WBSC World Rankings

Ranking system for national teams in baseball and softball

Top 20 rankings  | Men's Baseball as of 18 December 2023[1]

Rank  | Change  | Team  | Points
1 |  |  Japan | 5797
2 |  |  Mexico | 4764
3 |  |  United States | 4492
4 |  |  South Korea | 4353
5 |  |  Chinese Taipei | 4170
6 |  |  Venezuela | 3975
7 |  |  Netherlands | 3288
8 |  |  Cuba | 3121
9 |  |  Dominican Republic | 2667
10 |  |  Panama | 2534
11 |  |  Australia | 2367
12 |  |  Puerto Rico | 2355
13 |  |  Colombia | 2105
14 |  |  Italy | 1939
15 |  |  Czech Republic | 1900
16 |  |  Canada | 1397
17 |  |  Germany | 1223
18 |  |  Great Britain | 1142
19 |  |  Israel | 1086
20 |  |  Nicaragua | 1021
*Change from 2 November 2023
| Women's Softball as of 10 November 2023[2]

Rank  | Change  | Team  | Points
1 |  |  United States | 4301
2 |  |  Japan | 2899
3 |  |  Puerto Rico | 2815
4 |  1  |  Chinese Taipei | 2573
5 |  1  |  Canada | 1885
6 |  2  |  Italy | 1816
7 |  1  |  Mexico | 1684
8 |  1  |  Netherlands | 1602
9 |  1  |  Czech Republic | 1483
10 |  3  |  Australia | 1379
11 |  3  |  Cuba | 953
12 |  |  Spain | 950
13 |  |  Great Britain | 936
14 |  7  |  Philippines | 898
15 |  4  |  China | 845
16 |  2  |  Peru | 771
17 |  2  |  Venezuela | 770
18 |  1  |  Israel | 725
19 |  1  |  Germany | 646
20 |  2  |  France | 624
*Change from 31 July 2023

The WBSC World Rankings is a ranking system for national teams in baseball, softball, and baseball5. The teams of the member nations of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), baseball's world governing body, are ranked based on their tournament results with the most successful teams being ranked highest. A point system is used, with points being awarded based on the results of WBSC-recognized international tournaments. Under the existing system, rankings are based on a team's performance over the last four years, with major international tournaments awarded a higher weighting compared to minor international and continental tournaments.

Five rankings are published by the WBSC, they are: Men's Baseball, Women's Baseball, Women's Softball, Men's Softball, and Baseball5.[3]

## History[edit]

In January 2009, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) first published a listing in rank order of its member associations to provide a basis for comparison of the relative strengths of these teams. Though primarily focused on the respective men's senior teams of member nations, the current ranks also include points awarded based on results at the IBAF 'AAA' (Under 18) Junior and 'AA' (Under 16) Youth Championships held during the tracking period. As a result from the merger with softball in 2013, the WBSC is also responsible for ranking international men's and women's softball teams.[4] Beginning in 2015, the rankings also determine which twelve teams participate in the WBSC Premier12 tournament.

## Men's[edit]

### Baseball[edit]

#### Men's ranking leaders[edit]

WBSC World Men's Ranking Leaders

Teams ranking in the top five  Date  | First  | Second  | Third  | Fourth  | Fifth

|
|
|
|
|

31 December 2012  |  Cuba |  United States |  Japan |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei
31 December 2014  |  Japan |  United States |  Cuba |  Chinese Taipei |  Netherlands
31 December 2016  |  Japan |  United States |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei |  Cuba
25 September 2018  |  United States |  Japan |  South Korea |  Cuba |  Chinese Taipei
17 December 2018  |  Japan |  United States |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei |  Cuba
31 December 2019  |  Japan |  United States |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei |  Mexico
18 March 2020  |  Japan |  United States |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei |  Mexico
28 June 2021  |  Japan |  Chinese Taipei |  South Korea |  United States |  Mexico
11 August 2021  |  Japan |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei |  United States |  Mexico
31 December 2021  |  Japan |  Chinese Taipei |  South Korea |  Mexico |  United States
31 December 2022  |  Japan |  Chinese Taipei |  United States |  South Korea |  Mexico
28 March 2023  |  Japan |  United States |  Mexico |  Chinese Taipei |  South Korea
15 August 2023  |  Japan |  United States |  Mexico |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei
5 October 2023  |  Japan |  United States |  Mexico |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei
2 November 2023  |  Japan |  Mexico |  United States |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei
18 December 2023  |  Japan |  Mexico |  United States |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei
31 December 2023  |  Japan |  Mexico |  United States |  South Korea |  Chinese Taipei

