USA Baseball
Encyclopedia
USA Baseball was founded in , and is the governing body for amateur baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 in the United States of America. It is a member of the United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...

 (USOC) and organizes the United States national baseball team
United States national baseball team
The United States National Baseball team represents the United States in international baseball competition. The United States has won the previous two Baseball World Cups, having lost this title to the Netherlands in 2011, and is currently second in the IBAF World Rankings, behind Cuba.The team...

. In 2000, USA Baseball was named the USOC Team of the Year.

USA Baseball organizes various teams composed of High School, College, and Professional baseball players competing nationally and internationally.

In the 1984
1984 Summer Olympics
The 1984 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held in Los Angeles, California, United States in 1984...

 and 1988
1988 Summer Olympics
The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

 Olympics, baseball was a demonstration sport, but Team USA captured a silver and gold respectively. During the 1996
1996 Summer Olympics
The 1996 Summer Olympics of Atlanta, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad and unofficially known as the Centennial Olympics, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1996 in Atlanta, Georgia, United States....

 games in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

, the team won the bronze medal. In 2000
2000 Summer Olympics
The Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 15 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...

, for the first time ever, the team was composed of minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...

 players. Guided by Tommy Lasorda
Tommy Lasorda
Thomas Charles Lasorda is a former Major League baseball player and manager. marked his sixth decade in one capacity or another with the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers organization, the longest non-continuous tenure anyone has had with the team, edging Dodger broadcaster Vin Scully...

, the team defeated two-time champion Cuba
Cuba national baseball team
The Cuba national baseball team is the national team of Cuba. The team is made up of amateur players from the Cuban national baseball system, as there are no professional sports leagues in Cuba...

 to capture the gold medal. However, the team failed to qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad, was a premier international multi-sport event held in Athens, Greece from August 13 to August 29, 2004 with the motto Welcome Home. 10,625 athletes competed, some 600 more than expected, accompanied by 5,501 team...

 as they lost a qualifying tournament that saw them lose to Mexico
Mexico national baseball team
The Mexico national baseball team is the baseball team which represents Mexico in international tournaments. They are currently the eighth ranked baseball team in the world.-Pan American Games:*1951 Bronze Medal *1963 Bronze Medal...

 in an elimination game during the quarter-final round.

The USA Baseball National Team is a made up of the top freshman and sophomore players of collegiate baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...

. Each year the team embarks upon the Red, White and Blue Tour to play exhibition games against various teams in the United States, including an annual tour of the New England Collegiate Baseball League
New England Collegiate Baseball League
The New England Collegiate Baseball League is a 12-team collegiate summer baseball league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 42-game schedule during June and July, with a playoff in early August...

. The tour also features traditional match-ups against Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. The National Team featured many MLB players like Mark McGwire
Mark McGwire
Mark David McGwire , nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball player who played his major league career with the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Cardinals. He is currently the hitting coach for the St...

, Nomar Garciaparra
Nomar Garciaparra
Anthony Nomar Garciaparra is a former Major League Baseball player. After playing parts of 9 seasons as an All-Star shortstop for the Boston Red Sox, he played third base, first base, and designated hitter for the Oakland Athletics, first base and third base for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and...

, Troy Glaus
Troy Glaus
Troy Edward Glaus is a Major League Baseball first baseman and third baseman who is currently a free agent. Previously, Glaus played with the Anaheim Angels , Arizona Diamondbacks , Toronto Blue Jays , St. Louis Cardinals , and the Atlanta Braves . Glaus lettered in baseball while attending UCLA...

, Mark Prior
Mark Prior
Mark William Prior is an American professional baseball pitcher in the New York Yankees organization. He pitched for the Chicago Cubs from 2002-2006. His repertoire of pitches includes a low to mid 90s fastball, a curveball, a slurve, and a changeup.-Amateur career:Prior graduated from the...

, Jason Giambi
Jason Giambi
Jason Gilbert Giambi is an American professional baseball first baseman with the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball.He was the American League MVP in 2000 while with the Oakland Athletics, and is a five-time All-Star who has led the American League in walks four times, in on base percentage...

, and Adam Everett
Adam Everett
Jeffery Adam Everett , is an American professional baseball shortstop who is a free agent. He played collegiate baseball at the University of South Carolina...

.

USA Baseball also fields the Junior National Team (18-under) and the Youth National Team (16-under). It also organizes the USA Junior Olympic Baseball Championships and awards the Golden Spikes Award
Golden Spikes Award
The Golden Spikes Award is awarded annually to the best amateur baseball player. It is awarded by USA Baseball and sponsored by the Major League Baseball Players Association. Though the award can be presented to any amateur player, it has always been given to a college baseball player.-Past...

 to the amateur baseball player of the year. Since , USA Baseball has been selecting teams of Professional-level minor league players to represent the United States in various International competitions including the IBAF World Cup, IBAF Intercontinental Cup
Intercontinental Cup (baseball)
The Intercontinental Cup is a baseball tournament between the members of the International Baseball Federation . It was first held in 1973 in Italy, and was held every other year following until 1999....

