United States national baseball team

The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 5th in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United States has won many international tournaments, many of which are now discontinued. Most notably the team won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.
The United States national team debuted in the Baseball World Cup in 1938. The tournament was discontinued in 2011 in favor of the best-on-best World Baseball Classic. The United States won the tournament four times. In the 2000 Baseball Olympic games, the United States won their first Olympic gold in baseball.
The United States was an inaugural member of the World Baseball Classic, making its debut in the first edition. In their first three appearances in the WBC, the best finish for the Americans was fourth place in 2009. In 2017, the team won the WBC title for the first time by defeating Puerto Rico in the championship game. Team USA would reach the championship again in 2023, but would lose to Japan in the championship game by a score of 3-2.
Team USA qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics by winning the eight-team Americas Qualifying Event in June 2021. In the Olympic competition, held in Tokyo in July and August 2021, the team won the silver medal, losing to hosts Japan in the gold medal game.
The team is governed by USA Baseball, and its headquarters/training facilities are located in Cary, North Carolina. Along with the professional national team, USA Baseball also fields a Collegiate, 18U, 15U, and 12U National baseball team. All of the teams contribute to the WBSC ranking of the US National team through various tournaments hosted by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
Throughout the years, many high-level players have been developed by USA Baseball, and have played on the national team before becoming professional players. Many players who are currently playing in Major League Baseball have also joined the team for the World Baseball Classic and Olympic baseball tournaments.
International baseball games were played informally by American teams, against Canadian clubs, as early as 1860. However, the development of a national team occurred with the early Summer Olympics, which saw baseball debut unofficially in 1904 in St. Louis (though few records exist). An ad-hoc American team, including future Major League Baseball player Jim Thorpe, competed against a Swedish team at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, and a team of World War I servicemen played a Canadian team at the 1919 Inter-Allied Games in Paris.
Leslie Mann, a former Major Leaguer himself, is credited with the formation of the first official U.S. national team. He formed the United States Amateur Baseball Association (also known as the USA Baseball Congress) on February 19, 1931, with the hopes of sponsoring an international tournament. Mann's efforts to include baseball at the Olympics saw little success (no other country sent a team to 1936 in Berlin, and the 1940 Games in Tokyo were cancelled due to World War II), but he did hold the first Amateur World Series in 1938. The U.S. team, made out of amateur players, lost a best-of-five series against Great Britain.
The USA Baseball Congress sent a national team to the Amateur World Series in 1939, 1940 (tying for a silver medal), and 1941, all held in Havana, Cuba. But the United States' international participation was hampered by World War II, as well as the country's early withdrawal from the 1942 Amateur World Series due to a brawl with the Dominican Republic team and, purportedly, the influence of Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. After 1942, the United States was largely absent from the international baseball scene, as it did not participate in another Amateur World Series until 1969.
While an American team competed against Australia at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, the next "official" participation in an international tournament (i.e. recognized by USA Baseball) was at the 1959 Pan American Games. Held at Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park in Chicago, the 1959 team was made up of collegiate players, including future Hall-of-Famer Lou Brock. The United States team made its first official appearance at the Olympics during the 1964 Tokyo Games, managed by longtime University of Southern California coach Rod Dedeaux.
The United States victory at the 1967 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada spurred renewed interest in international competitions. William P. "Dutch" Fehring, president of a rejuvenated United States Baseball Federation (USBF), decided to actively participate in International Baseball Federation (FIBA) competitions. In 1968, the U.S. won a post-Olympic tournament in Mexico City. The following year, it returned to the Amateur World Series in Santo Domingo in 1969, narrowly losing the gold medal to Cuba. However, international baseball was fraught with tensions in the early 1970s; as a result of protracted disagreements with FIBA, the international governing body of baseball, the U.S. federation withdrew in 1973 and formed its own body, the World Amateur Baseball Federation (better known as FEMBA, or the Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur). That year, Team USA won its first Amateur World Series in Nicaragua, and repeated a year later in St. Petersburg, Florida (the first Amateur World Series held on U.S. soil). The FIBA-FEMBA split was resolved by 1975, and the U.S. and its followers rejoined the new group, AINBA.
Team USA won the gold medal in the first ever World Games, held at San Jose Municipal Stadium in San Jose, California in 1981. The U.S. fielded a roster of collegiate players which included the likes of Franklin Stubbs, Oddibe McDowell, Spike Owen, John Russell, Ed Vosberg and Pat Clements among other future major leaguers. Team USA completed the tournament undefeated, securing victories over Australia, Panama, and South Korea. Over the course of these games, they outscored their opponents by a 14-run differential. Their performance resulted in a gold medal win, concluding a successful tournament run.
