United States National Baseball Team - World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic

In June 2005, Major League Baseball announced the formation of the World Baseball Classic, a 16 nation international competition to be held in March of 2006 for the first time. A month after this announcement, the IOC voted to eliminate baseball from the 2012 London Olympic Games, leaving the WBC as the only international tournament to feature American professionals.

Though the U.S. has its own team in the WBC, American born ballplayers could be found on the rosters of several other clubs as a result of the unique rules of this tournament. A player is eligible to participate on a WBC national team if:

  • The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents.
  • The player is qualified for citizenship or to hold a passport under the laws of a nation represented by a team, but has not been granted citizenship or been issued a passport, then the player may be made eligible by WBCI upon petition by the player or team.
  • The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents.
  • The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents.
  • The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the nation the team represents.
  • The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents.

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