The rankings of November 2023 saw a record 80 nations earning rankings.[5]

#### Best Movers[edit]

Top five movers per ranking  Date  | First  | Second  | Third  | Fourth  | Fifth

|
|
|
|
|

31 December 2014  |  Israel |  Curaçao |  Iran |  Slovenia |  Austria
31 December 2016  |  Guatemala |  Slovakia |  Sweden |  Poland |  Lithuania
25 September 2018  |  Israel |  Indonesia |  El Salvador |  Sri Lanka |  Honduras
17 December 2018  |  Curaçao |  U.S. Virgin Islands |  Aruba |  South Africa |  Venezuela
31 December 2019  |  American Samoa |  Guam |  Greece |  Great Britain |  Spain
18 March 2020  |  Guam |  El Salvador |  New Zealand |  Honduras |  Peru
28 June 2021  |  Switzerland |  Honduras |  Indonesia |  Aruba |  Nigeria
11 August 2021  |  Slovenia |  Ireland |  Croatia |  Uganda |  American Samoa
31 December 2021  |  Sweden |  Hungary |  Croatia |  Great Britain |  Venezuela
31 December 2022  |  Northern Mariana Islands |  Bahamas |  Curaçao |  Bulgaria |  Palau
28 March 2023  |  Costa Rica |  Bangladesh |  Honduras |  China |  Kenya
15 August 2023  |  Palestine |  Ecuador |  Indonesia |  Norway |  Afghanistan
5 October 2023  |  Switzerland |  Greece |  Sweden |  Croatia |  Ukraine
2 November 2023  |  Panama |  Colombia |  South Africa |  Laos |  El Salvador
18 December 2023  |  Pakistan |  Palestine |  Hong Kong |  Costa Rica |  Philippines
31 December 2023  |  Norway |  Finland | —

### Softball[edit]

Top 20 Rankings as of 26 April 2023[6] Rank  | Change  | Team  | Points

|
|
|

1 |  |  Argentina | 4224
2 |  2  |  Australia | 3551
3 |  |  Japan | 3451
4 |  2  |  Canada | 3358
5 |  |  United States | 2655
6 |  |  Czech Republic | 2526
7 |  |  New Zealand | 2280
8 |  |  Venezuela | 2133
9 |  |  Cuba | 1807
10 |  |  Mexico | 1775
11 |  |  Denmark | 1069
12 |  2  |  Singapore | 994
13 |  |  Guatemala | 934
14 |  2  |  South Africa | 894
15 |  |  Philippines | 623
16 |  |  Netherlands | 412
17 |  4  |  Israel | 339
18 |  1  |  Botswana | 253
19 |  1  |  Dominican Republic | 221
20 |  1  |  Chinese Taipei | 192
*Change from 31 December 2022

## Women's[edit]

### Softball[edit]

#### Women's ranking leaders[edit]

WBSC World Women's Ranking Leaders

Teams ranking in the top five  Date  | First  | Second  | Third  | Fourth  | Fifth

|
|
|
|
|

31 December 2016  |  Japan |  United States |  Canada |  Australia |  New Zealand
17 December 2018  |  United States |  Japan |  Canada |  Puerto Rico |  Mexico
31 December 2019  |  United States |  Japan |  Canada |  Puerto Rico |  Mexico
1 January 2020  |  United States |  Japan |  Canada |  Puerto Rico |  Mexico
28 June 2021  |  United States |  Japan |  Canada |  Puerto Rico |  Mexico
11 August 2021  |  Japan |  United States |  Canada |  Mexico |  Puerto Rico
31 December 2021  |  United States |  Japan |  Canada |  Mexico |  Puerto Rico
31 December 2022  |  United States |  Japan |  Chinese Taipei |  Canada |  Puerto Rico
12 April 2023  |  United States |  Japan |  Chinese Taipei |  Puerto Rico |  Canada
31 July 2023  |  United States |  Japan |  Puerto Rico |  Canada |  Chinese Taipei
10 November 2023  |  United States |  Japan |  Puerto Rico |  Chinese Taipei |  Canada
31 December 2023  |  United States |  Japan |  Puerto Rico |  Chinese Taipei |  Canada