The 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles was the first to feature a tournament in the program. Eight teams competed in the tournament held at Dodger Stadium. Cuba, after winning the gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games, was to participate, but did not as a result of the Soviet-led boycott. The United States national team (Team USA) finished second, falling to Japan in the final game, 6–3. No official medals were awarded as baseball was a demonstration sport.
Baseball returned as a demonstration sport at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Again an eight-team tournament, the United States finished first in the tournament, defeating Japan, 5–3, in the final game.
Baseball became an official medal sport beginning with the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona. Competition was open only to male amateurs in 1992 and 1996. As a result, Team USA and other nations where professional baseball is developed relied on college baseball players, while Cuba used their most experienced veterans, who technically were considered amateurs as they nominally held other jobs. Professional baseball players were introduced in 2000, but the situation remained largely the same. No active players from Major League Baseball (MLB) competed—as MLB declined to release its players—so Team USA utilized minor-league players and free agents, while Cuba and some other nations were still able to use their best players, as they had no commitments with MLB. Nevertheless, at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Team USA won the bronze medal over Nicaragua after finishing with a 6–1 record in pool play and losing to Japan in the semifinals.
At the 2000 Summer Olympics, Team USA had a 6–1 record in pool play, then defeated South Korea in the semifinals, followed by a stunning victory over the heavily favored Team Cuba in the gold-medal game—an upset later dubbed the "Miracle on Grass".
The United States did not qualify for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, despite being the defending gold medalists, after losing a qualifying game to Mexico, 1–0. That qualifier was controversial due to its format (single-elimination, rather than double-elimination), scheduling, and the fact that only two slots were given to nations from the Americas, while Europe received three.
Team USA qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics by winning the American Qualifying Tournament. At the Beijing Games, the U.S. finished with a 5–2 record in pool play. The U.S. lost to Cuba in the semifinals, but beat Japan in the bronze-medal match.
At the International Olympic Committee (IOC) meeting on July 8, 2005, baseball and softball were voted out of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, becoming the first sports voted out of the Olympics since polo was eliminated from the 1936 Summer Olympics. The IOC cited the absence of the best players as the main reason for baseball being dropped from the Olympic program following the 2008 games. Baseball returned to the Olympic program for the 2020 games, held in 2021 in Tokyo. It was not a part of the 2024 games in Paris, but is scheduled for the 2028 games in Los Angeles.
On January 17, 2006, the United States announced its provisional 60-man roster (52 players in all), and whittled down the squad mixed with youth and experience to 30 players on February 14, 2006. Sixteen of the 30 Major League clubs were represented on the 2006 squad, including multiple representatives from the New York Yankees (4), Houston Astros (3), Washington Nationals (3), Atlanta Braves (2), Boston Red Sox (2), Chicago Cubs (2), Colorado Rockies (2), Houston Astros (2), and Texas Rangers (2). The fact that four Yankees were selected for the squad irked Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was opposed to the WBC being held in the middle of spring training to the point where at his team's complex in Tampa, Florida, he posted a sign apologizing for their absence and mocking the tournament in the process. Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig promptly ordered him to take down the sign the next day.
Manager Buck Martinez brought his 17 years of professional experience as a major league catcher, and 1+ seasons as Toronto Blue Jays' (2001–2002) skipper to the U.S. team. Former big league managers Davey Johnson and Marcel Lachemann served as hitting coach and pitching coach, respectively.
Along with fellow North American rivals Canada and Mexico, the U.S. hosted the South Africa. Round One games were held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona and Scottsdale Stadium in Scottsdale, Arizona. The top two teams advanced to Angel Stadium of Anaheim in Anaheim, California. Despite a surprising loss to Canada, the United States advanced to the second round via tiebreaker. However, second-round losses to South Korea and Mexico allowed Japan to advance over the Americans via tiebreak. Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. were named to the 2006 All-World Baseball Classic team.
The United States competed in Pool C of the 2009 World Baseball Classic along with Italy, Venezuela, and host Canada. The U.S. won the pool opener against Canada by a score of 6-5, and secured advancement into Round 2 by defeating Venezuela in a 15–6 slugfest. Venezuela, however, came back to defeat the U.S. in the championship game of Pool C, 5–3.
On March 14, in their first match of round 2 against Puerto Rico, in Miami, Florida's Dolphin Stadium, the United States was mercy ruled for the first time in international competition, losing 11–1 in seven innings. Adam Dunn and Captain Derek Jeter were among the ones to voice their distaste with the severe beating. Manager Davey Johnson even stated "I should have stayed there", referencing a wedding he was at earlier in the day.
