 showing, hitting one of the three home runs in the event. The others came from the bats of Österreich’s Moritz Riedmann, who had a double, a triple, and a dinger in three games, and Julian Faulhaber. Kenny Fermín (.455/.538/.818) and Simon Keimes (.462/.429/.769) also excelled for Germany, while Darrion Richard led the tournament in stolen bases (4), scored five runs, drew three walks, and collected a double and two singles for the victors (.273/.467/.364).

Philipp Kleehaupt (Germany) and Samuel Deák (Slovakia) each turned in a dominant pitching performance. Kleehaupt drew the start against the hosts and punched out eight in four shutout innings, permitting only a double and two walks in that time. Meanwhile, the Slovakian right-hander shut down the Swiss, topping the Alpine International Baseball Trophy in strikeouts (11) and innings (6.1), allowing two unearned runs on a single while working around six walks.

It is unknown if the event was sanctioned by the WBSC and, therefore, whether any world ranking points were available.

Final Standings

Results [Link]
May 23
Switzerland 2 – Slovakia 12 (7)
Germany 14 – Austria 0 (7)

May 24
Germany 11 – Switzerland 0 (7)
Slovakia 1 – Austria 11 (8)

May 25
Slovakia 5 – Germany 9
Switzerland 1 – Austria 16 (5)

The Tenerife Marlins advanced to the Final Four of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe, joining Curaçao Neptunus, which later won for a third time at the familiar confines of the Familiestadion. Heidenheim Heideköpfe finished third, while Nettuno 1945 rounded out the group.

Tenerife 13 – Heidenheim 3
The Germans took advantage of early miscues to take a 3-0 lead in the third, but Lesther Galvan mashed a two-run homer for the Marlins in the next half frame. Heideköpfe retained the lead for another inning before Jesús Ustariz tied the game with an RBI-single in the top of the sixth. Ian Péres followed with his third home run in two games, and seven more runs in the eighth ended the game early. One-time Minnesota Twin Niklas Rimmel earned the win with seven strong innings, permitting only five hits and no walks. [Game Wrap]

Rotterdam 3 – Nettuno 0
In one of closest games of the Baseball Champions League, Neptunus broke a scoreless draw in the bottom of the fifth with two runs on an RBI-triple from Darryl Collins and a run-scoring two-bagger from Drew Janssen. Koen Postelmans was effectively win, working around five base on balls but only three hits in six innings for the win, while Aaron de Groot was superb to close things out, retiring all eight Nettuno hitters he faced. Hector García tossed four shutout frames with five punch-outs for the Italians. [Game Wrap]

The Final Four will be played a single site currently under bidding on Sept. 26–27, featuring single-game semifinals and championship game.

Related Articles
Baseball Champions League Europe [link]
BCL Rotterdam Day 1 [link]
BCL Rotterdam Day 2 [link]
BCL Regensburg Day 1 [link]
BCL Regensburg Day 2 [link]

In what amounted to a one-game playoff, Draci Brno advanced to the Final Four of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe with a victory over Twins Oosterhout. The Czech Extraliga club finished second in the Regensburg Group behind Parma 1949, which finished undefeated after a commanding win.

Draci 9 – Oosterhout 3
The Twins jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, but lost starting pitcher Misja Harcksen to an injury in the second. Brno’s first baseman Martin Pernička responded immediately with an RBI-single, the first blow of a monster day, in which he went yard twice and drove in five runs from the eight-hole. Filip Čapka earned the victory by tossing 6.2 frames of two-run ball, while seven Twins saw action on the mound. [Game Wrap]

Parma 18 – Regensburg 5
As it did in all three games, the hosts jumped out to an early advantage, but were undone by a big inning. With a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second, Parma posted eight runs in the frame, capped by a grand slam from Noel González. Manuel Geraldo and Sebastiano Catellani also hit home runs for Parma, which iced the game via mercy rule after seven. González collected six RBI and two hits on the day, while Geraldo went 4-for-5. Naykel Cruz allowed only a run in four innings, whiffing six, and reliever Juan Carlos Infante Jr. earned the win. Thomas Kinskofer slugged a home run as part of a perfect 3-for-3 day for the Legionaere. [Game Wrap]

The Final Four will be played a single site currently under bidding on Sept. 26–27, featuring single-game semifinals and championship game.

Related Articles
Baseball Champions League Europe [link]
BCL Regensburg Day 1 [link]
BCL Regensburg Day 2 [link]
BCL Rotterdam Day 1 [link]
BCL Rotterdam Day 2 [link]

Parma 1949 qualified for the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe Final Four, while Draci Brno mounted a comeback against the hosts Legionaere, to eliminating them and setting up a playoff against the Honkbal Hoofdklasse’s Twins Oosterhout.

Parma 6 – Oosterhout 2
Former MLB slugger Robel García gave Parma a lead it would not surrender with a solo shot in the first inning. Former Minor League Matteo Bocchi gave his team six solid innings, punching out eight, while World Baseball Classic alum Claudio Scotti took care of the final three, whiffing four. Neither issued a free pass in the game. Robb Paller went yard again for the Twins, one of 10 hits for the Dutch club. [Game Wrap]

Brno 11 – Regensburg 7
The Legionaere started strong, posting four runs in the top of the first, but the Czech Dragons immediately answered with three of their own, setting the tone for a wild game in which at least one of the teams scored in eight of the nine innings. Brno tied the game in the bottom of the second, taking the lead in the bottom of the fourth, and adding two more in the sixth on a José Colina home run. However, a three-run rally in the seventh, highlighted by a two-run shot from Domenic Rauwolf, drew the game to 9-7. Luis Moncada slammed the door for Brno, firing two scoreless innings with four Ks. [Game Wrap]

Related Articles
BCL Regensburg Day 1 [link]
BCL Rotterdam Day 1 [link]
Baseball Champions League Europe [link]

Curaçao Neptunus secured first place in its group on the second day of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe in front of a home crowd in the Familiestadion. Earlier in the day, Tenerife Marlins eliminated Nettuno 1945 and will face Heidenheim Heideköpfe for the right to advance to the BCL semifinals.

Neptunus 6 – Heidenheim 0
Juan Carlos Sulbaran spurred on Neptunus Rotterdam to the first shutout win of the Baseball Champions League Europe with seven four-hit innings, back by a solid defence and three hits apiece from Marnix Ruben and former Royals’ minor leaguer Darryl Collins. [Game Wrap]

Tenerife 16 – Nettuno 6
Tenerife celebrated its first Champions League win at the end of a slugfest. The two teams combined for half a dozen roundtrippers, with Ian Péres (Tenerife) and Eliezer d’Amico (Nettuno) hitting a pair apiece. Whilst the Marlins finsihed with a 10-run advantage, the game was tied at four through four innings. Péres knocked in a whopping six runs, while d’Amico drove was responsible for four of his team’s six markers. Pablo Guillén went the distance for the victors, striking out 11. [Game Wrap]

Related Articles
BCL Rotterdam Day 1 [link]
BCL Regensburg Day 1 [link]
Baseball Champions League Europe [link]

South Africa Baseball has released preliminary details of a two-part tour of Europe this autumn. The men’s senior national team will first compete in the African Championships in July [link], before heading into a European tour that includes games in Spain, followed by an international tournament in France in September and October.

On Dec. 7, 2017, the French Baseball and Softball Federation (FFBS) and the South Africa Baseball Union signed a partnership agreement at the 2017 WBSC Congress. The agreement set the course for the 2018 Friendship Series, in which the French senior national team played South Africa in November 2018 at Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. It was also meant to confirm South Africa’s participation in the 2019 Yoshida Challenge in France, though this did not occur.

South Africa and France played each other for the first time in South Africa in the 1993 IBA President’s Cup and again in Paris for the 1994 World Cup Qualifier. The two teams then played each other again during the 2001 World Cup. The last game played between the countries in an international tournament was in 2012 at the World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Florida, which South Africa won 5-2 in 11 innings. The two were in the same tournament in the 2023 WBC Qualifier, but did not meet each other.

The Friendship Series was a resounding success, with both teams fielding full national squads and the games going off without a hitch. The hosts took five of the seven games. All told, South Africa holds a 8-5 advantage, with a 7-2 record since 2001.

It is unclear what “international tournament” is scheduled for this September and October in France, as the Yoshida Challenge is only due to return in 2027.

Meanwhile, South Africa and Spain have tangled in qualifying events for the last two World Baseball Classic tournaments. In 2022, Spain survived a two-run, ninth-inning comeback to win 5-4 in Regensburg, while four years later in Taiwan, Spain jumped ahead early and coasted to a 9-1 victory.

South Africa announced an Elite Training Squad (ETS) for 2026 competitions. The press release [link] noted, “Many of these players have played together since childhood, building strong connections within the national system, while the ETS continues to provide opportunity for new players to break into the senior setup through performances at national level.“

The Senior Men’s ETS Squad includes Robert Ackermann, Brandon Bleeker, Brandon Bouillon, Jason Carelse, Keenan Clarke, Kevin Costigan, Vince Deyzel, Matthew Diedericks, Rowan Ebersohn, Jared Elario, Dayle Feldtman, Dean Jacobs, Jesse Johnson, Damon King, Trystan Mills, Tyrone Milne, Victor Ngoepe, Dylan O’Brien, Yahya Patel, Damian Perkins, Jonathan Philips, Tyler Smith, Lloyd Stevens, William Thomason, Joshua Wentzel and Jaryd White.

A pair of high-scoring games on Day One of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe at Rotterdam’s Familiestadion produced wins for Heidenheim Heidekoepfe and the host club, Curaçao Neptunus. The competition is modelled after a similar tournament of domestic champions in the Americas, and has essentially replaces the former CEB and WBSCE Champions Cup [link].

Heidenheim Heidekoepfe 9 – Nettuno 1945 7
In the BCL opener, Heidenheim jumped out to an 8-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth, but Nettuno started a comeback attempt with a three-run home run by designated hitter Lorenzo Barbona. Nathanael Batista added a solo shot of his own. In the fifth, German manager Klaus Eckle brought in Game Two starter Logan Hofman to close things out, and his 3.1 innings of one-hit relief iced the game. Former Mariners’ farmhand and long-time Hoofdlkasse ace Lars Huijer earned the win. [Game Wrap]

Curaçao Neptunus 15 – Tenerife Marlins 4
Tenerife’s leadoff hitter — and ex-Cubs farmhand — Frank Hernández homered on the first pitch he saw, but Dutch veteran Shairon Martis settled in for the next 6.2 frames to earn the victory. Dwayne Kemp mashed a four-bagger and two doubles to lead the Dutch lineup, and Neptunus went on to win by mercy rule in eight. Lesther Galvan smashed a solo shot for the Spanish club. [Game Wrap]

Parma 1949 started the day with a dominant victory, while the Oosterhout Twins won a nailbiter with the home side on the first day of play in the Baseball Champions League Europe (BCL). The competition is modelled after a similar tournament of domestic champions in the Americas, and has essentially replaces the former CEB and WBSCE Champions Cup [link].

Parma 1949 12 – Draci Brno 2
Milan Prokop hit a two-run homer off Raymond Figueredo in the bottom of the first to give the Czechs an early lead, but Parma responded with a five-run third, highlighted by Ericson Leonora’s grand slam. Robel Garcia added a two-run shot in the ninth, and Yomel Rivera earned the win with three shutout innings of relief. Long-time Chiba Lotte Marines’ (NPB) veteran Takashi Ogino had a double and two singles from the leadoff position for Brno, while prospect Michal Šindelka had a two-bagger and a base knock. [Game Wrap]

Oosterhout Twins 2 – Guggenberger Legionaere 1
Ayumu Ishikawa won a pitching duel against Christian Pedrol as the Twins squeaked by Regensburg on their home turf. Ishikawa allowed one run over six innings, and Israel Baseball national-teamer Robert Paller provided the tie-breaker with a solo shot in the top of the fifth. Three pitchers toed the rubber for each side, combining for 11 strikeouts apiece. Pedro’s eight — in five innings — led the way. [Game Wrap]

According to an announcement from South Africa Baseball, there will an African Baseball Championship in July. Thus far, the WBSC has yet to release any statement on the tournament, nor is any host known. The last tournament to decide an African champion was 2019, with the winner, South Africa, then qualifying for the 2020 Europe-Africa Olympic Qualification Tournament in Italy. Five other African Championships have been contested (1992, 1993, 1995, 2001, 2007), while baseball has been played at two All-Africa Games (1999, 2003). South Africa has won all eight events.

South Africa announced an Elite Training Squad (ETS) for 2026 competitions. The press release [link] noted, “Many of these players have played together since childhood, building strong connections within the national system, while the ETS continues to provide opportunity for new players to break into the senior setup through performances at national level.“

The Senior Men’s ETS Squad includes Robert Ackermann, Brandon Bleeker, Brandon Bouillon, Jason Carelse, Keenan Clarke, Kevin Costigan, Vince Deyzel, Matthew Diedericks, Rowan Ebersohn, Jared Elario, Dayle Feldtman, Dean Jacobs, Jesse Johnson, Damon King, Trystan Mills, Tyrone Milne, Victor Ngoepe, Dylan O’Brien, Yahya Patel, Damian Perkins, Jonathan Philips, Tyler Smith, Lloyd Stevens, William Thomason, Joshua Wentzel and Jaryd White.

