18/10/2023 1 Minute Read

Chinese Taipei, France, Cuba top three in latest WBSC Baseball5 World Rankings

The WBSC Baseball5 World Rankings include 47 programmes in total across the five continents with No. 40 Australia and No 47 Togo featuring for the first time. Four continents are represented across the top four teams.

Chinese Taipei held on to the No. 1 position in WBSC Baseball5 World Rankings following its sixth-place finish in the inaugural WBSC Youth Baseball5 World Cup last week, moving up 532 points to 2,775.

World No. 2 France, the runner-up in Ankara, also held on to second place, adding 826 points to move to 2,482.

Youth Baseball5 World Cup champions Cuba were the big movers in the top six, moving from sixth to third after adding 1,000 points to move to 2,393. Cuba beat France in the Youth Baseball5 World Cup final on Sunday, adding to the World Title they won last year in Mexico.

However, despite holding the Baseball5 World Title and the Youth Baseball5 World Title, Cuba couldn't manage enough points to reach first place, a position they last held on 15 August, 2023, since the last Americas Baseball5 Continental Championship was in 2019, falling outside the WBSC Baseball5 World Ranking four-year cycle. Chinese Taipei and France’s points totals includes the most recent editions of their youth and senior Baseball5 Continental Championships.

Despite this, Mexico is the most improved programme in the top 10, advancing five positions and into seventh place thanks to the third place finish in Türkiye adding 753 points to move to 1,560.

Ghana also reached the top 10 thanks to a seventh-place finish in the Youth Baseball5 World Cup. It is now No. 9 with 1,219 points.

Despite losing three positions, Lithuania remains in the top 10 with 1,217 points.

Four Continents are represented in the top 10. No. 5 Japan and No. 8 Korea add to No. 1 Chinese Taipei for Asia; No. 2 France and No. 10 Lithuania represent Europe; No. 3 Cuba and No. 7 Mexico represent the Americas; No. 4 Tunisia and No. 6 South Africa add to No. 9 Ghana and represent Africa.

After finishing fourth on home soil in the inaugural Youth Baseball5 World Cup, Türkiye (679 points) jumped 13 places to No. 11 on 1,144 points to record the best improvement in the programmes from places 11-20 together with China, now No. 13 with 1,030 points.

The WBSC Baseball5 World Rankings include 47 programmes in total across the five continents with No. 40 Australia and No 47 Togo featuring for the first time.