The USA Baseball National Team full of our collegiate players have capped their amazing summer by winning the 2008 FISU World University Championships in Brno, Czech Republic.

The USA defeated Team Japan 1-0 in a 12 inning barn-burner to take the FISU title, ending their season at a perfect 24-0.

Highlighting their summer were the Gold medals in both international events in which they competed.  The quest for the Haarlem Baseball Week gold medal included two historic victories over the Cuban National Team--the very same roster (minus one player) in which won the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, took 2nd place in the 2006 World Baseball Classic and will be competing in the 2008 Beijing Games.  The gold medal venture at the FISU World Championships involved three extra-inning games as Team USA had a big target on its back the entire event.

This was the first time in USA Baseball history that the National Team went undefeated over their summer-season!  Congratulations, guys!  We're unbelievably proud (as well as in shock!) of your success!

GO USA!

Wednesday was a big day for USA Baseball.

If you do not know what I'm talking about, let me be the first one to clue you in to the happenings of our organization.

USA Baseball released the final roster for the 18U National Team and for the Olympic Team on Wednesday.  Hoping to bring a gold medal home in each of their respective events, both teams look to be ultra competitive and heavy on pitching.

The 18U National Team will be heading to Edmonton, Canada, and will be competing in the IBAF World Junior Championships.  This team is laden when experience.  Ten members of the roster have played international baseball with USA in the past; including four members of last year's 18U team and six members of the gold medal winning 16U team.  They look to bring home a gold medal in this event for the first time since 1999!  They will be traveling to Canada on July 20 and will compete July 25-August 4.

The Olympic Team roster was released highlighting an extremely exciting time for USA Baseball coming up!  These players will be participating in Beijing from August 14-24.  Hoping to bring a gold medal back home after not attending the Athen's Olympics in 2004, they will face tough competition, including a Cuba team looking to avenge two losses to our college national team last week in the Haarlem Classic.

Not only did we announce the rosters for two of the best teams in the country, the Golden Spikes Award was given out yesterday afternoon.  Congratulations, Buster Posey!  Posey, an all-around player if there ever was one, went to Florida State University and had an absolutely amazing year and led the NCAA in three different offensive categories.  He joins a hall-of-fame list of winners and will look to continue his game through the MLB circuit.

Wednesday was a big day and we love it!  This is the most exciting time for us at USA Baseball and we cannot wait to see each of our teams bring home a gold medal!  Stay tuned to see how these teams do and as always, GO USA!

Sunday, July 6, 2008 the USA National Team comprised of college players surrounding the country defeated the Cuban National Team that will be competing in the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in August.  USA won by a score of 1-0. 

Cuba, known for their utter domination on the International Baseball stage, collected five hits on the day and gave up five hits as well.

In this colossal upset, Christian Colon (Cal State Fullerton; Corona, Calif.) hit the game-winning single in the fourth inning to bring in Tom Mendonca (Fresno State; Turlock, Calif.) as the bases were loaded.  

Mike Minor (Vanderbilt; Chapel Hill, Tenn.) got the win as he went 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up only 4 hits.  Kendal Volz (Baylor; Bulverde, Texas) got the save--his second in as many days after striking out the final batter looking.

The National Team (Collegiate) is currently participating in the Haarlem Baseball Week pool-play action at Pim Mullier Stadium.  The team will face Netherlands Antilles July 8 at 8:00a.m. E.S.T.  To listen, free, go to the 2008 Haarlem Week Website.

GO USA!!

*Photo Courtesy for Brian Fleming Photography

The USA Baseball National Collegiate Team is at home in the Triangle for the next four days as they continue their annual series with Chinese Taipei. 

The team will be playing in Durham, N.C. for the next three days at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park and will play in Cary, N.C. at the USA Baseball National Training Complex on Monday, June 30.  All four of these games will be versus the Chinese Taipei College National Team. 

The National Collegiate Team has just narrowed their roster to 20 men and will look to add two more members to this team in the next few weeks. The team posts a 10-2 record so far this summer and have beaten Chinese Taipei in the first two games of their series.

We're heading up now for Game 3!  Watch live on usabaseball.com!

GO USA!

As many of you may have noticed before making your way to this blog, there is a new look and feel to the USA Baseball Website!

 
This new website is a culmination of all the national programs that USA Baseball supports.  Not only will you find information about the Olympic Team, but you will find information about the National Collegiate Team, the 18U, 16U, 14U and Women's National teams as well. 

Included in the website are the latest-stories, pictures, videos, history, player features and much, much more!  So take a little bit of time out of your day to venture through the new website.  Maybe some of the up-and-coming USA Baseball events will be in your area! 

USABASEBALL.COM 2.0, as we so lovingly call it, will hopefully serve as a tool for you, the fans, to find out the latest news and facts about the teams and players that represent the United States on the biggest international stage! 

So, bookmark the page!  Make it your homepage!  Tell your friends!

USABaseball.com has upgraded!

                It's that time of the year!  Summer is in full swing for USA Baseball.  Absolutely the busiest and most enjoyable time of the year, the summer is already full of a lot of events and long days.  It just so happens, though, that this is just the beginning!