Vytas Valinčius has written his name into the history of NCAA baseball. In a Southeastern Conference (SEC) post-season tournament between Mississippi State University (MSU) and the University of Missouri, Valinčius became the first player ever in the storied event to hit two home runs in the same inning.

The historic moment occurred in the sixth inning with MSU batting. Valinčius led off with a solo shot to left field. However, he did not stop there, returning to the plate with two outs and runners on second and third. The leftfielder then torched a ball to left center to cap the eight-run inning.

It has been another strong season for the Chicago-born Valinčius, who has a .363/.443/.560 line in 33 games as a postgraduate [graduate] student at Mississippi State. In four NCAA Division I seasons, he has a career .317/.418/.520 line in 145 games, with 81 walks, 105 strikeouts, and 12 stolen bases. Born to two Lithuanian parents, Valinčius has represented his country of heritage four times since 2021, recording a career line of .370/.471/.778 eight eight games, during which he has hit three home runs and two doubles, walked six times, and swiped six bags.

Vytas’ younger brother Tomas Valinčius, a major draft prospect for 2027, also made a significant contribution in the 12-2 victory for the Bulldogs. The team’s starting pitcher recorded eight strikeouts in six innings, surrendering only one unearned run on five hits and no walks, to win his tenth game of the season. In 15 starts, he has thrown 86 innings, striking out a whopping 120 (34.3 percent) and issuing only 17 free passes (4.9 percent) with a 2.93 ERA. Only 20, he is in his second of university baseball.

After this impressive victory, the Mississippi State Bulldogs advanced to the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, where they lost to SEC regular season winner and eventual tournament champion Georgia.

The first-ever edition of the Baseball Champions League (BCL) Europe begins tomorrow in Regensburg, Germany, and Rotterdam, Netherlands. The BCL is modelled after a similar tournament of domestic champions in the Americas that has been contested since 2023, and there are hopes for a global tournament one day [link]. The competition effectively replaces the long-time Champions Cup, which ceased to include Dutch or Italian clubs in 2024 [link] and is now effectively defunct.

Eight teams are placed into two groups in the First Round, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the Final Four. The First Round is scheduled for May 22–24. 2026 and will be played as two separate round-robin competitions. The Final Four is set for September 26–27, 2026, with the host to be determined following the completion of the First Round. The winner will be considered the European baseball club champion.

Group A will be hosted Rotterdam’s Familiestadion and includes Curaçao Neptunus (Netherlands’ Honkbal Hoofdklasse), Heidenheim Heidekoepfe (Deutsche Baseball Liga), Nettuno B.C. 1945 (Italy’s Serie A), and Tenerife Marlins (Spanish Baseball League). Regensburg’s Armin-Wolf-Arena is the site of Group B competition, which features 1949 Parma Baseball (Italy’s Serie A), Draci Brno (Czech Extraliga), Regensburg Legionäre (Deutsche Baseball Liga), and Twins Oosterhout (Netherlands’ Honkbal Hoofdklasse).

From 1963 to 2023, the Champions Cup featured the winners of Europe’s top domestic leagues and cups and the title-holder was the European club champion. Over time, other cups were brought into promotion and relegation for the Champions Cup, with three tiers below. In 2024 and 2025, the Champions Cup was contested only by Czech and German teams. Those countries’ top circuits now feature in the BCL. Neither press releases not the Tournament Regulations [link] stipulate how the teams are selected or if promotion and relegation exists.

For 2026, four cups in a tiered system continue to exist, with the BCL as a separate entity. These include three previously contested cups: the Confederation Cup, the Federation Cup, and the Federation Cup Qualifier. A new cup, the European Cup, has been added.

By Gabriel Fidler.

One day after receiving a promotion to the Blue Jays, Adam Macko is officially a big leaguer. With Toronto facing the New York Yankees in Yankee Stadium on May 18, Macko retired three batters, earning a hold in his major league debut. In doing so, he becomes the fourth Slovakian to play in the big leagues, but is the first player who was born in independent Slovakia, or learned baseball before moving to the U.S., to make it to the big show.

The Slovakian southpaw entered two two outs in the bottom of the sixth with Toronto leading the Yankees 5-3 and a runner on first, inducing a ground ball from J.C. Escarra to end the inning. He returned for the seventh, getting another grounder, this time from the right-handed Paul Goldschmid, a lefty masher. After a long line drive was caught by Yohendrick Pinango in right field, Macko’s day was done.

Three previous players were born in towns now in Slovakia: Jack Quinn, Elmer Valo, and Carl Linhart. Technically, however, Quinn was born in the Habsburg Empire, while Valo and Linhart were born in Czechoslovakia. By common practice in sports, they would be considered Slovakian major leaguers, but each of the trio learned the sport only after moving to the U.S.

Quinn is an interest case, as he was born Johannes Pajkos (‘naughty’ in Hungarian!) in Stefurov in 1883, and arrived in the U.S. as a one-year-old. His mother died shortly thereafter, and he worked in coal mines from the age of 12. He played baseball in the afternoons, and eventually escaped the mines and road the rails for some years before a strong throw of an errant baseball before a semi-pro game earned him a shot.

By then known as Jack Quinn, he eventually made it to the bigs in 1909, and pitched for 23 years, winning 247 games with a 3.29 ERA. When he retired he was one of only two or three remaining spitballers, the pitch having been made illegal. He had turned 50 during the season, making him one of the oldest regulars in major league history. Pajkos was considered four times for the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame and is still No. 45 in innings pitched (3,920.3), No. 51 in wins, and No. 68 in Pitcher WAR (59.4). See SABR’s BioProject for more [link].

Valo was the next to debut and, like Pajkos, had immigrated to coal-mining country in Pennsylvania as a boy. Born Imrich Valo in 1921 in Rybník, he arrived in the U.S. as a six-year-old. He learned baseball in school and was signed by the Philadelpha Athletics after high school, debuting in the bigs at only 19. Valo played 20 seasons as a corner outfielder, finishing with a .282/.398/.391 slash line and 110 stolen bases. His on-base percentage is still ranked No. 71 among major leaguers thanks to 942 career base on balls (156th all-time). Valo also made it onto the Hall of Fame ballot.

By then known as Jack Quinn, he eventually made it to the bigs in 1909, and pitched for 23 years, winning 247 games with a 3.29 ERA. When he retired he was one of only two or three remaining spitballers, the pitch having been made illegal. He had turned 50 during the season, making him one of the oldest regulars in major league history. Pajkos was considered four times for the U.S. Baseball Hall of Fame and is still No. 45 in innings pitched (3,920.3), No. 51 in wins, and No. 68 in Pitcher WAR (59.4). See SABR’s BioProject for more [link].

Overlapping with Valo was Linhart, born in Zborov in 1929. His family moved to Illinois while he was little, and he signed with the Detroit Tigers after high school. He played eight years in the minors as an outfielder and occasional catcher, hitting .285/~.399/.437, earning a call-up from Single-A at only 22. Linhart appeared in three games as a pinch hitter and pinch runner for the Tigers, going 0-for-2. Detroit did not face the A’s in any of the three games, thus preventing two Slovakians from appearing in a major league game.

There are currently 27 Europeans in MLB organizations. You can see our latest update on their progress this season here [link].

By Gabriel Fidler.

A long journey that took Adam Macko from Bratislava to Greystones (Ireland) to Vauxhall (Alta.) has paid off, as the 25-year-old left-hander has been called to the major leagues by the Toronto Blue Jays. It has been a whirlwhind year for the pitching prospect, as he excelled for quarterfinal-bound Canada in the World Baseball Classic and now becomes the first Slovakian in the big leagues since 1961.

Macko cut his teeth in school after a chance trial on sports day, entering the Apollo Bratislava club. After moving to Ireland not long after, he joined the (then) Greystones Mariners’ club, playing for its Little League team. After two seasons, the Mackos were on the move again, this time ending up in Alberta, Canada, where he was offered a place at the elite Vauxhall Academy, which has produced 18 MLB draft picks.

The 6-0 southpaw has featured on team prospect lists for the Mariners, who drafted Macko from Vauxhall Baseball Academy (Alta.) in the seventh round of the 2019 MLB Draft, and for the Jays. This year, Baseball America, Fangraphs, and MLB.com all have him within the Top 25 Toronto farmhands, with Fangraphs placing him most highly at No. 17. His stock had been even higher in the past two years, as Macko made it to Triple-A in his age-23 season (2024), spending most of 2025 with the Buffalo Bisons. Injuries has prevented him from topping 100 innings in a season; thus, in an effort to keep him healthy, the Jays have had him working in relief this year.

So far, in 13 games, Macko has tossed 18 innings, striking out 19 (9.5 per nine innings) and allowing only 13 hits. Eight walks (4.0 per nine), but no hit batters, has led to a strong 1.17 WHIP, while his ERA is 4.50. These numbers are in line with his career statistics of a 4.53 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 11.3 strikeouts per nine, and 4.2 walks per nine.

Read more on Macko’s callup here [link]. There are currently 27 Europeans in MLB organizations. You can see our latest update on their progress this season here [link].

Five current minor leaguers were born and developed in Africa. Veteran Tayler Scott (South Africa) and young prospect David Matoma (Uganda) are both struggling with the strike zone. The final three (two Dodgers, one Pirate) are in the Dominican Summer League; we are unlikely to have any updates from them until June.

Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2025 (playing age this season).

Triple-A (1)
Tayler Scott (34), Atlanta Braves. South Africa. Gwinnett Stripers.
Scott had five consecutive games allowing at least two runs in 1-2 inning stints before a shutout 0.1 inning outing May 9. The veteran righty reliever has an abnormally high .356 batting average against and an 8.79 ERA. He has walked 13 and allowed 21 hits in 14.1 innings while striking out 18.  
Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (1)

David Matoma (20), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. FCL Pirates.
Matoma often pitches at 97–98 m.p.h. and topped 100 earlier this season, but he is battling his command. In nine games and 8.2 innings with the Single-A Bradenton Marauders, he has given up 11 hits and walked 14 for a 12.46 ERA and 0-2 record. After he walked three while recording only one out on May 3, Matoma was demoted back to the Florida Complex League. He has yet to appear in a game there.

Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (3)
The Dominican Summer League spring training is underway, and official games will begin June 1.

Allen Ajoti (22), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. DSL LAD Bautista.
Ajoti played 32 games last summer with a slash line of .192/.283/.414. He hit six home runs while stirking out 31 times, walking nine times, and stealing four bases without being caught. He split his time between catcher, left field, and DH, with a couple of appearances at 1B as well. However, the Lugazi native has reportedly been working out as a pitcher this spring.

Joseph Deng Thon (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. South Sudan/Uganda. DSL LAD Mega.
The first South Sudanese player to sign a professional contract, Deng struggled in his debut season with 22 walks in 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out five and allowed only a single hit. Deng grew up in Uganda and learned the game at the same field as previous Dodgers signings Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male, along with David Matoma of the Pirates.

Armstrong Muhoozi (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. DSL Pirates Gold.
Muhoozi finished his streaky 2025 season with 36 games played, missing more than two weeks with a minor groin injury. He stole 24 bases in 28 attempts while hitting .246/.350/.339. The centerfielder had eight extra base hits, 15 walks, and 28 strikeouts, scoring 26 runs and knocking in 16.

Articles in This Year’s Series
April [link].

By DZ. Filed May 11, 2026.

Italy’s Sam Aldegheri pitched in the big leagues for the second time this season; Spain’s Omar Hernández (a catcher) is hitting .295 and playing regularly in Double-A; and recent Netherlands draftee Tyriq Kemp (a middle infielder) is hitting .288. Meanwhile, Italian lefty Nicolo Pinazzi is already making the most of his return to affiliated baseball, jumping two levels to Triple-A for a successful appearance, Swiss lefty Dominic Scheffler is finding his groove, and Netherlands’ catcher Keegan Pieternella has been promoted to the USA. Finally, we bid farewell to Dutchman Kay-Lan Nicasia, who was released.

As a quick reminder, this series is not a list of national team representation or of country-by-birth — we are trying to highlight players whose baseball development happened in Europe. If you know someone who spent time in youth baseball in Europe who is not listed here, please let us know.

Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2026 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; FG (Fangraphs): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.

“NR” denotes not ranked (only included for players listed in other rankings).

Triple-A (4)
Sam Aldegheri (24), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. BA: 15; FG: 17; MLB: 16.Aldegheri had his second short stint in the big leagues this year, making a four-inning spot start last week before being optioned back to Salt Lake the next day. Across six starts and seven games, the LHP has a big-league ERA of 4.76 and a minor league ERA of 7.77. He has tallied 30 innings between Triple-A and MLB with 25 strikeouts and 16 walks.
Adam Macko (25), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Buffalo Bisons. BA: 25; FG: 17; MLB: 21.
Macko remains in relief and has allowed runs in three of his four appearances over the last two-plus weeks. In those 4.2 innings, he has walked four and struck out six, allowing five hits and five runs. He is 2-2 with a 5.17 ERA for the year.  

Ernesto Martínez Jr. (27), New York Yankees. France. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders.
Martinez has a couple of home runs and a double over the last two weeks, though he is hitting .188 thus far in May. The first baseman has a .257 average, .325 on base percentage, and .505 slugging percentage for the year.

