Managers have ‘high expectations’ for the V WBSC U-15 Baseball World Cup

Before the pre-tournament press conference, the managers of the 13 participating teams talked with WBSC about their expectations for the event, and all of them have something in common. They have ‘high expectations’ for the tournament. 

For Mexico’s manager Daniel Fernandez, being the local team means an extra responsibility. “All the teams have the same goal. We want a medal. We want to win the championship like everybody else,” he said. “When you are on home soil, the commitment is bigger. Here in Hermosillo, people know much about baseball and want the championship. We hope all the kids stay sound and they can give us the satisfaction of winning.”

For South Africa it’s a growing process to get better and better. “We look always to improve, tournament to tournament. I think that would be a fair assessment,” said coach Warren Manshon.

USA arrives in Hermosillo as the defending world champions, and manager Drew Briese knows their responsibility. “I think any time USA Baseball steps a foot on the field the expectation is to win a gold medal. And for me is as simple as that. It’s all we want to do.”

Puerto Rico’s Jose Sola has a clear goal for the tournament: Even if they are a newcomer in this age bracket, they are in Hermosillo to compete for a medal. “First of all, trying to qualify for the Super Round. That’s our first goal, first thing first. And then go after and fight for a medal. It would be great for us being in our first World Cup.”

Jean Michel Mayeur will lead France in their first U-15 Baseball World Cup. “It’s going to be a great experience, this is the first time the French National Team plays a World Cup. So we want to play one game at a time, play hard and play every team 100%.” 

Audes De Leon has high expectations as well for his Panama National Team. “We won a silver medal last time, so it’s very important for us to do a good job. The team has a great attitude to play the way we know. It’s a very tough tournament. But we have a good team to compete.”

The Cuban team has a great history in this event, winning a pair of world titles and a silver medal in the four previous editions. Alexander Urquiola wants to repeat the success. “Our first goal is to advance to the Super Round, and then trying to win as many games as possible. Our final goal is to win the gold medal. That’s why we are here.”

Juan Carlos Morales said the Venezuelan squad is always a brave team. “We always fight for our wins. We have a good team, our defence is very good. God willing, we’ll finish with a medal.”

Neder Horta, manager of Colombia, said the team have a lot of expectations for the event. “We had a pretty interesting training process. We want to play well, show our level and surpass the Opening Round. The group is pretty interesting. We worked pretty hard to be here.”

Chinese Taipei’s manager Wei Cheng Tseng also wants to finish the tournament with a medal. “Obviously we want to finish in the top three and win a medal here. But we also want to learn and get valuable experience for our players.”

Japanese manager Yoshitaka Katori is also here to win it all: “We respect all the teams in the tournament, but of course we want to win,” he said through an interpreter. 

Filip Procházka has been working with his Czech team for 10 months, and half of the team has World Cup experience since they played in the U-12 2019. However, competition will be strong in Hermosillo. “We have pretty strong teams in the round robin, of course it’s going to be a tough fight, but we’re ready for it.” 

Guam will be making its debut in the tournament. Coach Keith Wayne Hattig had three weeks to put the team together, so the process was very tight. Gaining experience is their main goal. “We have five or six players that can play everywhere. So hopefully they can lead the team. All the teams here are very tough, so we’ll do our best to compete in this tournament.”