The United States came on strong the following day against the surprising Netherlands (who had already eliminated a tournament super power: The Dominican Republic), jumping out to a 6–0 lead in the fourth inning, and winning 9–3. With Puerto Rico losing to Venezuela 2–0 the following day, the U.S. would face Puerto Rico once again in the qualifying round. The loser would be eliminated from the tournament. With Puerto Rico leading 5–3 in the 9th inning, singles by Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts and walks by Jimmy Rollins and Kevin Youkilis cut the lead to 5–4 for New York Mets third baseman David Wright, who looped a barely-fair single into right that brought in Roberts and Rollins to win the game, 6–5, advancing to the semifinals while eliminating Puerto Rico. The United States would go on to lose to Japan 9–4 in the second semifinal. Jimmy Rollins was named to the 2009 All-World Baseball Classic team
The United States team competed in Pool D of the 2013 World Baseball Classic along with Italy, Canada, and Mexico. The U.S. team lost to Mexico in the first round 5–2, but later won two games against Canada and Italy, securing their place for the second round, along with Italy, on Pool 2.
On March 12, Team USA beat Puerto Rico 7–1, which then lead to a face off against the Dominican Republic on March 14. Team USA would lose 3–1, thus prompting a face off against Puerto Rico once again the next day, as Puerto Rico would beat the Americans 4–3 and eliminated them from the tournament. David Wright was named to the 2013 All-World Baseball Classic team
Team USA came in second in the inaugural WBSC Premier12 tournament in 2015.
Team USA won their first game over Colombia, 3–2, in 10 innings on a walk-off single by Adam Jones. After losing to the Dominican Republic after having a 5-run lead, the U.S. defeated Canada to reach the Second Round.
In the Second Round the Americans won the first game of the round defeating Venezuela 4–2. In the second game the U.S. was defeated by Puerto Rico 6–5 after giving up 4 runs in the 1st inning. The U.S. then faced the Dominican Republic in a high-stakes, winner-take-all rematch, with a spot in the Championship Round on the line. Late in the game, with Team USA trailing, Adam Jones delivered a defining moment—tracking a deep fly ball off the bat of his then-Orioles teammate Manny Machado's deep fly ball, leapt into the wall to make the catch, and created an iconic image in the outfield. Building on that pivotal play, Team USA responded with a late-game rally, overcoming the deficit to secure the victory and advance to the next stage.
In the Championship Round Semifinals on March 21, the Americans defeated Japan 2–1 to advance to their first-ever appearance in the Final. In the Final on March 22, the U.S. once again faced Puerto Rico; this time however, they ended up winning dominantly by a score of 8–0 capturing their first ever World Baseball Classic Title. Following the conclusion of the tournament, Eric Hosmer, Christian Yelich, and Marcus Stroman were named to the 2017 All-World Baseball Classic team, with Stroman being named World Baseball Classic MVP.
Team USA came in fourth in the 12-team 2019 WBSC Premier12 Tournament in November 2019, with Scott Brosius as manager. With third-place Mexico as the top finisher from the Americas in that tournament, Team USA missed the chance to immediately qualify for the six spots open for the 2020 Olympic Games. The team subsequently qualified, with Mike Scioscia as manager, by winning the Americas Qualifying Event held from May 31 to June 5, 2021, in Florida. Luke Williams led the team in batting average (.444), runs (6), hits (8), and RBIs (6), Todd Frazier and Mark Kolozsvary led in home runs (2), and David Robertson led the team in saves (2).
At the Olympics, the team first won its three-team pool, via victories over South Korea and Israel. In the modified double-elimination bracket, the team lost to Japan in the second round, then defeated the Dominican Republic in the repechage and South Korea in the semi-finals and advanced to the gold medal game where the team lost to Japan for the second time. Team Japan was made up of players from Nippon Professional Baseball, which paused its season for the Olympics, while Team USA fielded minor-league players and free agents with major-league experience.
At the 2023 World Baseball Classic Team USA looked to defend their 2017 championship. They won their first game in pool play against Great Britain by a score of 6–2. They lost their next game against Mexico by a score of 11–5 in which would ultimately be their only pool play loss. The United States won their final two games against Canada and Colombia and advanced to the knockout stage.
In their quarterfinal matchup against Venezuela, the Americans were trailing 7–5 in the 8th when Trea Turner hit a go-ahead Grand Slam to win the game 9–7 for Team USA to advance to the semi-finals. There, the U.S. blew out Cuba 14–2 and advanced to the Championship round for the second tournament in a row.
Their Championship round opponent was a championship much anticipated for the WBC, which was Japan. The Americans took an early 1–0 lead on a Trea Turner homerun but could not close the door and lost to Japan, with the final score being 3–2. Trea Turner and Mike Trout were named to the 2023 All-World Baseball Classic team.