Sem Robberse (24), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: NR; FG: 22; MLB: NR.
The right-handed pitcher is on the 60-day injured list.

Double-A (3)
Alessandro Ercolani (22), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Altoona Curve.
The San Marinese righty started the year on the IL with shoulder problems, but he has now returned. Ercolani had two appearances on rehab assignment with Pittsburgh’s Single-A club, pitching 4.1 innings with one run allowed, walking three and striking out five. He had a quick one-inning return to Double-A, with no hits and one strikeout. His second outing was 1.2 innings, with two walks and a hit batter, two hits, and five runs scored; he also had 2 strikeouts.

Omar Hernández (24), Kansas City Royals. Spain. NW Arkansas Naturals.
After a hot start, Hernandez has three hits in his last 17 at bats with one walk and six strikeouts. He has stolen a couple more bases, with six in seven attempts. Despite the short slump, the catcher retains a .295 batting average for the year.

Kay-Lan Nicasia (26), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Biloxi Shuckers.
Nicasia was released last week after starting 3-for-36 with 19 strikeouts (and five stolen bases), cutting his sixth season with the Brewers and of his career short. The infielder wraps up his time in the minors with a .197/.317/.345 triple-slash line with 22 home runs and 56 stolen bases in 268 games.
High-A (1)

Tyriq Kemp (23), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Kemp is hitting .288 with nine stolen bases and is alternating time between shortstop and second base as a regular starter. He has an on-base percentage of .408. He has been limited to one extra base hit thus far in May, but his four home runs in April are already on the books, leaving him with a slugging percentage of .475. He has walked 14 times and struck out at the same rate, for a strong 18 percent rate in each.

Single-A (6)
Ettore Giulianelli (23), Cleveland Guardians. Italy. Hill City Howlers.
Giulianelli has given up one run in his last three appearances. In those 4.1 innings, there have been four hits, three walks, and three strikeouts. He has a 4.50 ERA for the season, with one win and one hold.

Brandon Herbold (22), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Columbia Fireflies.
Herbold has pitched in four more games since we last checked (when he still had an ERA of 0.00), giving up four runs across two appearances in late April but putting up zeros in his last two. He has a 3.60 ERA with seven walks plus hit batters and 16 strikeouts. The southpaw has struck out 31.4 percent of batters faced this year, with his lowest walk rate (11.8 percent) since 2023.

Mathias LaCombe (24), Chicago White Sox. France. Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. BA: 11; FG: 29; MLB: 17.
LaCombe just pitched his first inning of the 2026 season on a rehab assignment in the Arizona Complex League. He gave up one hit and struck out one.

Nicolo Pinazzi (26), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
Pinazzi’s story was already pretty wild [see last month’s update: link], but playing in the Angels’ minor league system adds another potential level of madness. That became true last week when the lefty was swiftly called up from Single-A to Triple-A, where he pitched two hitless innings (walking two and striking out two) to earn the win, before returning to the Single-A California League. Pinazzi is old for the level at Single-A, but he is doing what he should in that case, striking out 17 in 10.2 innings with only three runs allowed. He has a 2.31 ERA and 1.54 WHIP with one hold and two saves for the Quakes.

Dominic Scheffler (22), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. Daytona Tortugas.
Scheffler has had two strong appearances since our last look, totaling four shutout innings with only one hit and one hit batter while striking out two and recording a save. His season ERA sits at 8.00, and he has not pitched since April 28.

Yannic Walther (22), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. Wilson Warbirds.
Walther has played in 20 games already this season, all of them as the catcher. He has a homer and a double amongst his nine hits, and he has walked 10 times. His slash line is .138/.250/.200.

Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (6)
The U.S. rookie season just began on May 2, so the results thus far are limited.

Peter Bonilla (21), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain.  ACL Dodgers.
The Barcelona lefty begins his fifth season in the Dodgers’ organization. He has pitched twice, covering three innings, earning a win while allowing only two hits and striking out three. However, Bonilla has walked five players, helping lead to six runs allowed.

Tijn Fredrikze (19), New York Yankees. Netherlands. FCL Yankees.
The Neptunus lefty has yet to debut, and he has been placed on the injured list to open the season.

Giaconino Lasaracina (22), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. FCL Blue Jays.
After suffering an injury on the last day of Italy’s World Baseball Classic training camp, the catcher begins the season on the injured list and has yet to debut.

Keegan Pieternella (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. FCL Blue Jays.
Rotterdam’s Pieternella was recently promoted to the U.S. complex league after one season in the DSL. He has played catcher, second base, third base, and outfield since the start of 2025, hitting .189, but getting on base at a .347 clip. He is hitless in five at bats in his first two games at the new level.

Giacomo Taschin (19), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. FCL Blue Jays.
The Italian left-hander made his pro debut on May 4 with four shutout innings. He allowed one hit and two walks while striking out three.

Gijs van den Brink (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
Gijs made just one appearance last season, dealing with a shoulder injury. He is on the 60-day injured list to start 2026.

Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (7)
The Dominican Summer League spring training is underway, and official games will begin June 1.

Tom Apfelbaum (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany.
A left-handed pitcher from Köln signed in January of this year.

Paul Hoff (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers Gold.
Hoff pitched 29.2 innings to the tune of a 3.64 ERA in his first pro season in 2024, but missed the entire 2025 season due to injury. He will return to the DSL to begin 2026.

Juan Diego Holmann (17), Minnesota Twins. Germany.
The Nicaragua native who lived from ages 10–15 in Regensburg, Germany, signed this winter with the Twins and is listed as a shortstop.

Celwin Hurkmans (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands.
Hurkmans came to agreement with Toronto this winter [link] and is likely to debut in 2026.

Jordan Ouanyou (18), Cincinnati Reds. France. DSL Rojos.
The French first baseman got his feet wet after signing in 2025, appearing in 15 games and hitting .196 with two doubles. He will start 2026 at the same level.

Ricardo Pulles (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia/Spain.
Pulles was recently based in Tenerife and is likely to debut with the Dodgers this summer.

Filippo Sabatini (19), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies White.
The righty signed in January 2025 but injured his arm before making his pro debut. His recovery timeline for 2026 remains an open question.

Articles in This Year’s Series
April [link].

Five current minor leaguers were born and developed in Africa, all returning from 2025. Tayler Scott (South Africa) has begun play for his newest organization, while David Matoma (Uganda) returns to the Bradenton Marauders. The final three (two Dodgers, one Pirate) all return to the Dominican Summer League, and we are unlikely to have any updates from them until June.

Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2025 (playing age this season).

Triple-A (1)
Tayler Scott (34), Atlanta Braves. South Africa. Gwinnett Stripers.
Scott was raised in South Africa, moved to Arizona for his last few years of high school, and he was drafted by the Chicago Cubs. The Cubs are not one of the eight MLB teams Scott has played for, but they are one of the few additional clubs, like the Braves now, for which Scott has pitched in the minors. He has appeared in eight games for Gwinnett thus far, pitching 8.1 innings with seven walks and a hit batter, nine strikeouts, and a 7.90 ERA.

Low-A (1)
David Matoma (20), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. Bradenton Marauders.
Matoma finished his first season in A-ball with a 4.25 ERA over 32 games and 42.1 innings. He returns to the level to begin 2026, and has pitched seven innings in six games, walking eight and allowing eight hits, striking out five. He has a 7.71 ERA and 2.29 WHIP.

Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (3)
The Dominican Summer League spring training is underway, and official games will begin June 1.

Allen Ajoti (22), Los Angeles Dodgers. Uganda. DSL LAD Bautista.
Ajoti played 32 games last summer with a slash line of .192/.283/.414. He hit six home runs while stirking out 31 times, walking nine times, and stealing four bases without being caught. He split his time between catcher, left field, and DH, with a couple of appearances at 1B as well. However, the Lugazi native has reportedly been working out as a pitcher this spring.

Joseph Deng Thon (19), Los Angeles Dodgers. South Sudan/Uganda. DSL LAD Mega.
The first South Sudanese player to sign a professional contract, Deng struggled in his debut season with 22 walks in 3.2 innings pitched. He struck out five and allowed only a single hit. Deng grew up in Uganda and learned the game at the same field as previous Dodgers signings Ben Serunkuma and Umar Male, along with David Matoma of the Pirates.

Armstrong Muhoozi (19), Pittsburgh Pirates. Uganda. DSL Pirates Gold.
Muhoozi finished his streaky 2025 season with 36 games played, missing more than two weeks with a minor groin injury. He stole 24 bases in 28 attempts while hitting .246/.350/.339. The outfielder had eight extra base hits, 15 walks, and 28 strikeouts, scoring 26 runs and knocking in 16.

Articles in Last Year’s Series
May [link].
June [link].
July [link].
August [link].
September [link].

Welcome back (or, if you are new, just… welcome)! The first couple of updates of the year are generally pretty thin, as we await the start of the rookie ball seasons; however, there has been a large amount of action since we wrapped up last fall. This includes several new signings (see rookie ball lists below), some starting in the Dominican, and a couple who will jump directly to the U.S. complex leagues. Additionally, there are two Italian returnees, as Ettore Giulianelli and Nicolo Pinazzi were both out of MiLB in 2025 but are back in 2026. In total, 26 Europeans will start the 2026 season with MLB organizations, four of which are ranked on at least one team top prospect list. You can see where things stood at the end of last year in our final 2025 update [link].

We have already had one European play in the big leagues this year, as Italian lefty Sam Aldegheri pitched last week for the Angels. He missed a significant chunk of spring training while with Team Italy in their World Baseball Classic semifinal run, but he still earned a major league opportunity within the first few weeks of the season and it is likely he will see plenty of time in the bigs.

Meanwhile, the elephant in the room — the European who has not played in the major leagues in 2026 — is ten-MLB season veteran Max Kepler, who tested positive for Epitrenbolone, and is thus suspended for the first 80 games. He is currently a major league free agent and, after a down season in 2025, what happens after those 80 games remains unknown.

Finally, there are a few European pros whose career opportunities are currently on hold. As our previously mentioned Italian pitchers are proving, this does not have to be forever, but we will open the new season by first honoring the careers of those who were released since we last checked in.

Key
Name (age*), organization, country, team.
*Age is as of Sept 1, 2026 (playing age this season).
Team Prospect Rankings: BA (Baseball America): #; FG (Fangraphs): #; MLB (MLB.com): #.
“NR” denotes not ranked (only included for players listed in other rankings).

Released over the Winter (4)
Tim Fischer (21), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany.
Fischer pitched three seasons in the Dodgers’ organization, two in the Dominican and one in Arizona while working around some injuries. He finishes his time in Dodger blue with 30 games, a 6.80 ERA, 49 innings, and 52 strikeouts.
Arij Fransen (25), Cincinnati Reds. Netherlands.
The right-hander made it as high as Triple-A for a single game, and he pitched the entire 2025 season in Double-A. He has a career record of 16 wins, 24 losses, and 5.62 ERA in 116 games and 302.2 innings. Fransen signed in 2019 and debuted in 2021. His entire pro career thus far was in the Cincinnati organization. He is currently a minor league free agent.
Matteo Marelli (20), New York Mets. Italy.
Marelli’s 2025 season was his only one as a Met. He pitched 13.2 innings in the Dominican, with 16 hits, 19 walks, and 12 strikeouts.
Williams Wong (20), Texas Rangers. Italy.
The infielder from Turin logged three seasons in the Rangers organization — two in the Dominican, then spending 2025 in the Arizona Complex League. In 117 professional games, Wong hit .214 with a strong .314 on-base percentage, knocking 18 doubles and stealing 10 bases.

Now, on with the updates and the new names. As a reminder (or primer, if you are just joining us), we aim to provide regular updates no more than monthly on all players in affiliated baseball whose youth development took place (at least partially) in Europe. This excludes players who competed only in tournaments or solely to travel with a national team. If you see someone missing, please comment or send us a message.

MLB (1)
Sam Aldegheri (24), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. BA: 15; FG: 17; MLB: 16.
Aldegheri’s most recent outing was his 2026 debut for the big club, pitching 1.2 innings in relief on April 16, with a pair of strikeouts, giving up two hits, one walk, and one run. Prior to that, he had made three starts for Triple-A Salt Lake, and was optioned back there after his Angels appearance. This marks the third consecutive season the young lefty from Verona has pitched in the major leagues. After originally signing with the Phillies in 2019, Aldegheri was traded to the Angels midseason in 2024 and ascended to the major league roster a month later.

Max Kepler (33), Free Agent. Germany.
It has been a rough offseason for Kepler, born and raised in Berlin. Reaching free agency again after signing a one-year, $10.5 million contract for 2025 with the Phillies, Kepler was likely looking at a paycut, but still all-but-certain to be paid seven figures in 2026 with his new team. However, in January — while still a free agent — Kepler was officially suspended for 80 games for performance enhancing drug use [link]. He is currently serving the suspension, and we await news on his next steps. He will be eligible to join an MLB organization around the All-Star break, but he is ineligible for the 2026 playoffs.
Triple-A (3)

Adam Macko (25), Toronto Blue Jays. Slovakia/Ireland. Buffalo Bisons. BA: 25; FG: 17; MLB: 21.
Macko reached Triple-A for one game in 2024 and, minus a brief rehab appearance, he spent his entire 2025 season at the level. The lefty returned to the top level of the minors for 2026 and is pitching in relief. He already has eight appearances, during which he has surrendered only seven hits, three walks, and four runs in 11 innings while striking out 12. Macko is on the 40-man roster already and, given the injuries suffered by multiple Blue Jays early this season, there is a decent chance Slovakia gets its first big leaguer since Jack Quinn retired from the Philadelphia Athletics in 1931.

