WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier preview: Day 1 match-ups

WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier preview: Day 1 match-ups
29/05/2021
The opening round of the Olympic baseball Americas qualifier will be played over three days, with four games programmed each day.

The WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier, which will award one ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, opens on Monday, 31 May, at St Lucie's Clover Park and The Ballpark of the Palm Beaches, in Florida. Here's a preview of the four games scheduled on the first day of group play.

World No. 11 Puerto Rico vs. No. 10 Dominican Republic (Group A)

  • Puerto Rico and Dominican Republic both failed to qualify for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the last time baseball was on the Olympic programme.
  • Puerto Rico made one appearance at the Olympic Games. In 1992, when baseball made its Olympic debut, Puerto Rico finished in fifth place. They won two of their seven preliminary round games, including a 7-5 victory over Dominican Republic.
  • Dominican Republic finished in sixth place at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games. It is their only Olympic appearance to date.
  • Puerto Rico beat Dominican Republic 2-1 (10 innings) in the preliminary round en route to their 2019 Pan American Games gold medal, their last title in a major competition.

No. 2 USA vs. No. 15 Nicaragua (Group A)

  • This game will be between the top-ranked nation at the WBSC Baseball Americas Qualifier, world number 2 United States, and the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, Nicaragua (15th).
  • United States qualified for four of the five editions of the Olympic Games when baseball was on the programme. USA only failed to qualify for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games, after being eliminated by Mexico in the American qualifying tournament quarter-finals (2-1).
  • United States won one Olympic gold medal. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, they beat Cuba 4-0 in the final. Only Cuba (5, G3-S2-B0) collected more Olympic medals in baseball than USA (3, G1-S0-B2).
  • United States won the American qualifying tournament for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the last time baseball was on the Olympic programme. USA won eight of their nine games, including a 5-2 victory over Nicaragua in the final round.
  • Nicaragua made one appearance at the Olympic Games. In 1996, they finished in fourth place after losing 10-3 against United States in the bronze medal game. Nicaragua had also lost their opening game against USA (4-1).
  • Nicaragua's last wins over United States in a major competition were at the 2005 Baseball World Cup. They first beat USA 14-2 in the first round group phase and they then were handed a 9-0 awarded win in the 5th-8th place play-offs (USA forfeited to Nicaragua due to wet field conditions).

No. 8 Venezuela vs. No. 7 Cuba (Group B)

  • Venezuela are hoping to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time. They lost five of their nine games at the American qualifying tournament for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (last time baseball was on the Olympic programme). One of those five defeats was against Cuba (10-1).
  • Cuba and Japan are the only two nations to have appeared in all previous five editions of the Olympic Games when baseball was on the programme (1992-2008). Cuba reached the Olympic final on all five occasions (G3-S2-B0).
  • Cuba (G3-S2-B0) are the only multiple gold medallists in baseball at the Olympic Games and the only nation to have collected a medal in all five editions baseball was on the Olympic programme.
  • These nations' most recent meeting at a major tournament was at the 2011 Pan American Games, where Cuba beat Venezuela 5-4 in the preliminary round.
  • Venezuela's most recent victory over Cuba in a world level tournament was 3-2 in the 1953 Baseball World Cup preliminary round.
  • On 24 July 2018, Venezuela beat Cuba 2-1 at the 2018 Central American and Caribbean Games (round robin).

No. 15 Colombia vs. No. 13 Canada (Group B)

  • Colombia have never qualified for the Olympic Games. They lost five of their six games at the American qualifying tournament for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the last time baseball was on the Olympic programme.
  • Canada has made two appearances at the Olympic Games. They finished fourth on their Olympic debut in 2004. And they finished sixth at the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games.
  • These nations most recently met in a major competition at the 2019 Pan American Games, where Canada beat Colombia 10-3 in the preliminary round.
  • Colombia's most recent win against Canada in a major competition was 4-1 in the first round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Baseball Americas Qualifier