The roster for the 2023 World Baseball Classic:
The following is a list of professional baseball game results currently active in the latest version of the WBSC World Rankings, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
Win Lose Void or postponed Fixture
In 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. The tournament was the first of its kind to have the national teams of IBAF's member federations feature professional players from the major leagues around the world, including Major League Baseball.
The WBSC created the Premier12 tournament in 2014, following the dissolution of the Baseball World Cup. The tournament is held in every four years in November. The American roster includes professional ballplayers who are not on an MLB 40-man roster. The roster includes some MLB prospects, though the tournament conflicts with the Arizona Fall League and winter leagues.
In 1988, the Amateur World Series became the International Baseball Federation's (IBAF) World Cup.
Since 1938, the U.S. has won 15 medals at the Baseball World Cup: four gold (1973, 1974, 2007, 2009), eight silver (1938, 1940, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1978, 1988, 2001), and three bronze (1939, 1982, 1984).
The U.S. was usually represented by college players in these tournaments, while Cuba used its best players.
The U.S. was in group A of the 2007 IBAF World Cup, along with Republic of China, Japan, Mexico, Panama, Italy, Spain and South Africa. The U.S. went 6–1 to win their group, with their only loss coming on November 9, 2007 against Italy. It was the U.S.'s first loss to Italy in 21 years and the first time it ever lost to Italy with professional players, as the team consisted of minor league prospects.
This one loss, however, would be their only. The U.S. went on to beat Korea, Netherlands, and Cuba to capture the gold.
In Round 1 of the 2009 Baseball World Cup, the U.S. (2–1) finished second in Group E, advancing alongside first-place Venezuela (3–0). In Round 2, the U.S. was joined by the nine other first- and second-place teams from Round 1, four wild-card teams, and the two principal host teams (Italy and the Netherlands). The 16 teams were divided into Groups F and G, where the U.S. (7–0) defeated each of the other seven teams in Group G. In Round 3, the top four teams from Group F were renamed Group 1, while the top four teams from Group G were renamed Group 2. The U.S. finished first in Group 2 with a perfect 7–0 record, while Cuba finished first in Group 1 with a 5–2 record. In the Final Round, Group 1 and Group 2's fourth-place teams competed for overall seventh place, the third-place teams played for fifth place, and the second-place teams faced off for the bronze medal. In the gold-medal game, the U.S. defeated Cuba, 10–5.
Tournament awards were given to Justin Smoak (MVP) and Todd Redmond (best won/loss average (pitcher)). Smoak (first base) was also named to the tournament All-Star Team, along with Jon Weber (outfield) and Terry Tiffee (designated hitter).
The Intercontinental Cup was an IBAF tournament first held in 1973 in Italy, and held every other year until 1999. The U.S. sat out the last three tournaments, in 2002, 2006, and 2010.
Future big leaguers who competed with the U.S. collegiate team in the Intercontinental Cup include Joe Carter, Terry Francona, Mickey Morandini, John Olerud, and Robin Ventura.
The U.S. and Cuba have been archrivals at the Pan American Games ever since the event began in 1951. The U.S. has finished second behind Cuba eight of the 12 times they have brought home the gold. Likewise, when the U.S. won the gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games, Cuba finished second. The U.S. roster is usually composed of promising college players, while Cuba is able to send its best players.
In total, the U.S. has won one gold medal, eleven silver medals, and three bronze medals. The only games the U.S. failed to medal in were 1979 and 1995. For the 1995 games, the U.S. did not send their national team, but instead the St. John's University baseball team, who finished 0–4 against the international all-star teams.
USA Baseball also fields a Collegiate National Team which has 22 members of top collegiate baseball players in the country, consisting of five infielders, four outfielders, two catchers, nine pitchers, and a pair of two-way players. The team competes in exhibition games across the U.S. and overseas against teams from across the world, including teams from Canada, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan) and the Netherlands. The 2009 team won the World Baseball Challenge in Canada.
Players who took the field for the Collegiate National Team and have gone on to Major League Baseball success include such notables as Jim Abbott, Kris Bryant, Troy Glaus, Todd Helton, Ryan Howard, Barry Larkin, Tino Martinez, Dustin Pedroia, David Price, Huston Street, Mark Teixeira, Troy Tulowitzki, Trea Turner, Jason Varitek, Carlos Rodon, Gerrit Cole, Will Clark and Ryan Zimmerman.
USA Baseball also fields 18U, 15U, and 12U national baseball teams. Former national teams included 16U and 14U national teams. USA Baseball also hosts two national team development programs in the age divisions of 17U and 14U. The selection processes for these programs can be found on the official website of USA Baseball and these team programs also have their respective Twitter pages.