Americas giants Mexico, Venezuela to meet in warm-up for WBSC Premier12

PUEBLA, Mexico — The National Baseball Teams of world No. 6 Mexico and No. 9 Venezuela announced they will tune up for November’s WBSC Premier12 with a “Giants of Latin America” two-game series from 26-27 October at Puebla’s Hermanos Serdan Stadium.

Both squads are hunting for the Premier12 trophy and to finish the global baseball battle — the most important international baseball competition in recent history — as the top team from the Americas, which will earn them a ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Milwaukee Brewers coach Carlos Subero will manage the Venezuelan National Team for the first time. The South American squad was eliminated in the first round of the 2015 Premier12 and finished 8th in the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

“Our goal is very clear, to be champion of the tournament,” Subero told reporters upon his hiring in June.

Former big leaguer Juan Castro will make his managerial debut with the Mexican National Team. Castro is looking to improve upon Mexico’s fourth-place finish in the 2015 WBSC Premier12.

“We are going to try to arm the team with the best players available,” Castro said at a press conference in August when he was appointed manager.

National Team rosters are to be submitted to the WBSC by 3 October.

The WBSC Premier12, which features the world’s 12 top-ranked men’s national baseball teams, will award two tickets to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, in addition to $5.2 million USD in prize money.

Mexico will begin the WBSC Premier12 on 2 November at Estadio de Beisbol Charros de Jalisco as host of Group A, alongside No. 2 USA, No. 8 Netherlands and No. 12 Dominican Republic.

Venezuela, drawn into Group B, will start the global competition in Taiwan on 5 November, and will have to face No. 1 Japan, No. 4 Chinese Taipei and No. 11 Puerto Rico.