Ernesto Martinez, Jr. (27), New York Yankees. France. Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders.
The large lefty first baseman made his pro debut in 2017 and had been a Brewer every step of the way until 2026. He was a minor league free agent for the second time and, this time, he swapped to pinstripes. After all of 2025 in Triple-A, Martinez, Jr. returns to the level in his new organization. In his first 18 games as a Railrider, he has nine extra base hits and two stolen bases. Overall, he is hitting .270/.324/.556 with 21 strikeouts.

Sem Robberse (24), St Louis Cardinals. Netherlands. Memphis Redbirds. BA: NR; FG: 22; MLB: NR.
Robberse had elbow surgery during the 2025 season and began the 2026 season on the 60-day injured list. He has appeared in Triple-A in each of the last three seasons. He will resume his attempt to crack a big league roster once recovered. Double-A (3)

Alessandro Ercolani (22), Pittsburgh Pirates. San Marino/Italy. Altoona Curve.
Ercolani had to be removed from Italy’s World Baseball Classic roster after suffering a shoulder injury shortly before the tournament. He has yet to appear in 2026, going on the Altoona 7-day IL at the start of the regular season. Despite spending all of last season in Double-A, he remains the youngest player on the Altoona roster and the youngest pitcher by 22 months.

Omar Hernandez (24), Kansas City Royals. Spain. NW Arkansas Naturals.
Barcelona’s Hernández is off to a scorching start. The catcher has played eight games, and he has 10 hits, three walks, and four stolen bases in five attempts. All hits have been singles, leaving him with a .370 batting average, .472 on base percentage, and .370 slugging percentage. Hernandez debuted in 2019 and has made a steady climb up the ladder, splitting the 2025 season between High-A and Double-A.

Kay-Lan Nicasia (26), Milwaukee Brewers. Netherlands. Biloxi Shuckers.
The outfielder Nicasia started 2026 with a promotion to Double-A. He has three hits and six walks through his first 12 games, stealing five bases without being caught. He has also struck out 19 times and accumulated only 3 hits. On April 22^nd, Nicasia was placed on the roster Development List, removing him from the active roster while he remains with the team.

High-A (1)
Tyriq Kemp (23), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Quad Cities River Bandits.
Kemp is a Rotterdam native who was drafted last summer out of Baylor University in Texas. He played 16 games late last summer in Single-A, and he has opened 2026 at the next step up the ladder. The middle infielder has 11 games so far this season, knocking two home runs and stealing four bases in six attempts. He is hitting .281 with a .452 OBP, having walked eight times, while going down on strikes on only five occasions.

Single-A (6)
Ettore Giulianelli (23), Cleveland Guardians. Italy. Hill City Howlers.
Giulianelli, a right-handed pitcher from Rimini who spent four seasons in the Cardinals’ system through the 2024 season, was picked up by the Guardians after a year out of organized ball. In 5.2 innings across four appearances with his new team, Giulianelli has allowed nine hits and three walks while striking out seven. He’s recorded one hold and has a 6.35 ERA and 2.12 WHIP.

Brandon Herbold (23), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. Columbia Fireflies.
Herbold is five games and 5.1 innings into his first season at A-ball, and he is making a strong first impression. He has a 1-1 record and one save in one opportunity, compiling seven strikeouts and permitting only one unearned run for a 0.00 ERA. With three walks (and a hit batter), along with five hits, his WHIP stands at 1.50.

Mathias LaCombe (24), Chicago White Sox. France. Kannapolis Cannon Ballers. BA: 11; FG: 29; MLB: 17.
LaCombe has battled injuries since he was drafted in 2023 out of Cochise College, not pitching in 2023-24 professionally and logging 53 innings in 2025. LaCombe has yet to appear in the 2026 season, but all three prospect-ranking sites are optimistic on his potential.

Nicolo Pinazzi (26), Los Angeles Angels. Italy. Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
Milan’s Pinazzi was released from his minor league contract with Cincinnati after the 2023 season. He has been playing all manner of independent ball since then, and he resurfaced to sign with the LA Angels this winter. He is currently seven games into the second act of his career and looks lights out as a veteran in Single-A, pitching seven innings and recording 13 strikeouts while walking 2. The left-handed pitcher has two saves, with a 1.43 WHIP and an ERA of 0.00.

In 2024, he appeared for three independent league teams across two leagues, punching out a whopping 58 in 37.1 innings, but with 38 hits and 32 walks (1.88 WHIP) and a 6.99 ERA. Although he improved his control in 2025 in a return to the now-independent Pioneer League, the results were still well below average. It remains to be seen whether something has clicked in his return to affiliated ball.

Dominic Scheffler (22), Cincinnati Reds. Switzerland. Daytona Tortugas.
Scheffler opened the 2025 season in Daytona, but after a month of struggles he spent the rest of the season in the Arizona Complex League. The Swiss lefty returns to Daytona to open the current season and has appeared in three games and five innings thus far. He has given up 12 hits, six of those for extra bases, while walking four and striking out six. While last year walks really set him back (47% strikes in Daytona), he’s thrown 66% strikes thus far — but a whopping 57% of contact has been hit hard in this small sample. Scheffler signed in 2023 and immediately had elbow surgery, so he’s still only 12 innings into his full season.

Yannic Walther (22), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. Wilson Warbirds.
Walther embarks on his fourth professional season catching in the Brewers organization. He played 65 games in Single-A last season and returns to the level, logging 11 games thus far. Included within were a home run, a double, four singles, and six walks for a .267 OBP. He also stole a base in his only attempt. He has struck out 20 times in 38 at bats.

Rookie League, U.S. Complex Leagues (4)
The US rookie season officially begins in early May. All of these players, minus unreported injuries, will currently be playing games at their Florida or Arizona spring training complexes in preparation — but those game results are not publicly available. We will have more to talk about in two weeks.

Peter Bonilla (21), Los Angeles Dodgers. Spain.  ACL Dodgers.
The Barcelona native is set to begin his fifth season with the Dodgers. He pitched three seasons in the Dominican Summer League before logging 22 innings in the Arizona Complex League in 2025.

Tijn Fredrikze (19), New York Yankees. Netherlands. FCL Yankees.
A left-handed pitcher from Rotterdam, he signed late autumn 2025 [link] and will make the jump directly to the States for his coming debut.

Giacomo Taschin (19), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. FCL Blue Jays.
The left-handed pitcher from Rovigo signed with the Blue Jays last summer and will begin his pro career this spring in Florida.

Gijs van den Brink (21), Kansas City Royals. Netherlands. ACL Royals.
The Utrecht lefty pitched only two innings in 2025 while batting a shoulder injury. He will return to Arizona in 2026 for his third season as a Royal.

Rookie League, Dominican Complex Leagues (9)
The Dominican Summer League spring training is underway, and official games will begin June 1.

Tom Apfelbaum (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Germany.
A left-handed pitcher from Köln, he signed January 2026 and is scheduled to debut this summer.

Paul Hoff (19), Milwaukee Brewers. Germany. DSL Brewers Gold.
Hoff pitched 29.2 innings to the tune of a 3.64 ERA in his first pro season in 2024, but missed the entire 2025 season due to injury. He will return to the DSL to begin 2026.

Juan Diego Holmann (17), Minnesota Twins. Germany.
The Nicaragua native who lived in Regensburg, Germany, from ages 10–15 signed this winter with the Twins.

Celwin Hurkmans (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands.
Hurkmans came to agreement with Toronto this winter [link] and is likely to debut in 2026. He pitched last season for DSS.

Giaconino Lasaracina (23), Toronto Blue Jays. Italy. DSL Blue Jays Red.
Italy’s slugging first baseman signed with the Jays after a breakout performance at the 2026 European Championship, and would have appeared at the World Baseball Classic for Cinderella Italian team but for a late injury. Last week, he was assigned to Toronto’s Dominican complex.

Jordan Ouanyou (18), Cincinnati Reds. France. DSL Rojos.
The French first baseman got his feet wet after signing in 2025, appearing in 15 games and hitting .196 with two doubles. He will start 2026 at the same level.

Keegan Pieternella (18), Toronto Blue Jays. Netherlands. DSL Blue Jays Blue.
The Dutch catcher played 35 games in the DSL last season and will return in 2026. He hit .200 with a .363 OBP.

Ricardo Pulles (17), Los Angeles Dodgers. Russia/Spain.
Pulles was recently based in Tenerife and is likely to debut with the Dodgers this summer.

Filippo Sabatini (19), Philadelphia Phillies. Italy. DSL Phillies White.
The righty signed in January 2025 but injured his arm before making his pro debut. His recovery timeline for 2026 remains an open question.

Articles in Last Year’s Series
May [link].
June [link].~
July [link].
August [link].
September [link].

Additional information by Gabriel Fidler.

By Jason Daniels.

During the World Baseball Classic, many players and coaches shared their wish to grow the game. This desire gained special attention for teams like Italy, where baseball exists in pockets yet its national team leans on American bloodlines to compete.

Italy’s most recognizable name in the WBC, Kansas City Royals’ first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, told reporters during pool play: “I think that’s the long-term goal for this team, to be full of purebred Italians. To open that door and show, hey, Italy has got some ball players and all you have to do is invest in them a little bit.”

In the wake of the WBC, many are asking: “What’s next?” Is growth realistic where baseball is a third-tier sport? What would growth look like? And how soon can we expect it?”

Pasquantino offered some thoughts on the topic during the tournament. “When we’re done, [Manager Francisco Cervelli] is going to go over to Italy, and he’s going to be engrained in the development over there. And he’ll be driving buses to no-name Italian cities trying to create a culture of baseball in Italy.

“We want in 20 years for the World Baseball Classic Italian team to be full of Italians, like Italian speakers from Italy. That’s the goal of this.”

Having played and coached for six seasons across Czechia, France, Germany, and Australia, I have noticed a few development patterns and parallels:

• Run-of-the-mill clinics that fail and after-school programs that land
• Coaches who carry out a task and leaders who get kids to care
• Federations that feed off a moment and governing bodies that harness a movement

At its core, baseball is a game that rewards the willing, the ones who endure, who want it, who sacrifice. Development is not a flip of the switch. And it certainly is not riding the light from a fleeting, one-off event. It is a slog and a process, owned by the people fortunate enough to enjoy it.

Historically, baseball development—loosely defined as building a base of players, governance, and resources—comes down to two drivers. Baseball developed in most places it currently exists because it either:

• helps to overcome hardship
• channels expression

Hardship
Sometimes, baseball needs conflict and grit to grow. Baseball took off on the Korean Peninsula in the early 20^th century under brutal Japanese oppression. Today, Dominican boys chase baseball for a ticket out of poverty. After the Velvet Revolution, Czechs, seeking closer ties with the West, gravitated toward baseball—and that fervor has only grown.

Expression
Mark Twain drew parallels between baseball and the American way, describing the game as the “outward and visible expression of the drive and push and rush and struggle of the raging, tearing, booming nineteenth century”. Baseball became the American pastime just as it rejected colonial by-products like cricket.

Baseball thrives in the north of Mexico where games create communal spaces for family and fun. In Australia, cricket’s popularity reflects the culture’s British ties. Yet, baseball has gained ground over the past few decades with younger Aussies, who are less drawn to tradition and more open to novelty. While many Aussies would be surprised to know that professional baseball exists in their country, Australia can—and does—call itself a baseball nation.

***

So, what does this mean for Italy and are these the only two paths?

To realize Pasquantino’s goal—a WBC team of purebred Italians 20 years from now—Italy needs a reason for their citizens to care. What did the 2026 WBC reveal? Is there a hardship baseball can solve? Can baseball provide an outlet that’s missing? Is there another reason it will succeed?

If not, it is unlikely baseball will sustainably grow.

I spent a season playing for Rouen in the French Division 1 and learned that French culture is pretty content with French culture. Baseball there is a niche novelty.

Italians also own a proud culture and do just fine expressing themselves. Would baseball satisfy something they’ve missed? Do they really want more American-ness?

The reality—for better or worse—is that people turn to baseball when they have to. Baseball fills an unmet need, a longing void.

That is the bar that justifies the thick rule book and high equipment costs—or broom sticks and bottle caps—where soccer or basketballs would work instead.

The game is too hard to grow—and play—for development to be a flash in the pan or an order from above. People have to require it, and they have to make development happen—organically, over time, and through difficulty. It’s not that Italy cannot tackle that. It’s that the why has to be strong and it has to be clear.

Italy can learn from Baseball United and its push to grow baseball in the Middle East behind big names, deep pockets, and sophisticated marketing (I witnessed and wrote about its inaugural season last year [link]). So far, Baseball United’s ‘growth’ has meant eyeballs from afar. Few Dubai locals are motivated to attend games and pick up baseball.

Baseball is not easy and baseball is not meant for everyone. So, when baseball builds and manifests, it’s truly remarkable.