                The 2008 Tournament of Stars has come and passed after a successful and entertaining week of baseball action.  The 2008 Tournament of Stars welcomed the top 144 18U players in the country to compete for 34 trial spots for the 18U National Team.  After team Dixie claimed the 2008 Tournament of Stars Championship after going unbeaten on the week, the 34-man invitee list was announced.  These 34 players will travel to Phoenix, Ariz. July 10-17 for the 18U National Trials.  The final 18-man roster will travel to compete in the IBAF "AAA" World Championships in Edmonton, Canada on July 20.

                The 16U Championships trials have begun as well.  Competing in Florida and Arizona, the 144 team tournament showcases the best talent in the country while a devoted group of USA Baseball scouts evaluate and observe these players for the possibility of playing with the 16U National Team.  Trials candidates (36 total between both the East and West tournaments) for the 2008 16U National Team will be announced on June 27. Those players will participate in the 16U National Team Trials and the final 18-man team will be selected from these trials to compete in the 2008 COPABE 'AA' Youth Pan American Championships.

                The National (Collegiate) Team has almost finalized their roster for the up-and-coming FISU World University Championships and Haarlam Baseball Week.  Narrowing down their roster to 20 players, the final 2 selections will be announced later in the weekend.  The team is headlined by Outfielder Kentrail Davis (Tennessee; Theodore, Ala.) who hit an astounding .463 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 12 games during the 2008 National Team Trials. The National (Collegiate) team will be playing their annual USA versus Chinese Taipei Series beginning June 25 including games in Durham, NC (June 27-29) and Cary, NC (June 30). 

                The summer has been busy and it shows no signs of slowing down! But we already can't wait for the rest of the summer! 

As you (and us too!) anxiously await the trials and selection of the U.S. Olympic Baseball Team, keep updated with all of the happenings with USA Baseball this summer by staying connected to www.usabaseball.com.  There will be so much going on that you'll always have something new to read!

                GO USA!

The 2008 Tournament of Stars (TOS) began today at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.  The TOS is one of the premier events that showcase the 18U talent in the country. 

The Tournament of Stars is comprised of 144 players in eight different teams.  Representatives from all over the country are sent from the RBI, NABF, Babe Ruth, Pony, American Legion, Dixie, USA Stars and AABC leagues as a tryout for the 18U National Team.

This event lasts all week (June 17-22) and will end with 32 of these players being selected to travel to Phoenix, Ariz. in July for the 18U National Trials where the final 18-man roster will be announced.  From there, this team will travel to Edmonton, Canada to compete in the Junior Worlds Championships.

The ceremonial first pitch has passed as the director of the RBI league threw a strike, right down the middle to the Babe Ruth catcher, Max Stassi.

Babe Ruth will be taking on the NABF at 1pm today.  Dixie vs. Pony will start at 4pm and the American Legion takes on RBI at 7pm this evening.  All games will be played in the main stadium of the USA Baseball National Training Complex. 

Stay tuned to usabaseball.com for all of the TOS updates!

The International Olympic Council announced Wednesday the final four finalists to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.  Chicago, Illinois is the United States representative in the sterling set of potential-host cities.

Joining Chicago on the list is Tokyo, Japan; Madrid, Spain; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

These cities will vie for the next 16-months for the opportunity to host the Olympics.  Putting together a "bid" for the ability to host the Olympics is an arduous task that must include plans for building new venues and housing support for athletes and spectators, among other things.

These cities will have until February of 2009 to finish their bid proposals before the members of the IOC will review, visit and evaluate each city to determine which will best exemplify the spirit of the Olympic Games.

The announcement of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games host city will be announced on October 2, 2009.

From June 7-June 9 you will have the opportunity to see the USA Baseball National Training Complex on ESPN and its family of networks.

The University of North Carolina Baseball team won the Cary, N.C. Regional last weekend with wins over Mount St. Mary's and UNC Wilmington.  As they advance to Super-Regional play versus Coastal Carolina, they will once again be playing at the USA Baseball National Training Complex.

ESPN and its family of networks will be airing the best-of-three series between the two schools starting Saturday June 7 at 12 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on ESPNU and Sunday June 8 at 1 p.m. (Eastern Standard Time) on ESPN.  If there is a deciding game three, the third game will be featured on ESPN or ESPN 2, depending on game time. 

So for those USA Baseball fans that are not within a drivable area that have wanted to see the National Training Complex in all its glory--here's your chance! 

Schedule:
June 7 - Game 1 - 12 p.m. - ESPNU
June 8 - Game 2 - 1 p.m. - ESPN
June 9 - Game 3 (If Necessary) - 12:30 p.m. - ESPN or 7 p.m. - ESPN 2
         *All game times reflect Eastern Standard Time

The Golden Spikes Award has announced the five finalists for the 2008 season:

Gordon Beckham, SS, (Georgia)
Aaron Crow, P, (Missouri)
Brian Matusz, P, (San Diego)
Buster Posey, C, (Florida State)
Brett Wallace, 3B, (Arizona State).

The 2008 GSA will be awarded on July 16 as part of a production by Major League Baseball and MLBAM that will be streamed live on the Internet exclusively at goldenspikesaward.com and MLB.com. The annual event will be held this year in New York City following MLB All-Star Week. 

To view stats, pictures and videos on these five finalists, visit the Official Golden Spikes Award Website, available to you on the homepage of USA Baseball.