Pan American Games baseball qualifier in Brazil to open 2019 international calendar
The baseball international season 2019 is already on the go. The Sao Paulo area in Brasil will host an eight-team tournament that will determine the final four participants to the Pan American Games
The 2019 international baseball season will open in the Americas with the Pan American Games Qualifier, to be played in Brazil from Tuesday, 29 January to Sunday, 3 February.
The eight-team tournament will be played under WBSC World Cup regulations and determine the final four spots in the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru.
The eight participating nations will be divided into two groups. The top two of each group will advance to the tournament’s semifinals and finals, while making it to the semifinals earns a national team a place in the Pan Am Games.
Hosts Brazil — No. 17 in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings, No. 6 Mexico, No. 12 Dominican Republic and No. 15 Nicaragua will compete in Group A. The games will be played in the Bom Retiro district in central Sao Paulo.
No. 9 Venezuela, the defending Pan Am champions/No. 10 Canada, No. 13 Panama and No. 14 Colombia will battle in Group B. The games will be played at the training center of the Academy of the Baseball Federation of Brasil (Confederaçao Brasileira de Beisebol e Softbal-CBBS). The venue was built in 2000 thanks to a cooperation between CBBS and the Yakult corporation.
The XVIII Pan American Games are scheduled to begin on Friday, 26 July 2019, in Lima. The baseball tournament will open on Monday, 29 July, and the gold medal game is scheduled on Sunday, 4 August.
Four national teams are already qualified for the baseball tournament: hosts Peru, Argentina (winner of the South American Games), Puerto Rico (winner of the Central American and Caribbean Games) and Cuba (runner up of the Central American and Caribbean Games).