Softball saw a ranking featuring 66 countries in November 2023.[7]

#### Best Movers[edit]

Top five movers per ranking  Date  | First  | Second  | Third  | Fourth  | Fifth

|
|
|
|
|

17 December 2018  |  South Africa |  Ireland |  India |  Mexico |  Dominican Republic
31 December 2019  |  Belgium |  Germany |  Poland |  Spain |  Ireland
28 June 2021  |  Croatia |  Germany |  Slovakia |  Spain |  Russia
11 August 2021  |  Cuba |  Indonesia |  Hong Kong |  Botswana |  Curaçao
31 December 2021  |  Denmark |  Peru |  Belgium |  Slovakia |  Sweden
31 December 2022  |  Argentina |  El Salvador |  Slovakia |  Greece |  Israel
12 April 2023  |  Singapore |  Philippines |  South Korea |  Thailand |  Botswana
31 July 2023  |  Cuba |  Curaçao |  Botswana |  Venezuela |  South Africa
10 November 2023  |  Philippines |  Singapore |  Hong Kong |  Belgium |  Hungary
31 December 2023  |  Dominican Republic |  Colombia |  Guatemala |  Chile |  Ecuador

### Baseball[edit]

Top 20 Rankings as of 22 September 2023[8] Rank  | Change  | Team  | Points

|
|
|

1 |  |  Japan | 970
2 |  |  Chinese Taipei | 841
3 |  2  |  Venezuela | 581
4 |  |  United States | 510
5 |  7  |  Mexico | 496
6 |  3  |  Puerto Rico | 490
7 |  4  |  Hong Kong | 451
8 |  5  |  Canada | 428
9 |  1  |  South Korea | 413
10 |  3  |  Cuba | 350
11 |  3  |  Philippines | 324
12 |  3  |  China | 277
13 |  5  |  Australia | 264
14 |  2  |  France | 180
15 |  3  |  India | 177
16 |  3  |  Pakistan | 115
17 |  |  Indonesia | 109
18 |  12  |  Dominican Republic | 72
19 |  |  Thailand | 68
20 |  |  Czech Republic | 56
*Change from 31 December 2021

In the wake of the International Olympic Committee's decision to cut baseball from the 2012 Olympics program, the IBAF pushed the growth of women's baseball as to include a women's component in its bid for a reinstatement of the sport in future Olympics. The effort to unify the sports resulted in the merger of the IBAF with the International Softball Federation in 2013 to create the WBSC.[9]

The initial women's baseball rankings were based upon results from past Women's Baseball World Cups. While the calculations of the women's rankings are similar to that of the men's, one main difference is that they are inclusive of the three most recent IBAF Women's Baseball World Cups whereas the men's rankings only include the last two. Points are weighted in favor of the more recent results.[10]

## Coed[edit]

### Baseball5[edit]

Baseball5 is a mixed-gender sport, with each team of 5 active players having at least 2 players of either gender.

Top 20 Rankings as of 16 November 2023[11] Rank  | Change  | Team  | Points

|
|
|

1 |  1  |  France | 3037
2 |  1  |  Chinese Taipei | 2775
3 |  |  Cuba | 2393
4 |  |  Tunisia | 1995
5 |  5  |  Lithuania | 1892
6 |  1  |  Japan | 1639
7 |  1  |  South Africa | 1593
8 |  1  |  Mexico | 1560
9 |  1  |  South Korea | 1442
10 |  1  |  Ghana | 1219
11 |  5  |  Italy | 1194
12 |  7  |  Netherlands | 1179
13 |  2  |  Turkey | 1144
14 |  2  |  Kenya | 1046
15 |  2  |  China | 1030
16 |  7  |  Belgium | 952
17 |  3  |  Romania | 905
17 |  3  |  Venezuela | 905
19 |  2  |  Czech Republic | 885
20 |  5  |  Malaysia | 842
*Change from 18 October 2023