A better question would be: would we even want half-hearted baseball? Countries dipping a toe into the game, investing intermittently, employing part-timers, producing something resembling what we know to be baseball?

Baseball can be brutal when it is sloppily played, but not all baseball has to be equal. The game can exist and create impact across different tiers:

• Baseball that alleviates conflict—for example, as a vehicle to assist in war-torn, poverty-stricken regions. For example, non-profit group Play Global [link] works with youth in developing and underserved areas across Africa, Europe, and the Middle East to foster respect and teamwork.

• Baseball that creates tribes—where baseball exists as a niche hobby, for example in France, Great Britan, and Italy. The game is propped up by passionate volunteers, grassroots fundraising, and tight-knit communities.
  
• Baseball that drives a nation—where baseball is the sport, a de-facto religion like in Japan, the Dominican Republic [link], or Curaçao [link]. Kids naturally grow up playing the game because that is what everyone around them does.

Baseball can comfortably live at each of these levels. Nations need to know where they stand and what it will take (and mean) to move up. Nevertheless, locals have to want it.

You can do all the clinics and have all the national team success you want, but once the coaches leave and cameras stop, the people on the ground need to keep the game going.

American or Azzurri?

After Italy beat Puerto Rico in the Miami quarterfinals, Pasquantino recapped the headlines. “There was baseball being played [on TVs] at bistros and cafes in Italy tonight,” he told the press.

“In the south of Italy they don’t play that much baseball,” Manager Francisco Cervelli added. “Yesterday everyone was watching the game.”

Can Italy replicate that sentiment beyond a whirlwind two-week tournament? In the wake of the WBC, what does Italian baseball even mean?

“The Italian brand of baseball is just take some espresso shots and get after it right now,” Pasquantino said. “That’s the brand that we’ve created, and we’re still trying to figure it out … It’s a good question. I just don’t really have a great answer for it.”

Cervelli had to persuade people in Italy that they could do something special with baseball. “I got to Italy a year ago and I felt like they’d forgotten baseball. The guys had no hope. It was pretty hard for me to convince them that this project was legitimate.”

“We’re trying to change the mentality in Italy…I want to change the culture. And we called it last year the ‘Italian Way.’ Create an identity, it’s not just to participate. Create an identity every time we show up.”

Beating the US was a monumental feat and step in the right direction. “They’re going to start believing more,” Cervelli said. “We need help. We cannot do it by ourselves.”

As Italy racked up wins in pool play, Italian fanfare had soared. “Probably this is the start of a new religion, baseball in Italy,” said Cervelli. “I don’t know how we can do it, but I think we’ll make it happen. It’s a good start. And I’m glad in Italy a lot of people are talking about baseball.”

***

For more tournament success, Italy needs better homegrown talent. To play in Premier12 or the Olympics, players must hold passports or citizenship. Claiming a grandparent won’t cut it.

If Italy—or any country—wants to move from one level of development to the next, it needs to harness one of two motives: tap into adversity or an unrealized outlet.

It is not about pushing baseball on a people, but enabling locals to naturally gravitate to the game and call it their own. A culture’s energy will show where baseball must grow.

Calling for growth is good for baseball. Putting in the work is great for baseball. But watching baseball organically blossom is even better for the game.

Photos by Gabriel Fidler.

By Ian Curtis. Photo by Gabriel Fidler.

Italy’s semifinal run shows the beauty of the World Baseball Classic
Team Italy captain Vinnie Pasquantino says that Italy’s Cinderella run to the World Baseball Classic semifinals is why the WBC should exist.

“Italy was able to watch our game today, and it was on television out there,” Pasquantino said “And we’ve been on the front page of the newspapers. And that is what this tournament is about.”

He says the tournament is about guys — like Team Italy — playing for the love of their country and for the love of baseball, and making an entire country fall in love with the sport.

“Yes, it is about winning the tournament and trying to be the best baseball team, but it’s about getting eyeballs and bringing people together on the sport, which is why I think so many teams are having a blast playing, because you’re playing for your country and you’re playing for that national attention of, hey, look, it’s the Dominican Republic or it’s Venezuela or Nicaragua, wherever the country is, they’re represented,” Pasquantino said. “And yeah, Italy doesn’t have the greatest development in baseball, and that’s what we’re trying to do right now. And if we continue to be successful with this — I mean, there was baseball being played at bistros and cafes in Italy tonight over there. That doesn’t happen.”

Despite the Puerto Rican crowd making the environment hostile for the Italians, Team Italy did not flinch after Willi Castro’s leadoff homer, forcing Puerto Rican starter Seth Lugo out after just 0.1 innings pitched after managing a trio of RBI-singles in the bottom of the first inning.

As the Puerto Ricans made a call to the bullpen and turned to Jovani Morán, Italy was able to add a fourth run on a sac fly by J.J. D’Orazio.

D’Orazio also contributed the second of back-to-back two-run ground-rule doubles in the fourth inning, as the Italians grew their lead to 8-2. 

His hit landed fair in deep right field and bounced into foul territory and over the wall, while Andrew Fischer’s hit was ruled fan interference after a fan sitting in the first row in the outfield seats reached down to catch a ball that was headed for the top of the wall.

That was enough for Italy to survive a Puerto Rican rally and advance to the WBC Semifinals — becoming just the second-ever European nation to do so — and give manager Francisco Cervelli one of the best days of his life.

“Imagine doing this for the first time and arrive to the semifinal,” Cervelli said. “It’s amazing. This is great. This is one of the best chapters of my life. It’s incredible. This group is phenomenal.”

Puerto Rico rides crowd to late-inning rally, but cannot seal the deal in 8-6 loss to Italy
Puerto Rico may have made the trip to Houston for its World Baseball Classic quarterfinal against Team Italy, but the crowd at Daikin Park sure made it feel like San Juan.

Puerto Rican fans brought energy — and in some cases, entire bands of instruments — and more flags than the United Nations building to give their squad as much of a home-crowd feel as possible.

And their impact was felt immediately, as leadoff man Willi Castro launched a bomb 381 feet into left center field to give Puerto Rico a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

“I just want to say that we appreciate our Puerto Rican fans,” Puerto Rico manager Yadier Molina said. “They’ve always supported us. When we were in Puerto Rico, at that beautiful ballpark, it was amazing. I know that. There’s also a lot of Puerto Ricans in this city. We knew we had that factor in our favor to see the ballpark full of Puerto Ricans. So many flags out there. We would have loved to have win this game, not just for us, but for them as well.”

Team Puerto Rico was able to bounce back quickly in the second inning after going down 4-1, thanks to Italy’s misfortunes on the mound.

After starter Sam Aldegheri loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch, reliever Alek Jacob gifted Puerto Rico another run on another HBP. Jacob was able to escape the bases-loaded jam without giving up anything else, though.

Not so for Italy in the eighth inning, when, down 8-2, Puerto Rico was able to piece together four runs to cut the gap down to 8-6.

As the runs poured in — first on an Eddie Rosario’s fielder’s choice, then a wild pitch that allowed Emmanuel Riveria to scramble home, and finally a Christian Vázquez two-run single — the Puerto Rican fans went wild.

And although Puerto Rico was not able to seal the deal and make it back to the semifinals, the team still received an ovation after the fact when they exited the clubhouse to acknowledge the Puerto Rican supporters.

Molina says the run is still something to be proud of — and those fans who stayed behind certainly agree.

“But I do want to say that I’m very proud of our team, very proud of what we’ve done,” Molina said “It’s a young team. It’s a team that represented our island without any reproach, and they fought to the end. We all fought to the end. We were able to unify a country once more.”

By Ian Curtis.

Clutch relievers carry Team USA to 5-3 win over rival Canada in Quarterfinals
Far from the trademark explosiveness that it showed in pool play, Team USA grabbed an early 3-0 lead over Canada, but it did so relatively quietly.

Sure, Aaron Judge — this World Baseball Classic’s “Captain America,” as he has been dubbed — did have a double in the first inning that got the crowd in Houston riled up. But the only run of the first inning came off of a groundout by Kyle Schwarber, and hometown hero Alex Bregman added two runs in the third inning thanks to an infield single that was aided by a throwing error.

No sign of the homers with which the Americans had made a statement in their earlier games — despite a few foul shots being just feet away from dingers.

In fact, Team USA was held homerless against their northern rivals. But Judge said that the Americans’ ability to find other ways to score was a testament to their offense.

“Yeah, if we’re going to win this tournament, like we all believe we’re going to, it’s going to take more than home runs,” Judge said. “If there’s times where we’re not getting home runs, we’ve gotta play small ball, we’ve gotta move runners, we gotta do different things just to create some offense. … I think it’s just trusting each other, and if we’re not hitting homers then we gotta figure out ways to get runs like we did in the first.”

That lack of offensive firepower nearly came back to bite the Americans in the seventh inning, when Team Canada was able to advance the tying run to second thanks to a pair of singles and a wild pitch, all with no outs.

But Team USA reliever David Bednar was able to hold on, recording a pair of strikeouts and escaping the jam to roaring chants of “U-S-A!” and a standing ovation from the Daikin Park crowd.

That scare seemed to wake up both the crowd and Team USA itself, which quickly posted three outs in the eighth inning before reliever Mason Miller struck out the side in the bottom of the ninth to seal the USA’s spot in the WBC Semifinals in Miami.

“It’s nice to call down to the bullpen and know you’ve got closers coming in in all three innings,” Team USA Manager Mark DeRosa said. “Bed was here in 2023 with me. So I know what’s inside his heart. He’s a gamer. And Garrett Whitlock is unbelievable, righty and lefty. And Mason Miller, we were talking about it on the walk down, that’s the best fastball you’re ever going to see. So, yeah, it’s nice to get in the bullpen and call David Ross and know exactly where you’re going.”

With hockey on its mind, Canada’s rally falls just short
It’s impossible to approach the matchup between Team USA and Team Canada in the World Baseball Classic quarterfinals at Daikin Park in Houston without acknowledging the elephant in the room.

Even if that elephant resides a month and an ocean away.

Signs of USA Hockey’s gold medal victory — in overtime, no less — at the Winter Olympics in Milan were everywhere before the matchup on the diamond. USA Hockey jerseys — both Jack Hughes jerseys from these Olympics and more classic “Miracle on Ice” era outfits – dotted the stands amidst a sea of red, white and blue baseball jerseys.

But perhaps most prominently it was present in the form of Canadian hockey jerseys — a gift from Canada Hockey — that the Canadians wore during warmups, and in the minds of the Canadian players and coaches themselves after receiving messages from Canada Hockey before the game.

“I think not only myself, but I think the entire country of Canada would be extremely happy,” Canada manager Ernie Whitt said when asked about how a win on the diamond would avenge the gold medal loss. “I think we’ve got a pretty good following.”

And while at first it looked like the diamond edition of the North American rivalry might go the way of the day’s other quarterfinal — where the Dominican Republic run-ruled Team Korea in Miami — the Canadians showed a bit of hockey-inspired fight in the middle innings.

After back-to-back RBI hits from Brice Turang and Pete Crow-Armstrong put the USA up 5-0 in the sixth inning, Canada quickly took advantage of American relievers Brad Keller and Gabe Speier, who combined for 1.1 innings pitched while giving up two hits and three runs. They came in after starter Logan Webb pitched 4.2 scoreless innings.

Canada got on the board with a Tyler Black RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth, before Bo Naylor’s two-run shot 404 feet to right center field had some USA fans in the crowd stressing.

But after the rest of Team USA’s relievers were able to hold the Canadians at bay, the thoughts of Whitt and the other representatives of Team Canada turned to how to evaluate a historic run — Canada won its pool and advanced to the WBC quarterfinals for the first time — with an oh-so-close ending.

“Well, we were hoping that there was going to be another game,” Whitt said. “But again, I’ll be reflecting on this for probably a couple of months. Looking back and having your time, when you’re with yourself, you gather your thoughts and what if and what if and what if, but if you continue to do that, you’ll drive yourself crazy. I thought we represented the country well, and I don’t think we have anything to hang our head on. I told the boys to walk proudly.”

Text and photos by Gabriel Fidler.

HOUSTON, U.S. – Italy established itself as a 2026 World Baseball Classic title contender with a dominant performance against the fourth-ranked team in the world, Mexico, in a Pool B finale that had plenty on the line. A win of more than five runs for Mexico would have sent Italy home, but instead, it is the USA who will join Gli Azzurri in advancing to the next step. Vinnie Pasquantino became the first-ever player to hit three home runs in a WBC game, driving Italy to its first group title in Classic history, extending its European-leading consecutive win total to four.

Through the first four innings, Italy maintained a 2-0 advantage over Mexico, with Javier Assad permitting solo shots to Pasquantino and Jon Berti. The crowd of 39,864—most of whom were in the park—were almost uniformly supporting Mexico, though the Italians had a noisy and supportive contingent behind their third base dugout.

Still, the game felt like it could turn any moment until the fifth, when Italy strung three runs together for its biggest inning, despite only two singles. An outfield assist at first from an impressive Jarren Duran ended the frame, and the momentum seemingly shifted in Mexico’s favor.

Instead, Aaron Nola finished off his day with a three-up, three-down inning, leaving the score 5-0. The Phillies’ right-hander continued a run of superb starting pitching by Italy, tossing five shutout frames and scattering four hits and walk while striking out a handful. Manager Francisco Cervelli’s starters have a 1.00 ERA in 18 innings, with 20 strikeouts and only nine hits and five walks surrendered.