, Pan Am Games
Baseball at the Pan American Games
The baseball tournament at the Pan American Games has long been considered to be one of the premier international baseball events in the world, even higher than the Olympic Games. This is because the level of competition is higher than in the Olympics, where only two teams from the Americas...

 and Olympic Regional qualifying events. These players are hand selected by USA Baseball Directors from either affiliated MLB Minor League teams or Independent League teams.

Each June, USA Baseball sends at-large teams to the national all-stars tournament — the USA Baseball Tournament of Stars; its predecessor was the National Amateur All-Star Baseball Tournament (NAABT). The tournament features the top 16- to 18-year-old players from various baseball organizations, including the American Amateur Baseball Congress (AABC), American Legion, Babe Ruth Baseball, Dixie Baseball, National Amateur Baseball Federation (NABF), PONY baseball, Major League Baseball's "Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities" (RBI), and at-large teams from USA Baseball.

The first USA Baseball women's national team was selected in to participate in the 2004 Women's World Series in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 and in the 2004 Women's World Cup in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...

. The women's national team won the Silver Medal at the Women's World Series and brought home the Gold Medal from the 2004 *Women's World Cup
Women's Baseball World Cup
The Women's Baseball World Cup is an international tournament in which national women's baseball teams from around the world compete. It is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation...

. In , the USA Baseball women's national team repeated as the Gold Medalist defeating Japan 13-11 in Taipei, Taiwan.

Team USA at the WBC

In June 2005, Major League Baseball announced the formation of the World Baseball Classic
World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...

, a 16 nation international competition to be held in March 2006 for the first time. A month after this announcement, the IOC voted to eliminate baseball from the 2012 London Olympic games, leaving the WBC as the only international tournament to feature American professionals.

Member organizations

  • Amateur Athletic Union
    Amateur Athletic Union
    The Amateur Athletic Union is one of the largest non-profit volunteer sports organizations in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs.-History:The AAU was founded in 1888 to...

     (AAU)
  • American Amateur Baseball Congress
    American Amateur Baseball Congress
    The American Amateur Baseball Congress is an amateur baseball organization in the United States for players from sub-teens through adults. Founded in 1935, it coordinates its programs with USA Baseball and the American Baseball Coaches Association. AABC has eight age-range divisions in the U.S.,...

     (AABC)
  • American Baseball Coaches Association
    American Baseball Coaches Association
    The American Baseball Coaches Association is a baseball coaching organization formed in 1945. It is the primary professional organization for baseball coaches at the amateur level.-History:...

     (ABCA)
  • American Legion Baseball
    American Legion Baseball
    American Legion Baseball is a variety of amateur baseball played by teenage boys in 50 states in the USA. More than five thousand teams participate each year. The American Legion Department of South Dakota established the program in 1925 at Milbank, South Dakota...

  • Babe Ruth Baseball
  • Dixie Baseball
  • Little League Baseball
    Little League
    Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...

  • National Amateur Baseball Federation
  • National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
    National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
    The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...

     (NAIA)
  • National Assoc. of Police Athletic Leagues
  • National Baseball Congress
    National Baseball Congress
    The National Baseball Congress of Wichita, Kansas is an organization of 15 amateur and semi-professional baseball leagues operating in the United States and Canada...

     (NBC)

  • National Club Baseball Association
    National Club Baseball Association
    The National Club Baseball Association is the national body that governs club baseball at colleges and universities in the United States...

     (NCBA)
  • National Collegiate Athletic Association
    National Collegiate Athletic Association
    The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

     (NCAA)
  • National Federation of State High School Associations
    National Federation of State High School Associations
    The National Federation of State High School Associations is the body that writes the rules of competition for most high school sports and activities in the United States. Most high schools, whether public or private, belong to their state's high school association; in turn, each state association...

     (NFHS)
  • National High School Baseball Coaches Assoc.
  • National Junior College Athletic Association
    National Junior College Athletic Association
    The National Junior College Athletic Association , founded in 1938, is an association of community college and junior college athletic departments throughout the United States. It is held as Divisions and Regions. The current NJCAA holds 24 separate regions.-History:The idea for the NJCAA was...

     (NJCAA)
  • PONY Baseball
  • T-BALL USA
  • United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA)
  • World Baseball Classic
    World Baseball Classic
    The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...

     (WBC)
  • YMCA
    YMCA
    The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

    s of the USA


See also

  • American Women's Baseball Federation
    American Women's Baseball Federation
    American Women's Baseball Federation is a 501 tax-exempt nonprofit Amateur Sports Organization formed to organize and promote baseball as a mainstream and lifetime opportunity for women....

  • Amateur baseball in the United States
    Amateur baseball in the United States
    Amateur baseball is a form of baseball in which the players either are not paid for playing, or receive only a modest stipend or employment arranged by the team's boosters...

  • Baseball awards #U.S. amateur baseball
  • Baseball awards #U.S. college baseball
  • Baseball awards #U.S. high-school baseball
  • Baseball awards #U.S. youth baseball
  • USOC Athlete of the Year
    USOC Athlete of the Year
    The USOC Athlete of the Year awards are presented on an annual basis by the United States Olympic Committee to athletes who have distinguished themselves in one of the Olympic or Paralympic sports...

    (2000 Team of the Year: USA Baseball Olympic team)

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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