# Baseball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – Qualification

Eight teams qualified for the Olympic baseball tournament. The host nation qualifies automatically. Additionally, two teams qualified from the American qualifying tournament, and one team qualified from both the European and Asian qualifying tournaments. The field was rounded out by the top three teams from the world Olympic qualifying tournament. The qualifications were held in Taichung, Barcelona, and Havana.

## Table

| Event | Date | Location | Vacancies | Qualified |
| Host Nation | - | - | 1 | China |
| Americas Qualifying Tournament | Aug 25 - Sep 7, 2006 | Havana | 2 | United States Cuba |
| European Championship | September 7–16, 2007 | Barcelona | 1 | Netherlands |
| Asian Baseball Championship | Nov 27 - Dec 3, 2007 | Taichung | 1 | Japan |
| Final Qualifying Tournament | March 7–14, 2008 | Taichung and Douliou | 3 | Canada South Korea Chinese Taipei |
| TOTAL | | | 8 | |

### Note

* 1 2

## American qualifying tournament
### Qualifying round

North and Central America
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| United States | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 49 | 13 | +36 |
| Canada | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 34 | 17 | +17 |
| Nicaragua | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 20 | 14 | +6 |
| Panama | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 38 | 35 | +3 |
| Mexico | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 24 | 28 | -4 |
| Guatemala | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 4 | 58 | -54 |

#### Schedule

| Home | Result | Away |
| November 15, 2005 |||
| Nicaragua | 1-3 | Canada |
| United States | 23-0 (6 Innings) | Guatemala |
| Panama | 17-4 (7 Innings) | Mexico |
| November 16, 2005 |||
| Canada | 12-0 (7 Innings) | Guatemala |
| Nicaragua | 6-1 | Panama |
| United States | 5-4 | Mexico |
| November 17, 2005 |||
| Canada | 15-5 | Panama |
| United States | 7-4 | Nicaragua |
| Mexico | 5-2 | Guatemala |
| November 18, 2005 |||
| Mexico | 7-2 | Canada |
| Nicaragua | 6-1 | Guatemala |
| United States | 9-3 | Panama |
| November 19, 2005 |||
| United States | 5-2 | Canada |
| Nicaragua | 4-2 | Mexico |
| Guatemala | 1-12 | Panama |
Caribbean
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Dominican Republic | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 32 | 0 | +32 |
| Puerto Rico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 32 | 5 | +27 |
| Aruba | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 11 | 17 | -6 |
| Bahamas | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0 | 53 | -53 |
| Jamaica | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
| Curaçao | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |
South America
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Venezuela | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | 24 | 12 | +12 |
| Brazil | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0.750 | 26 | 8 | +18 |
| Ecuador | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0.500 | 14 | 15 | -1 |
| Colombia | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0.250 | 14 | 19 | -5 |
| Argentina | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0.000 | 12 | 36 | -24 |

##### Notes

* 1 2 The third-place Caribbean team was scheduled to advance to the preliminary round. However, Aruba withdrew and the IBAF replaced it with the fifth-place North American team, Mexico.'"`UNIQ--ref-00000009-QINU`"'

### Preliminary round

Group A
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Cuba | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 64 | 10 | +54 |
| Panama | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 38 | 17 | +21 |
| Nicaragua | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 24 | 18 | +6 |
| Dominican Republic | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 31 | 31 | 0 |
| Colombia | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 15 | 41 | -26 |
| Ecuador | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 11 | 63 | -52 |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| United States | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 46 | 27 | +19 |
| Mexico | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 23 | 19 | +4 |
| Canada | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 24 | 18 | +6 |
| Venezuela | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 27 | 39 | -12 |
| Brazil | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 27 | 32 | -5 |
| Puerto Rico | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 23 | 34 | -11 |

#### Schedule

| Home | | Away |
| August 25, 2006 |||
| Cuba | | Colombia |
| August 26, 2006 |||
| United States | 9-3 | Canada |
| Cuba | 11-0 | Ecuador |
| Mexico | 2-1 | Brazil |
| Panama | 3-2 | Dominican Republic |
| August 27, 2006 |||
| Canada | 6-5 | Puerto Rico |
| United States | 8-7 | Brazil |
| Cuba | 7-6 | Panama |
| Mexico | 5-4 | Venezuela |
| Nicaragua | 4-0 | Colombia |
| Dominican Republic | 13-1 | Ecuador |
| August 28, 2006 |||
| Mexico | 3-15 | United States |
| Venezuela | 5-7 | Canada |
| Puerto Rico | 10-6 | Brazil |
| Cuba | 17-3 | Dominican Republic |
| August 29, 2006 |||
| Puerto Rico | 2-5 | United States |
| Canada | 1-2 | Mexico |
| Dominican Republic | 8-3 | Colombia |
| Cuba | 11-0 | Nicaragua |
| August 30, 2006 |||
| United States | 9-12 | Venezuela |
| Canada | 7-3 | Brazil |
| Cuba | 15-1 | Ecuador |
| Nicaragua | 6-4 | Dominican Republic |
| Mexico | 8-7 | Puerto Rico |

