Baseball5: New 5-on-5 version of Baseball/Softball could explode in Argentina

Baseball5: New 5-on-5 version of Baseball/Softball could explode in Argentina
15/04/2020
Baseball5 was widely introduced in Argentina on the sidelines of the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Buenos Aires, attracting people to try it while impressing spectators.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Baseball5 - the five-on-five street version of the game of baseball/softball - is being added to the Buenos Aires High School Physical Education Programme, where the sport could see massive adoption and development in the South American country.

To support the success of the initiative, the Buenos Aires City Government has published a Baseball5 training manual, "Baseball5, a game for inclusion" (online here in Spanish).

“Baseball5 is a great activity for the growth of kids. Usually, teachers don’t have a huge space for their Physical Education classes in the school, and Baseball5 allows us to teach the baseball/softball basics everywhere: running, catching, throwing, jumping and sliding,” said Physical Education teacher and Baseball5 coach Victor Aramayo. “I introduced Baseball5 in my school, in the breaks, and the kids have adopted the game. They use chalk to mark the field and start to play by themselves. It’s great.”

With the official government backing of Baseball5, Argentina in the coming years could see its world ranking edge nearer to baseball powerhouses like No. 8 Venezuela, the top-ranked country in South America, and No. 14 Colombia.

Argentina is currently sitting 23rd in the WBSC Baseball World Rankings.

The country is also ranked 2nd in the WBSC Men’s Softball World Rankings after claiming the World Championship title for the first time in 2019 and 27th in women’s softball.

Why Baseball5?

The Buenos Aires Baseball5 manual states:

“Having an official game that does not require large spaces and that can be played on different types of terrain not only favours its practice in schools but also facilitates the organization of meetings or tournaments between different institutions.”

With the practice of Baseball5 growing globally and requiring only a ball to play, it has been added as an official sport of the 2022 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Dakar, Africa.

Baseball5 was successfully introduced in Argentina on the sidelines of the 2018 YOG, where the baseball/softball street version attracted more than 3,000 school kids at the Sports Initiation Zone.

Following the 2018 YOG, Baseball5 has continued to spread in Argentina and around the world, reaching important milestones in Europe and Africa.

The inaugural WBSC Baseball5 World Cup is scheduled to take place at the end of the year in Mexico.  Lithuania and France were the first to qualify.