## Calculation method[edit]

### Men's baseball[edit]

Points are awarded in the men's baseball rankings according to finishes in the Premier12, World Baseball Classic, U-23 Baseball World Cup, U-18 Baseball World Cup, U-15 Baseball World Cup and U-12 Baseball World Cup as follows.[12]

#### Premier 12[edit]

Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Points | 1380 | 1102 | 1004 | 906 | 808 | 710 | 612 | 514 | 416 | 318 | 220 | 122

#### World Baseball Classic[edit]

Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Points | 1150 | 940 | 880 | 820 | 760 | 700 | 640 | 580 | 520 | 460 | 400 | 340 | 280 | 220 | 160 | 100

#### U-23 Baseball World Cup[edit]

Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Points | 690 | 551 | 502 | 453 | 404 | 355 | 306 | 257 | 208 | 159 | 110 | 61

#### U-18 Baseball World Cup[edit]

Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Points | 575 | 459 | 418 | 377 | 336 | 295 | 254 | 213 | 172 | 131 | 90 | 49

#### U-15 Baseball World Cup[edit]

Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Points | 460 | 367 | 334 | 301 | 268 | 235 | 202 | 169 | 136 | 103 | 70 | 37

#### U-12 Baseball World Cup[edit]

Final rank | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Points | 345 | 275 | 250 | 225 | 200 | 175 | 150 | 125 | 100 | 75 | 50 | 25

## See also[edit]

* Baseball awards § World

## Notes and references[edit]

1. ^ "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
2. ^ "The WBSC Women's World Ranking". WBSC. 10 November 2023. Retrieved 10 November 2023.
3. ^ "WBSC launches first-ever Baseball5 World Rankings". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
4. ^ "WBSC launches first-ever Softball World Rankings: Japan Women's No. 1, New Zealand Men's No. 1". Mister Baseball. March 22, 2016. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
5. ^ "Record 86 nations featured in March 2020 WBSC Baseball World Rankings". wbsc.org. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
6. ^ "The WBSC Men's Softball World Ranking". WBSC. 26 April 2023. Retrieved 26 April 2023.
7. ^ "WBSC Rankings – Women's softball". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
8. ^ "The WBSC Women's Baseball World Ranking". WBSC. 22 September 2023. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
9. ^ "ABOUT THE WORLD BASEBALL SOFTBALL CONFEDERATION". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
10. ^ "IBAF Releases First-Ever Women's World Rankings". International Baseball Federation. 13 August 2009. Archived from the original on 23 August 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2009.
11. ^ "The WBSC Baseball5 World Ranking". WBSC. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
12. ^ "WBSC Rankings - Baseball Men's". rankings.wbsc.org. WBSC. Retrieved 22 August 2019.

## External links[edit]

* WBSC rankings

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WBSC

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Codes|

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Confederations|

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Baseball tournaments|

| International|

* World Baseball Classic
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* U-23 Baseball World Cup
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* U-15 Baseball World Cup
* U-12 Baseball World Cup

|

Club|

* BCL Americas
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Softball tournaments|

* Women's Softball World Cup
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* U-23 Men's Softball World Cup
* U-18 Women's Softball World Cup
* U-18 Men's Softball World Cup
* U-15 Women's Softball World Cup
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Baseball5 tournaments|

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Presidents|

| IBAF|

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* Riccardo Fraccari (2009–13)

|

WBSC|

* Riccardo Fraccari (2013–present)

Rankings|

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1938—2013: International Baseball Federation (IBF / FIBA / AINBA / IBAF)

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Minor World Events|

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Oceania|

* WBSC Oceania – Oceania Championship
* U-18
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* v
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International softball

* World Baseball Softball Confederation (former governing body: International Softball Federation)
* World Rankings

Men's world events|

* World Cup
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Women's world events|

* World Cup
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Mixed world events|

* U-12 World Cup

Other world events|

* World Games
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Defunct events|

* Olympics
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Africa|

* WBSC Africa

Americas|

WBSC Americas
Pan American Games
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Asia|

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Europe|

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Oceania|

WBSC Oceania
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