Italy then scored in the next four innings, with the final two runs occurring in the eighth, when Pasquantino launched his third round-tripper and Andrew Fischer later added an RBI-double. The former fist-pumped his way around the bases, while the young Brewers’ prospect celebrated at the hot corner with a big kick that had “K-O” written all over it.

No European country has ever won more than two consecutive games in the World Baseball Classic. Only Israel has ever won a pool (2017), and Italy has already equalled the high-water mark for wins in a tournament by a country from Europe. It returns to the quarterfinals for the third time, following 2013 and 2023, and will aim to follow the Netherlands (2013, 2017) as the only team from the continent to win a game in the quarters.

Text and photos by Gabriel Fidler.

HOUSTON, U.S. – Nine years ago, almost to the hour, Italy opened its 2017 World Baseball Classic schedule by coming from behind to defeat Mexico, 10-9. Tonight, it started out hot against the USA and held on for an historic victory, 8-6. In doing so, the Italians put themselves in the position to advance to the WBC quarterfinals in place of the Americans. At this point, Gli Azzurri are representing not only Italy, but the entire continent of Europe, as all other teams from the continent have been eliminated from this WBC.

‘Probably this is one of the best days of my life,’ enthused Manager Francisco Cervelli after the game. ‘I’m proud of my guys…, they’re young, but they play like they’ve been in the big leagues for 10 years. Their focus was there. And, you know, everybody in Italy should see this. We’re doing it for them, for the kids. It can happen. It’s possible.’

For all the offensive firepower of the vaunted U.S. lineup, Kyle Teel smashed a homer and a double, Sam Antonacci crushed a 403-foot homer at 103.4 mph, and Jac Caglianone [pictured above] hit a big fly that equalled that distance, but travelled at a head-turning 110.4 mph. When one considers that the hardest-hit homer in the Statcast era travelled at 122.9 mph, it is clear that these were no flukes.

As Jeff Passan pointed out in the post-game press conference, the top five hitters in the lineup went 0-for-22—and did so with 10 strikeouts and only two walks—yet the contributions of its young stars put enough runs on the board to pull out a win.

The other crucial element was Michael Lorenzen, who pitched arguably the second-best start of his career after his 2023 no-hitter for the Phillies. Working on a pitch count, he went 4.2 shutout innings, permitted only two hits and a walk, and whiffed two.

‘It’s incredible. Anytime you can make history is, it’s incredible,’ noted Lorenzen. ‘I would say right

behind the no-hitter, for sure. It’s up there.’

Team USA was done 8-0 before breaking up the shutout, which Gunnar Henderson did with a solo shot in the bottom of the sixth. However, it was Pete Crow-Armstrong who made things interested, blasting a three-run rocket in the seventh and a solo shot in the bottom of the ninth.

Despite an 0-for-3, Dante Nori is now Italy’s best-ever hitter with a minimum of 10 at bats, as he is 5-for-10. Matt Festa moved into second place in Italy’s all-time WBC pitching leaders in games (5) and strikeouts (8, tied with young ace Sam Aldegheri). Lorenzen was one out away from becoming the only Italian starter to throw five shutout innings in a WBC.

Italy is the only undefeated team in the group, and one of four teams which have won every game: Japan (4-0), Dominican Republic (3-0), and Venezuela (3-0). Later today, it will face off against Mexico in a game that will decide both teams to advance from Pool B.

By Ian Curtis.

Great Britain clinches spot in next World Baseball Classic
From Watford to the Olympics, Great Britain performance director Gary Anderson has seen just about everything there is to see in the world of British sports. But, he said, few things compare to seeing Team GB play in — and clinch their spot in the next edition of — the World Baseball Classic.

“This tournament is fantastic,” Anderson said. “It’s on a par for me for the UEFA Championships, the World Cup in football, it’s on the par with that. In terms of how this group is, fantastic. These guys, professional players. They apply themselves. They’re so compliant. They do as they’re told. It’s brilliant working with them. I have more trouble with [Great Britain manager] Brad [Marcelino] and his staff than I do the players!”

Automatically qualifying for the next edition of the WBC is crucial for the momentum of the program — both on the field and financially.

“This game today was absolutely huge for our program,” Anderson said. “It means that I don’t have to go begging to our government organization anymore, that they see that we’ve repeated the feat. And to repeat what we achieved last time, it was a huge achievement. Brad and I had a conversation about how other teams are taking us that much more seriously now. So that one win was a huge achievement this time around. … But what this means now for our Olympic program, that we can push ahead with confidence and continue that trajectory. We’ve got to be the best in Europe. That’s our aim now for the Olympic Games.”

Team Great Britain responded quickly to going down 1-0 in the fifth inning, immediately taking advantage of Brazil’s pivot to reliever Tiago da Silva as leadoff man Ian Lewis Jr. launched a solo shot 382 feet into right field to tie things up.

The Brits were not done, though, as Nate Eaton and Harry Ford each tallied singles, with Ford’s RBI hit growing the gap to 2-1 and Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit into a fielder’s choice that scored Eaton and put the Brits up 3-1.

Lewis also drove in another run in the sixth inning, after Ivan Johnson reached first on a fielding error and made his way around the basepath thanks to a couple of groundouts.

In the seventh, Matt Koperniak — who notched his first hit of the WBC earlier in the game — drove in another two runs with a single to center to widen the gap to 6-1.

Chisholm put the cherry on top by making things 8-1 in the eighth inning with a two-run RBI single.

For Ford, the opportunity to play in — and win a game in — his second WBC was something special.

“This World Baseball Classic was really amazing,” Ford said. “We made so many strides from last time to this time. We added so many key players and coaches, and everyone was working together.”

With the luxury of not having to go through the qualification process for the next WBC, Team GB settles in for several years of recruiting, maintaining and growing the game, starting with the Premier12 Qualifiers.

Brazil’s bullpen sends nation back to drawing board
After four innings of 0-0 deadlock against Great Britain, Brazil struck first with a double to the left field wall that just stayed fair by Gabriel do Carmo after Gabriel Maciel reached base after being hit by a pitch by Gary Gill Hill.

Unfortunately for the Brazilians, that was one of the few bits of success they could muster. Team Brazil was outhit 8-1, and its bullpen woes continued.

After starter Enzo Sawayama — making his second start in this WBC — pitched a stellar four innings, giving up just two hits, Brazil’s relievers could not keep up the momentum.

All four Brazilian pitchers to enter the game after Sawayama’s exit gave up at least one run, and the quartet combined to issue eight walks.

Even Joseph Contreras, the 17-year-old wonder kid and son of José Contreras, who forced Aaron Judge to ground into a double play earlier in the tournament gave up a pair of hits and a pair of runs in 1.1 innings of work.

With the Brazilians forced to rebuild as they attempt to qualify for the next WBC, Brazil manager Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto said that he hopes that Team Brazil can develop the talent it has and prepare itself for the level of play they faced in this WBC.

“But I just hope that Brazil, in general, the level of our players grows up and improves, because even if we qualify, once we get here, the level of play, the baseball here is so much higher than what we are used to,” Matsumoto said. “So we don’t know exactly what’s going to be next for the Brazilian Federation, as in planning. But I just wish them the best. And I’m hoping that Brazilian baseball gets better from this point on.”

USA rides Skenes, homers from Judge and Anthony to massive rivalry win
Despite hosting Pool B games on home soil, Team USA faced a hostile crowd, with tens of thousands of proud Mexican fans — of a sellout crowd of 41,628 — booing the Americans as they were introduced.

Then, the Americans did the absolute best thing they could do to retain momentum and take the crowd out of things: Rely on Paul Skenes to pitch four scoreless innings, get out to a 5-0 lead early thanks to home runs from Aaron Judge and Roman Anthony, and take the Mexican crowd out of things.

Skenes looked like the star he has been since his time at LSU, holding Mexico to just a single hit in four innings on the mound. Of course, in classic Skenes style, he was nonchalant about it.

“It was awesome,” Skenes said. “Great atmosphere. Nice to feel like I’m doing something rather than just taking up a hotel room and eating all the free meals. Good to go out there and do my job.”

That five-run, two-homer third inning was all the Americans were able to muster, but taking the momentum away from Mexico and the Daikin Park crowd proved to be enough for them to secure the USA’s first WBC win over Mexico in 20 years.

“It was an unbelievable environment,” Anthony said. “I think, for me at least, it’s the loudest game I’ve been a part of. Just amazing to get baseball like that this early in the year. And always great when you win. So the vibes are great.”

Next, Team USA looks toward its matchup against Italy as it sits in the driver’s seat toward a first-place finish in Pool B.

Mexico falls just short, but hopes to face USA again
If just one swing goes differently, we would all be talking about Mexico pulling off a historic rivalry win.

Mexico had all the pieces to pull off an upset. They held the USA scoreless in seven innings. They had the tying run at the plate late in the game. They had the crowd’s momentum on their side after Jarren Duran’s sixth-inning homer to left center, and they had it again when Duran went yard again in the eighth inning.

“I have to say that I was very inspired, the way that the team ended or finished the game, knowing that they were facing one of the best pitchers in the world,” Mexico manager Benji Gil said. “It was a tremendous lineup, and no one gave up. And everyone kept fighting. And we were just down a swing. That was the only difference from tying the game.”

It is a game Gil desperately wants back. He says if Mexico faces the USA again in the tournament, it will not go the same way.

“I hope we play the U.S. again,” Gil said. “That would be awesome. I would be ecstatic to face them again. For one, it’s probably the championship. There’s the championship in Miami. In fact, you know what I want to face them more than I want anything else in the world, how is that? … I desire that more than anything in the world, face them again in Miami. I think that we’ll end up 1-1 against the U.S. this tournament. And Mexico won’t lose again until three years from now.”

Of course, to do that, the Mexicans will have to get past Team Italy in the final game of the group stage for a chance to advance out of Pool B and into the quarterfinals.

By Ian Curtis.

Italy prepares to pass the torch in 7-4 win over Great Britain
Perhaps it was poetic that four of Italy’s seven runs were scored by Andrew Fischer and Miles Mastrobuoni.

On one hand, Fischer — the former Ole Miss Rebel and Tennessee Volunteer and current Milwaukee Brewers prospect — got things started off with a dash of youth.

After Great Britain got out to an early 2-0 lead, the Italians returned fire with back-to-back solo home runs in the third innings by Fischer and J.J. D’Orazio, both to right field. Both earned espresso shots from the Italian’s signature home run celebration machine.

“Super excited to be out there,” Fischer said. “ [I] didn’t get an at-bat in the first game. So, you can imagine, the buildup to playing in this has been pretty emotional. You’re representing your family, friends, the country.”

Then, Italy piled on three runs in the fourth inning and two in the fifth as part of a run that began with Zach Dezenzo’s double and continued with an RBI single from Fischer and a fielding error that seemed to send Great Britain reliever Nick Wells into a tizzy.

As part of that run, Mastrobuoni scored Fischer on an RBI double that provided a bit of veteran wisdom to the box score.

Fischer says the leadership from Mastrobuoni and other veterans helps him and other younger players use the WBC as a launch pad.

“Very new to being a pro baseball player, I’m trying to put my name on the map,” Fischer said. “I think an opportunity like this gets you the chance to do that. Not even just with myself, like having an opportunity to play with these guys, I was saying these experiences are priceless. The plane ride over, the bus rides, being at the hotel, even how to dress.”

And it starts at 6 a.m. every day, when the Italians leave their hotel rooms wearing Armani suits.

“We’ve been wearing a suit every single day,” Fischer said. “You walk out of your room wearing a suit at 6:00 in the morning to show up at the park. And it’s business; we’re here to win; we’re here to compete. These experiences are priceless.”

For Mastrobuoni, who is playing his 11th year of professional baseball and his second WBC, the opportunity to play with players like Fischer, Sam Antonacci — who had a “Little League” home run in the win — at the WBC is important to the future of Team Italy.

“It’s passing the baton,” Mastrobuoni said. “It’s showing these young guys how to go about their business and everything like that. But you don’t overstep. These guys know what they’re doing. They’re here for a reason. And you’ve got to remember that. So if they’ve got questions, I’m always here for them. I’ll give them everything I’ve got to help them further their careers.”

Eaton, Chisholm get hot, but rest of Great Britain’s bats go cold
Just like its matchup against the USA yesterday, Great Britain had no problem getting an early start to things.

Nate Eaton continued his streak of success at the plate, following up last night’s first-pitch home run with a leadoff double that had the British fans in attendance at Daikin Park on the edge of their seats.

“He’s one of my favorites,” Great Britain manager Brad Marcelino said after being asked about Eaton’s performance. “He is the type of player that you love to coach. And the tools are all there, mentality, toughness, the grittiness. You can see it on display. I’m really excited that he’s part of the program. It’s going to be special to watch him in his career in the future for sure.”

And after quiet plate outings in Team GB’s first two showings in Houston, Jazz Chisholm Jr. followed that up with a single to immediately put the Brits in scoring position — which they were able to do thanks to a pair of wild pitches from Italian starter Dylan DeLucia.

The same combination of an Eaton double and Chisolm single led off the eighth inning, with Eaton scoring and giving Britons hopes of a rally with the score at 7-3. And, in another stretch of deja vu, Chisholm advanced to third and scored again on a pair of wild pitches.