### Final round

| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| United States | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0.857 | 69 | 32 | +37 |
| Cuba | 7 | 6 | 1 | 0.857 | 63 | 18 | +45 |
| Mexico | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0.714 | 38 | 24 | +14 |
| Canada | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0.571 | 43 | 38 | +5 |
| Venezuela | 7 | 3 | 4 | 0.428 | 41 | 41 | 0 |
| Panama | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0.286 | 39 | 51 | -12 |
| Nicaragua | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0.286 | 16 | 33 | -17 |
| Dominican Republic | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0.000 | 21 | 61 | -40 |

## Oceania qualifying tournament

With New Zealand withdrawing from the tournament, Australia received an automatic berth into the World Qualifying Tournament.
| Team | W | L | RA/9 | Tiebreaker |
| Australia | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| New Zealand | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew | Withdrew |

### Schedule

| Home | | Away | Time |
| February 8, 2007 ||||
| Australia | Cancelled | New Zealand | 19:00 |
| February 9, 2007 ||||
| New Zealand | Cancelled | Australia | 19:00 |
| February 10, 2007 ||||
| Australia | Cancelled | New Zealand | 15:00 |
| Australia | Cancelled | New Zealand | 19:00 |
| February 11, 2007 ||||
| Australia | Cancelled | New Zealand | 14:00 |

## European qualifying tournament
### Qualifying round 1

Group A
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Russia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 35 | 3 | +32 |
| Austria | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 22 | 18 | +4 |
| Poland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 24 | 23 | +1 |
| Georgia | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 8 | 45 | -37 |
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Belarus | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 33 | 10 | +23 |
| Lithuania | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 29 | 17 | +12 |
| Finland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 28 | 43 | -15 |
| Turkey | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 22 | 42 | -20 |
Group C
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Croatia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 30 | 6 | +24 |
| Ireland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 14 | 5 | +9 |
| Slovakia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 15 | 16 | -1 |
| Norway | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 8 | 40 | -32 |
Group D
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Belgium | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | 25 | 2 | +23 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.667 | 18 | 11 | +7 |
| Slovenia | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0.333 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| San Marino | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 3 | 33 | -30 |

### Qualifying round 2

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| Russia | 11 |
| Lithuania | 1 | | |
| Lithuania | 1 | Russia | 17 |
| | | Austria | 0 |
| Belarus | 5 | Austria | 0 |
| Austria | 15 | | |
| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| Croatia | 13 |
| Switzerland | 3 | | |
| Switzerland | 3 | Croatia | 12 |
| | | Ireland | 2 |
| Belgium | 1 | Ireland | 2 |
| Ireland | 4 | | |

### European Baseball Championship

The European Baseball Championship in Barcelona, Spain served as the qualifying competition for the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Netherlands won the tournament for the fifth consecutive time and qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Great Britain and Spain advanced to a final qualifying tournament in Taiwan. Prior to the tournament, Greece was removed by the European Baseball Confederation and replaced with Austria. Czech Republic was downgraded to the last place at the end of the tournament and its wins in the preliminary round vacated.

#### Preliminary round

Group A
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Netherlands | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 66 | 5 | +61 |
| Germany | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 36 | 15 | +21 |
| Sweden | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 20 | 27 | -7 |
| Croatia | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0.400 | 26 | 38 | -12 |
| Austria | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 13 | 44 | -31 |
| Czech Republic | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 2 | 37 | -35 |
* September 8
       Sweden 1 - 9 Germany
       Czech Republic 0 - 9* Croatia
       Austria 0 - 22 (5 inn.) Netherlands
* September 9
       Croatia 2 - 11 Sweden
       Germany 10 - 0 (7 inn.) Austria
       Netherlands 11 - 0 (7 inn.) Czech Republic
* September 10
       Netherlands 14 - 2 (7 inn.) Sweden
       Czech Republic 0 - 9* Austria
       Germany 8 - 7 Croatia
* September 11
       Netherlands 6 - 3 Germany
       Austria 3 - 8 Croatia
       Czech Republic 1 - 2 Sweden
* September 12
       Germany 6 - 1 Czech Republic
       Croatia 0 - 13 (7 inn.) Netherlands
       Sweden 4 - 1 Austria
* The Czech Republic's 4-1 and 6-2 victories over Croatia and Austria were vacated and the results recorded as 9-0 forfeits.
Group B
| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD |
| Great Britain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 35 | 24 | +11 |
| Spain | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0.800 | 29 | 22 | +7 |
| France | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 20 | 15 | +5 |
| Italy | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 31 | 13 | +18 |
| Ukraine | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 10 | 36 | -26 |
| Russia | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 14 | 29 | -15 |
* September 7
       Great Britain 12 - 8 Spain
* September 8
       Ukraine 0 - 13 (8 inn.) Italy
       France 4 - 2 Russia
* September 9
       Spain 5 - 4 Ukraine
       Italy 1 - 5 France
       Russia 7 - 10 Great Britain
* September 10
       France 6 - 2 Ukraine
       Spain 4 - 0 Russia
       Italy 6 - 0 Great Britain
* September 11
       France 3 - 4 Great Britain
       Ukraine 4 - 3 (11 inn.) Russia
       Italy 4 - 6 Spain
* September 12
       Russia 2 - 7 Italy
       Great Britain 9 - 0 Ukraine
       Spain 6 - 2 France

