Japan finish 2023 on top of WBSC/KONAMI Men's Baseball World Ranking

Premier12, World Baseball Classic and Olympic champions Japan maintained its grip on the No.1 position of the WBSC/KONAMI Men's Baseball World Ranking, following the latest ranking update on Monday.

Japan's points tally has increased by 225 points to 5,797 following their win in the XXX BFA Asian Championship. The ranking update also includes the results of the WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup Oceania Qualifier.

The top 26 men's baseball programmes maintained their positions in the ranking with Mexico (4,764) in second place and the United States (4,492) No. 3.

The Philippines (316) are the most improved programme among the top 30, improving by four positions to No. 28.

Hong Kong, China (223) climbed five positions to reach No. 32.

Two programmes particularly enjoying the benefits of their performances at the XXX BFA Asian Championship are Pakistan (155) climbing 11 positions to reach No. 38, while Palestine (82) improved nine positions to a record high of No. 46.

The WBSC/KONAMI Men's Baseball World Ranking includes 80 programmes across the five Olympic continents.

The WBSC/KONAMI Men's Baseball World Ranking announcement heralds the expansion of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) and Konami Digital Entertainment Inc. (KONAMI) global partnership to incorporate the WBSC World Rankings naming rights.

KONAMI, a WBSC Global Sponsor, is a strong advocate for the development of baseball worldwide. In March this year, the corporation donated baseball equipment to WBSC Africa thanks to its Baseball Equipment Reuse project.

Media Advisory: World Rankings - Official Designation