But at 7-4, and with the go-ahead run at the plate in the ninth inning, the momentum of a rally just ran out.

“I just felt like we ran out of the finish line there if we had a little bit longer,” Marcelino said. “I thought Spraker did a great job coming in, giving us some length. But the middle innings is where we had some mistakes as well.”

Even still, the momentum boost of a tight game is welcome for the Brits as they face Brazil with a spot in the next WBC on the line.

Mexico parties its way to a 16-0 run-rule drubbing of Brazil

With a rivalry match up against the USA on Monday night looming on the horizon, one might have expected at least some level of looking too far forward out of Mexico against Brazil.

But there was no lethargy to be found. The Mexicans got things started quickly with a 4-0 first inning kicked off by an RBI single by Jonathan Aranda and sustained three other RBI hits.

Jarren Duran was the first Mexican to go yard with a 387-foot homer to right center field that sent what might as well have been a home nation crowd at Daikin Park into a frenzy in the second inning.

And after Duran reached second again on a fourth-inning double, it was Alejandro Kirk who put all doubt to rest with a 416-foot three-run homer to extend the lead to 10-0 and put things in run-rule territory.

In short, it felt like a party. And boy do Mexican fans party, especially when Julian Ornelas sealed the deal with a two-run, run-rule, walk-off home run.

“I think it was one of the most beautiful moments in my career,” Ornelas said. “I am thankful to be here. I’ve said this before, and it’s something that I was going to cherish. And it was just that in the moment seeing our Mexican fans supporting us. As I was running through the bases, I was simply just staring at the stadium and looking for my mom. And thanks to God it was a beautiful moment.”

From sing-a-longs to the iconic “Mexican wave” to the sheer amount of joy each red-and-green-clad fan showed every time a Mexican crossed home plate, it was a reminder of what makes international baseball worth watching: cultural pride.

That pride will be on display tomorrow when Mexico faces the USA in front of a sold-out crowd.

“I think tomorrow is probably going to be similar to tonight, but like times two or times three,” Alek Thomas said. “The crowd, the Mexican crowd, always shows out. And this seems like the place that Mexico fans like to go crazy. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, and it’s going to be lit.”

Brazil searches for silver linings in 16-0 defeat to Mexico
It wasn’t necessarily surprising to see Brazil — the team in Pool B that had to win its way in via the WBC Qualifiers — lose to a heavy-hitter like Mexico. What was perhaps surprising — and surely disappointing to the canary-clad specks of yellow and blue sprinkled throughout Daikin Park — was just how bad the loss was.

Against the USA and Italy earlier in the tournament, Brazil managed to keep things competitive through the middle innings until its bullpen ran out of steam late. But that was not the case against Mexico.

Brazil was outhit 16-3 and had every pitcher give up at least two runs.

“Looking back to these three games, we can see clearly that there are two groups of pitchers in our pitching team, ones that can throw in the strike zone and be aggressive and the other ones that are struggling to throw strikes,” Brazil manager Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto said. “So I think this tells us something about changes that we have to make in our training and practice, raising new talents and new pitchers to our country.”

There’s only one thing the Brazilians can do at this point, and that’s just prepare themselves for one of the biggest games in Brazilian baseball history tomorrow against Great Britain. Because the best possible thing that can happen for the growth of baseball in Brazil is locking themselves into the next edition of the WBC.

By Ian Curtis.

Lack of arm depth dooms Brazil again
Pitching depth doomed the Brazilians against Team USA in their opening game Friday evening, as they issued 17 walks en route to a 15-5 loss to the host nation.

Brazil manager Daniel Yuichi Matsumoto said before the game that his focus was on correcting that issue against Italy.

“The most important thing we learned from last night’s game is that we cannot give away bases on balls and we need 27 outs in a game. And when we give base on balls, we don’t get the out,” Matsumoto said. “So today I spoke to my pitchers and I told them to be very aggressive and compete within the strike zone. So I don’t want to see that situation anymore where players keep getting bases on balls over and over. So hopefully that was it for us.”

Despite being out-hit by the Italians in 12-3 in Saturday’s opening game, Brazil found itself tied 0-0 until the sixth inning thanks to the work of starter Enzo Sawayama, who gave up just two hits in four innings of work.

Italy manager Francisco Cervelli credited his team’s slow start to Sawayama’s pitching.

“Well, I think it was slow because the pitcher was throwing well,” Cervelli explained. “We’ve got to give credit to the starting pitcher. But the guys, you know, the game 27 outs. You’ve got to make the adjustment. The guys did it. They let the other guys throw a little more, to see more pitches.”

Brazil fans can look at things with the view of a glass half empty, or a glass half full in the wake of its 8-0 loss to Italy. On one hand, as a whole Brazil did manage to limit their pitching woes by giving up just seven walks and found a reliable starter in Sawayama.

On the other, it was a pair of walks issued by Brazil pitcher Hector Villarroel that set the stage for Italy’s 2-0 lead off of hits by and eventual 8-0 victory.

Of course, the third option is to rage at the WBC pitch count cap that limits pitchers to no more than 65 pitches per game. A necessary evil to attract big-league talent and appease owners, but something that makes the job of teams like Brazil much more difficult.

The Brazilians’ lack of bullpen depth continued to prove a problem late in the game, as reliever Murilo Gouvea was pulled after giving up a solo home run to Dante Nori and issuing a pair of walks in the seventh inning. And his relief, Brazil pitcher Oscar Nakaoshi, gave up a 3-run home run on his first at-bat to Dominic Canzone, effectively putting the game out of reach at 6-0.

Another reliever, Caio de Araujo, gave up a home run to Nori in the eighth inning as well to put the cherry on top of a poor day on the mound for Brazil. One positive, however, was the two assists from the right arm of Lucas Ramírez a day after he delivered two longballs against USA.

With a goal of clinching an appearance in the next World Baseball Classic — with their most likely opportunity coming against Great Britain on Monday — Brazil needs to figure out a solution to its bullpen woes, and fast.

Sam Aldegheri, Dante Nori lead Italy to campaign-opening win
Dante Nori does not like the taste of coffee.

That became a small issue, considering Italy’s iconic espresso machine home run celebration, when Nori hit two solo home runs in an 8-0 victory over Brazil

“The first one, especially, I was like, ‘Ugh,’” Nori said. “But the second one, kind of liked that one a little bit more.”

For five-and-a-half innings, Italy found itself stuck in a scoreless slugfest against Brazil, despite outhitting the South Americans 4-1 headed into the bottom of the sixth inning.

Then — after Villarroel issued a pair of walks, as a solid Brazilian defense began to crack — the Italians broke things open with an RBI single up the right side, and soon after Jac Caglianone hit his own RBI single to the same area to make things a 2-0 ballgame.

Once Dezenzo broke through, things became a home run derby. Dominic Canzone’s three-run shot in the sixth effectively closed the game with the Italians up 6-0.

But Dante and the Italian offense was only one half of the victory. Starting pitcher Sam Aldegheri more than impressed in his WBC debut, tallying eight strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work.

For Aldegheri, the first Italian-born pitcher to play in the Major Leagues, the opportunity to make his WBC debut for his home country was one he’ll never forget, especially the moment he heard the Italian national anthem before the first pitch.

“I had goosebumps all over my body,” Aldegheri recalled. “It was chilling. … I was just feeling deep inside, I was just trying to think about the game. Those moments are hard. You have all these feelings back home, everything goes by your mind. So it was really cool.”

And for Nori, who represents his Italian heritage that traces back to his grandparents on both sides of his family, he said simply wearing the Italian jersey gives him pride.

“I got the call, and it was one of those things that’s really special to you,” remarked Nori. “You get emotional even talking about it. In fact, when I got to tell [my grandfathers], they all cried. Yeah, something really special to me.”

GB Baseball’s Approach
Great Britain manager Brad Marcelino has said from the beginning of Team GB’s WBC campaign that the Brits are not just here to play — they are here to win.

“I don’t know if “hang” for us is the right word, because we expected to go in and win,” Marcelino said after Great Britain’s opening loss to Mexico. “…But overall, we battled. So, proud of how those guys did that.”

Facing Goliath in its second game, Great Britain’s Nate Eaton fired a shot across the bow — and 390 feet to left center field — that gave the visitors a 1-0 run on the first pitch of the ballgame.

“Obviously his plan was dialed in,” Marcelino said after the USA game. “He kind of said what he was going to do, executed it well. Sometimes it doesn’t always work. But I thought he did a good job, obviously, executing his plan. You go through that and you’re up 1-0 going through the middle of the game and you have those little swing moments. … I think there’s some positives we can definitely take away from what we did today.”

The Brits held on until the fifth inning, long enough that some British fans were dreaming of an all-time World Baseball Classic upset in the making. But regardless of the USA’s eventual 9-1 win, Great Britain put the baseball on notice with performances like that of Najer Victor, the former UCF Knight who last played in the Arizona Fall League last season.

In just over an inning of action, Victor struck out Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, Gunnar Henderson, and Roman Anthony, recording four strikeouts and giving up no hits in 1.1 frames. It was enough to get Victor’s name trending on X.

“Yeah, we knew he had that in him,” Marcelino told Mister-Baseball.com’s Gabriel Fidler. “Electric stuff. He’s energetic on the mound, obviously, and the stuff is plus. Yeah, awesome debut. I thought he commanded the slider, kind of got better as the outing went on. Exciting to see that.”

Fifth-inning fireworks lead USA past Great Britain
For much of Team USA’s game against Great Britain, it looked like an all-time WBC upset might be brewing as Team GB held a 1-0 lead until the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to Nate Eaton’s first-pitch home run.

But, in true American fashion, the hosts took over the game in loud and impressive style, with a streak of three consecutive extra-base hits on just six pitches that eventually led to a 9-1 win.

Ernie Clement reached first on a fielding error, and stole home after advancing to third on a Pete Crow-Armstrong double. Then, Kyle Schwarber broke things open with a home run that sent the Daikin Park crowd roaring to its feet.

In the span of just two innings, the USA put up 8 runs and effectively turned what could have been the biggest win in British baseball history into a somewhat-routine pool stage blowout.

The heavy favorites to advance out of Pool B — and with by far the most stacked roster in the field — the Americans did not suffer from the same bullpen woes that other times, like Great Britain, faced.

And although it did let both Brazil and Great Britain hang around early, the USA has put its depth advantage on full display with blowout wins over both teams. American manager Mark DeRosa credited Great Britain’s pitching with keeping things close early on, though.

“I think they had some good arms,” DeRosa said. “The hitters up here could probably attest to that. After their starter came out, he gave them a little bit of length, had a guy throwing 97 miles an hour. Then [they] brought in Scrubb, and Kyle was able to pop one, a big three-run homer. And then they brought in a little side-arm guy – not little – side-arm guy throwing about 94 to 96. So they were running some arms out there, no question.”

By Ian Curtis.

On my first day covering the 2026 World Baseball Classic in Houston, I learned two very important lessons.

The first came courtesy of Brazil outfielder Lucas Ramírez, son of the legendary Manny Ramírez, who said something very interesting when I asked him about the vibe of playing on a Brazil team filled with young players and the sons of major leaguers — like himself.

“Everyone plays with so much passion,” Ramírez said. “…You just gotta come out here and have fun. Baseball is temporary, just come out here and have fun.”

The second lesson was much less philosophical, but equally as important: Do not wear light-colored shoes when you’ll be spending quite a bit of time on infield dirt.

But, footwear woes aside, Ramírez’ point is what immediately struck me about the World Baseball Classic, and why I’m loving covering it. Where else can a 17-year-old pitcher who did high school homework the night before the game force USA Captain — and all-round baseball superhero — Aaron Judge into a bases-loaded double play? Where else can Judge receive a standing ovation in Houston of all places, a city with a tenuous-at-best relationship with his New York Yankees, other than an event like the WBC that turns teammates into rivals and rivals into teammates? (To say nothing of multiple chants of his name even while Brazil was batting!)

And where else can you find British and American fans both dressed as opposing figures in the American Revolution, Mexican fans dressed in luchador costumes and Brazil fans supporting their team with pride despite being vastly outnumbered by the Americans’ home crowd?

Only an event where fun and pride for one’s country are the principal focus, like the WBC. It’s an event where Ramirez can hold his head high after hitting two home runs in a 15-5 loss to the USA, because the accomplishment was representing Brazilian baseball and his heritage all at once, on a global stage.

That’s what the WBC is all about, and it’s why I’m putting in more than 12 hours a day at Daikin Park in Houston — despite my inadequate footwear.

You can follow Ian on X/Twitter @texiancurtis [link]. Header photo ©Gabriel Fidler.

Fidler first appeared as a guest writer for Mister-Baseball.com in 2012, providing coverage of that year’s World Baseball Classic qualifiers and the following year’s WBC. The veteran journalist has covered every WBC live since the 2016 Brooklyn Qualifier. He took over as Managing Editor in Dec. 2020.

Daniels pitched at Muhlenberg College (Pa.), then played for seven seasons in Australia, Europe, and independent ball in the U.S. He’s currently writing Into the Outfield: What Baseball Tells Us About the World, a baseball-themed travelogue which explores his playing experiences and journeys to ten of the top baseball cultures around the world. The book is set to come out in 2027. After appearing on Mister Baseball’s European baseball transactions [link] and [link], he has more recently contributed several features for the site, including a recent excerpt from Into the Outfield [link].

