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The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) published its latest world rankings at the end of December 2022, in which Japan maintains its number one position in men’s baseball.
Other national teams topping the rankings are Taiwan (listed as Chinese Taipei) in second place, followed by the United States, who won the WBSC under-12 international tournament, South Korea, and then Mexico.
WBSC Men’s Baseball Rankings (as of the end of December 2022)
(Previous ranking at the end of December 2021).
The Japan men’s national team, known as Samurai Japan, has won the World Baseball Classic twice and also won the gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in 2021. WBSC ranking points are compiled based on the performance of national teams in WBSC accredited world tournaments over the last 4 years from under-12 to top level. The latest ranking reflects performance over the period 2019-2022.
The graph below shows the ranking trends among the top countries and regions with the best teams. Japan has held the top spot for eight consecutive years, since 2014.
In baseball, in addition to the tournaments organized by the WBSC, the World Baseball Classic (World Baseball Classic) is well known, organized by the World Baseball Classic Inc (WBCI), formed by the organization of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the MLB Players Association. Japan consecutively won the first and second World Baseball Classic among the four tournaments held from 2006 to now.
Results of the World Baseball Classic
2006
2009
2013
2017
The V World Baseball Classic is scheduled to be held in March 2023 with the participation of teams representing 20 countries and regions. The qualifiers will be held first in Japan, Taiwan and the United States.
In women’s baseball, the Japanese team ranks first according to the world ranking published at the end of December 2021 (see table below). According to the WBSC, a new ranking will be published in 2023.
WBSC Rankings for Women’s Baseball (as of end of December 2021)
(The last ranking will be published in 2023.)
Banner photo: Members of Japan’s national baseball team, Samurai Japan, showing off their new uniforms on January 13, 2022; Second from the right is Itō Hiromi of the Hokkaidō Nippon-Ham Fighters, with Murakami Munetaka of the Yakult Swallows next to him, second from the left. (Jiji Press)
