The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) announced that the second edition of the Global Baseball Games between Samurai Japan and Team Europe is scheduled for 6 and 7 March, 2024. The Kyocera Dome in Osaka, the home of the Orix Buffaloes of NPB, will host the two-game series.
Former NPB star infielder and U-12 Japanese National Team manager Hirokazu Ibata (48) will lead Samurai Japan.
Ibata, who coached under Atsunori Inaba at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, earned the job in October and will manage the Japanese National Team through to the WBSC Premier12 2024.
The WBSC appointed Marco Mazzieri as Team Europe's skipper. Mazzieri (61) led Italy to back-to-back European titles in 2010 and 2012 and is currently serving as WBSC Coach Commission chair. He was Team Europe's bench coach under Steve Janssen in 2015.
The Tokyo Dome hosted the first edition of the Challenge in March 2015. Samurai Japan came from behind to win the first game on 10 March, 4-3.
Team Europe won the second game 6-2 on 11 March.