#### Final round

| Team | Pld | W | L | PCT | RS | RA | RD | Tiebreaker* |
| Netherlands | 5 | 5 | 0 | 1.000 | 54 | 14 | +40 |
| Great Britain | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.800 | 35 | 24 | +11 | 1-1, 0.833 RA/IN |
| Spain | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 1-1, 0.833 RA/IN |
| Germany | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.600 | 29 | 24 | +5 | 1-1, 0.889 RA/IN |
| France | 5 | 1 | 4 | 0.200 | 16 | 35 | -19 |
| Sweden | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0.000 | 15 | 51 | -36 |
* Tiebreakers: 1) W-L in games among tied teams 2) Runs against per 1 defensive inning among tied teams 3) Earned Runs against per 1 defensive inning among tied teams
* September 14
       Netherlands 18 - 0 (7 inn.) France
       Germany 3 - 11 Spain
       Sweden 7 - 10 Great Britain
* September 15
       France 10 - 0 (7 inn.) Sweden
       Spain 8 - 10 (11 inn.) Netherlands
       Great Britain 5 - 7 Germany
* September 16
       Germany 7 - 1 France
       Sweden 5 - 8 Spain
       Netherlands 6 - 1 Great Britain

#### Classification

* September 13
       Seventh Place Game
          Czech Republic 2 - 7 Italy
       Ninth Place Game
          Croatia 2 - 1 Ukraine
       Eleventh Place Game
          Austria 2 - 7 Russia

## 2007 Asian Championship

The IBAF and IOC recognize Taiwan as Chinese Taipei. Internationally, the team plays as the Chinese Taipei National baseball team, however are referred to, in the country, as the Taiwan National baseball team and use the flag .

### B Level

| Team | W | D | L | Tiebreaker |
| Philippines | 2 | 1 | 0 | - |
| Thailand | 1 | 1 | 1 | - |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1-0 |
| Pakistan | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0-1 |

#### Schedule

| Home | Result | Away | Time |
| November 27, 2007 ||||
| Pakistan | 0-2 | Philippines | 17:00 |
| Hong Kong | 4-8 | Thailand | 18:00 |
| November 28, 2007 ||||
| Thailand | 3-5 | Pakistan | 13:00 |
| Philippines | 4-1 | Hong Kong | 18:00 |
| November 29, 2007 ||||
| Philippines | 0-0 (F/12) | Thailand | 13:00 |
| Pakistan | 6-8 | Hong Kong | 18:00 |

### A Level

| Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
| Japan | 3 | 0 | - |
| South Korea | 2 | 1 | - |
| Chinese Taipei | 1 | 2 | - |
| Philippines | 0 | 3 | - |

#### Schedule

| Home | Result | Away | Time |
| December 1, 2007 ||||
| Chinese Taipei | 2-5 | South Korea | 13:00 |
| Japan | 10-0 (F/7) | Philippines | 18:00 |
| December 2, 2007 ||||
| Philippines | 0-9 | Chinese Taipei | 13:00 |
| South Korea | 3-4 | Japan | 18:00 |
| December 3, 2007 ||||
| South Korea | 13-1 (F/7) | Philippines | 13:00 |
| Chinese Taipei | 2-10 | Japan | 18:00 |

## African qualifying tournament

| Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
| South Africa | 5 | 0 | - |
| Nigeria | 3 | 1 | - |
| Ghana | 3 | 2 | - |
| Zimbabwe | 2 | 3 | - |
| Lesotho | 1 | 3 | - |
| Cameroon | 0 | 5 | - |