“I’m thrilled to be in San Juan and Miami,” remarked Daniels on covering the Classic for Mister Baseball. “I think my Spanish is ready. I’m definitely ready for some baseball, and the atmosphere should be absolutely electric.”

Making his debut at the big dance is Ian Curtis, a native of Texas and a journalism student at Texas A&M University in College Station. He has served as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, The Battalion, where has reported on a large variety of events, including multiple SEC and NCAA Tournaments. His work has appeared in The Battalion, The Bryan-College Station Eagle and The Navasota Examiner.

“Few things are more fun to cover than international sports,” Curtis said. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to cover the World Baseball Classic, and I can’t wait to tell the stories of one of the most interesting sporting events in the world.”

“I’m looking forward to covering my fourth World Baseball Classic event live,” said Fidler. “Watching Shohei Ohtani battle against Mike Trout for the world title in 2023 and being on the field after the final in Los Angeles in 2023 as the confetti rained down on Team USA are two of my favourite baseball memories. This year I have the added excitement of watching Great Britain play, with the squad assembled even stronger than the one that gave the U.S.A. and Mexico a scare in 2023. There is nothing better than high-level international baseball, and I look forward to what should be a thrilling fortnight of baseball.”

Daily notes will be available on the site, while you should check Facebook @MisterBaseball.Europe [link] for updates as well. Keep up with Gabriel on X (Twitter)[link] and Instagram @ExtraInningsUK [link] and Ian on X @Texiancurtis [link]. Finally, you can now follow Mister-Baseball.com on Instagram @ MisterBaseball.Europe [link].

The following is an excerpt from an upcoming book that explores ten of the top baseball nations around the world. The accounts are told through a collection of vignettes, chance encounters, and a mosaic of travel, culture, and people speaking to baseball’s varied roles, vast impact, and global future. In early 2025, we published a series on the State of Dutch Baseball – specifically focused on the Netherlands. Here, we preview the other side – the baseball-mad Caribbean – and what baseball means for this part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Melissa, my driver from Curaçao’s lone international airport, notices me gazing at Willemstad’s turquoise coast. Tourists file off cruise ships near the docks.

“Mambo Beach is nice,” she offers.

Central Willemstad reveals the influences of Dutch colonialism—rows of gabled, pastel houses align a lit waterfront. Curaçao is home to just over 150,000 people—over 90 percent reside here in the capital.

Melissa asks what I’ll do on the island.

“I’ve come for baseball.”

“Ah, baseball,” she says, grinning in the rearview mirror. “You know Kenley Jansen? He’s the uncle of my children.”

I can’t say I’m surprised. No nation in recent years has produced more MLB players—per-capita—than Curaçao.

That night, I walk to Vrutaal Stadium across the bay. Murals of Curaçaoans who made the MLB adorn the 10-foot stadium walls, leading off with Hensley “Bam Bam” Meulens, the island’s MLB pioneer. A few portraits down, I find the fresh-minted Hall-of-Famer Andruw Jones, widely considered one of baseball’s greatest defensive centerfielders. From Jones extends the line of Curaçaoan big leaguers he’d inspire—Jansen, Didi Gregorius, Andrelton Simmons, Ozzie Albies, and more.

“He’s on his way to sign with the Tigers,” Melissa says, referring to Jansen. The burly reliever now sits fourth all-time with 476 career MLB saves. Following Andruw Jones’ 2026 induction, Jansen might become Curaçao’s second player inducted into the Hall of Fame.

At the end of the wall, scaffolding rests against Cedanne Rafaela’s finished portrait. Brushes and a dozen cans of paint still sit on the platform. A white wall waits to the side of Rafaela’s picture, ready for the next Curaçao star.

At Mambo Beach, in Willemstad’s east, I meet Lenny Pietersz. He works at the popular beach, enclosed by breakwater and dotted with palm trees and tanning chairs. It’s his first time home after two years playing in Japan and Italy. The supple utility man has just returned from his debut with the national team where Curaçao won the Caribbean Series, a tournament among islands in the Bahamas. Once he’s welcomed one last round of cruise guests, we set off for a snack. Lenny finagles a friendly discount from the Spanish-speaking cashier.

“She says you’re tall,” he tells me. While the Netherlands has the tallest average height on earth, I tower over most in Curaçao.

Lenny jumps from one language to the next. Whether signing with MLB or elsewhere, Curaçaoans have a built-in advantage as they move across the world and adapt to new teams and cultures. Though Dutch is Curaçao’s official language, the most common is Papiamento—an Afro-creole mix of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, and English. Like many locals, Lenny also speaks Spanish and English.

(A Dodgers assistant who had coached Curaçaoans once told me each language has its use: Papiamento for country; Spanish for love; English for the world; and Dutch for money.)

Before Lenny returns to Italy, he’ll compete in Curaçao’s professional league in January. He’ll be joined by many local pros, some already on the island. Just the other day, he ran into Aruban two-time World Series champion Xander Bogaerts.

“You see athletes everywhere here,” he says.

Like Bogaerts, Lenny grew up watching infielders forge a path to the majors. According to Lenny, too many young players follow that path. “We need pitchers!” he says. But few kids on the island like pitching—they want to hit, like the local stars they see on TV.

“Why is baseball here so good?” I ask.

“It’s really all we got to do,” he says, dipping into his ice cream. “As kids, the neighbors hated us hitting and throwing balls against the concrete. We’d skip school just so we could play. Behind the school, we’d take ground balls until practice would start at 5 p.m.”

Later that afternoon, I find a practice at Heintje Kool Ball Park in northwest Willemstad. Atenshon! read street signs leading up to the field. I cross four lanes of highway, scurry past a warehouse of rabid dogs, and approach the overgrown weeds by the gates of Heintje Kool.

Blue-and-yellow concrete steps overlook a fence that’s riddled with rips, as if someone pulled the chain-links apart. A rusted scoreboard, sponsored by Amstel and Coca Cola, rests in right. There’s knee-high grass in center. The infield wears green patches at the corners like a balding man clinging to scraps. Just then, a batted ball bounces to shortstop and skims beneath the fielder’s glove. The fielding actions were smooth—the field of action is not.

The players, in their mid-teens, form Curaçao’s prospect league—the next generation of pros on the island. Two groups scrimmage on the field, while another stretches behind four lanes of batting nets. Down the right-field corner, pitchers execute plyometrics, sprints, and weight training. Along the left-field line, a lanky teen drives a sledgehammer into a tire. MLB gear—Braves, Yankees, Red Sox—flashes across the field.

I’m here to meet their coach, former big leaguer Yurendell De Caster. Between innings, De Caster launches fungos in a cut-off White Sox hoodie. His raspy Papiamento echoes into the stands. I catch De Caster after training in the parking lot. We shake hands then he washes up under a dugout spit.

“Come back tomorrow at 7 a.m.,” De Caster says, still packing up. “The pro guys are gonna be here. At 1 [p.m.], you can catch [Jurickson] Profar and [Jonathan] Schoop,” a current and former big leaguer, putting in offseason work. The prospects will be back at 4 p.m.

“All the matches were last weekend,” one coach lamented before I’d arrived in Curaçao. Another told me little baseball would be transpiring this offseason.

The next morning, Melissa takes me back to Heintje Kool.

“How are your baseball visits?” she asks. “You know, you should go to Curaçao Baseball Week in January.”

Founded by Hensley Meulens, the event has one goal: “To bring kids in Curaçao closer to their baseball legends.” Albies, Gregorius, Jansen, Profar, Simmons—they’ll all come home to give back.

I’d rather chat baseball on island time, but I recently learned the US was seizing oil tankers and striking vessels in its push to oust Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro.

“On a clear day, you can see Venezuela,” Melissa tells me.

After the Dutch abolished slavery in 1863, they shifted their Caribbean focus to Venezuelan oil. In 1918, they built a refinery in Curaçao where crude revenues boosted the local economy. Several decades ago, Venezuelan and Dominican workers arrived with baseball and the game took off. Once refinery operations ceased in 2019, baseball claimed its place as Curaçao’s top export.

At shortstop, De Caster is refining four teens. He wears a Curaçao national shirt and Texas Rangers bucket cap. He’s joined by a short assistant holding a fungo and another in a cut-off who looks like a defensive end. One by one, the boys flash their reflexes, scoop, and fire to a net at first.

“Transfer high,” the head coach reminds them with a jerk of the hands.

De Caster looks to the stands and waves me onto the field. I point to myself, seeing no one else around. He waves harder.

“These are the young ones,” he tells me as I meet him in the infield.

“How do they look?”

“Good. We need to make more shortstops.”

He points to several guys in the batting nets. “Those are the pros. You can watch from the dugout.”

The infielders move to second base then shift behind the mound to take cut-off throws to third. As more fungos spit out, De Caster harps on technique in gravelly tones. With fluid hips and hands, the fielders manage the unruly bounces. When the boys come in for water, each bumps my fist and says, “Good morning.”

As they jog back out, I poke through a back room holding an arsenal of bases, balls, tees—and every coach’s favorite—buckets. I settle on a bench next to a vending machine. Not all Curaçao fields are well-stocked, but there’s promise at Heintje Kool.

De Caster ends training and walks my way.

“You see the Little League World Series?” he asks, gesturing down the line. “He played there, and he played there.” These boys are too young to be big leaguers, but MLB teams are already laying claim. “He’s signed to the Twins; he’s signed to the Rangers; he’s signed to the Marlins.” Each kid wears a hat of his to-be team. Two are members of the 2027 signing class. The last one is class of 2030.

“They just train here with me,” he says. “We need more shortstops.”

“What’s the secret to making them?”

 “Train.”

De Caster waves me into his van and says he’s taking me to the gym. He nods to a quiet boy in the back: “My son,” he says.

“Did you play ball?” he asks.

I tell him about pitching in Australia and Europe.

“I played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Dutch national team in the WBC,” De Caster says. Over 17 pro seasons, he manned every defensive position except catcher. At 46, he carries trim muscle—only the slight hitch in his gait suggests his playing days are done.

At the gym, I meet De Caster’s fungo man, Bárbaro. “Acere,” De Caster calls him— “buddy” in Bárbaro’s native Cuba. Speaking Spanish, Bárbaro tells me about his academy in Cienfuegos that helped guys like Yoan Moncada reach the MLB.

“I’m here on contract for now,” he says with a big smile. I remark how great it is to have pros with the kids. He pats his mouth: “Sííí!”

He reaches for my shoulder. “Curaçaons will play here or there in the US and still come back to train with the kids.”

Meanwhile, the young infielders do pullups, spotted by their coaches. On the back turf, minor leaguers find more plyometrics: high knees, ladder jumps, short sprints. Before long, the young kids join.

In the afternoon, I walk back to Heintje Kool. A ride from Melissa would have been handy as I pass a canine carcass and a lunging dog that nearly jolts me into highway traffic. I arrive to find the young shortstops unleashing wood in the cages. Between swings, they wait for their turn, composed. On the back turf, pitchers undergo balance drills with med balls and PVC pipes.

On the mainland, the Dutch have tidy facilities, solar panels, and motor learning. Here, I see none of that. The Netherlands has more than 100 times the population of Curaçao and nearly 400 times its GDP. And yet Curaçao’s baseball is far more advanced. In all my travels, I’ve yet to see a better collection of coaching, drive, and technique.

“So, this is your job? To travel around the world?” De Caster asks. “Or hobby?”

I tell him a hobby, and he smiles. “So, you follow Curaçao?”

De Caster has also kept pace with world baseball.

“I see the Japanese players,” he says. “They’re doing good.”

“We need to get that way.”

…

Note from Editor: Jason will be on the ground in San Juan for the World Baseball Classic before joining me in Miami, with updates on the website. You can find his previous work here [link]. Also check out our WBC preview for the Netherlands [link].

The WBSC has announced the process of qualification for the Los Angeles Olympic Games, with significant effects for European countries. As a reminder, the tournament is a six-team event, two fewer than when baseball was an official Olympic sport, and the U.S.A. will take one of these places. The remaining teams will qualify in one of three ways, two of which apply to European nations.

The first method applies only to nations from the Americas, for which the top two finishers (other than the U.S.) at the World Baseball Classic will earn a spot in the Olympics. This is the only method by which a team from North or South America can qualify for L.A.

Next is qualification through the Premier12, scheduled for 2027 at a location and dates to be determined. At this event, which will now feature 16 teams, the best-placed team from Asia and the top finisher from either Europe or Oceania will secure a place at the 2028 Olympics.

Finally, the ‘Final Qualifier’ will produce one further Olympic country. The tournament will consist of the top two finishers at the most recent Asian Baseball Championship, the top two from the 2027 European 2027 Baseball Championship, and the winners of the most recent Oceania and African Baseball Championships, neither of which are currently scheduled.

National Team roster sizes for Olympic baseball will be 24 athletes, and the athletes must be at least 18 years old (in the year in which the competition takes place) to participate in any of the three qualification events as well as the LA28 Olympic Games tournament.

For Europe, this means that the two paths, the 2027 Premier 12 and 2027 Baseball Euros, could produce a total of two European nations in Los Angeles.