### Schedule

| Home | Result | Away | Time |
| December 15 ||||
| Ghana | 22-0 | Cameroon | 9:00 |
| Nigeria | 17-3 | Zimbabwe | 9:00 |
| Cameroon | 1-18 | Lesotho | 12:20 |
| Zimbabwe | 0-20 | South Africa | 12:20 |
| Lesotho | 0-29 | South Africa | 15:30 |
| Nigeria | 22-0 | Ghana | 15:30 |
| December 16 ||||
| Cameroon | Rained Out | Zimbabwe | 9:00 |
| Nigeria | Rained Out | Lesotho | 9:00 |
| Cameroon | 1-16 (5 Innings) | South Africa | 12:20 |
| Ghana | 3-1 (6 Innings) | Zimbabwe | 12:20 |
| Nigeria | Rained Out | South Africa | 15:30 |
| Ghana | Rained Out | Lesotho | 15:30 |
| December 17 ||||
| Nigeria | 2-12 (8 Innings) | South Africa | 9:00 |
| Ghana | 11-5 | Lesotho | 9:00 |
| Zimbabwe | 19-11 (7 Innings) | Cameroon | 9:00 |
| South Africa | 15-0 (7 Innings) | Ghana | 12:00 |
| Cameroon | 5-22 (6 Innings) | Nigeria | 12:00 |
| Zimbabwe | 7-4 | Lesotho | 12:00 |
| Lesotho | Cancelled | Nigeria | 15:00 |
Note: The final game between Lesotho and Nigeria was dependent on whether it had any impact upon the final standings. As South Africa had clinched the championship before the game was to begin, it was cancelled.

## Final qualifying tournament

The final qualifying tournament will feature the third and fourth place teams from the Americas qualifying tournament, the second and third place teams from the Asian and European qualifying tournaments, and the Oceanian and African continental champions. However, European runner-up Great Britain withdrew from the tournament and were replaced by the fourth place team Germany.
Qualified Teams
* Mexico (Americas 3rd)
* Canada (Americas 4th)
* Spain (Europe 3rd)
* Germany (Europe 4th; Replace Europe 2nd Great Britain that withdrew from the tournament)
* South Korea (Asia 2nd)
* Chinese Taipei (Asia 3rd)
* Australia (Oceania 1st)
* South Africa (Africa 1st)

### Standings

| Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
| Canada | 6 | 1 | 1-0 |
| South Korea | 6 | 1 | 0-1 |
| Chinese Taipei | 5 | 2 | - |
| Mexico | 4 | 3 | 1-0 |
| Australia | 4 | 3 | 0-1 |
| Germany | 2 | 5 | - |
| Spain | 1 | 6 | - |
| South Africa | 0 | 7 | - |

### Schedule

| Home | Result | Away | Time |
| March 7 ||||
| South Africa | 0-5 | South Korea | 12:30 |
| Mexico | 10-15 | Canada | 12:30 |
| Chinese Taipei | 13-3 (F/7) | Spain | 19:00 |
| Germany | 1-4 | Australia | 18:30 |
| March 8 ||||
| Canada | 10-0 (F/7) | South Africa | 12:30 |
| Mexico | 1-6 | Chinese Taipei | 12:30 |
| South Korea | 16-2 (F/7) | Australia | 18:30 |
| Spain | 0-1 | Germany | 18:30 |
| March 9 ||||
| Germany | 0-2 | Chinese Taipei | 12:30 |
| Australia | 10-5 | Canada | 12:30 |
| South Africa | 1-2 | Spain | 18:30 |
| South Korea | 6-1 | Mexico | 18:30 |
| March 10 ||||
| Germany | 4-3 | South Africa | 12:30 |
| Spain | 5-14 | South Korea | 12:30 |
| Chinese Taipei | 5-6 (F/10) | Canada | 18:30 |
| Australia | 4-7 | Mexico | 18:30 |
| March 12 ||||
| South Korea | 12-1 (F/7) | Germany | 12:30 |
| Canada | 11-0 (F/7) | Spain | 12:30 |
| Mexico | 5-0 | South Africa | 18:30 |
| Chinese Taipei | 5-0 | Australia | 18:30 |
| March 13 ||||
| Australia | 9-0 | Spain | 12:30 |
| Germany | 0-4 | Mexico | 12:30 |
| Canada | 4-3 | South Korea | 18:30 |
| South Africa | 0-4 | Chinese Taipei | 18:30 |
| March 14 ||||
| Spain | 1-2 | Mexico | 12:30 |
| South Africa | 11-13 | Australia | 12:30 |
| Chinese Taipei | 3-4 | South Korea | 18:30 |
| Canada | 2-1 (F/10) | Germany | 16:30 |