Since 1978 USA Baseball has been the National Governing Body (NGB) for amateur baseball. It represents the sport in the United States as a member of the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and internationally as a member federation of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF).
Nearly every major national amateur baseball organization in America is united as a USA Baseball National Member Organization. As a result, USA Baseball governs more than 12 million amateur players in ballparks and playgrounds across the country.
As the commissioner's office for amateur baseball, USA Baseball is a resource center for its various membership groups, fans and players. USA Baseball is also responsible for promoting and developing the game of baseball on the grassroots level, both nationally and internationally.
Last year marked the final summer for two of USA Baseball's National Teams. In the final year of the 16U National Team, the club didn't disappoint, outscoring its opponents 116-50, on its way to a gold medal in the IBAF World AA/16U Youth Championships. The 14U National Team also closed out its year with a bang as it completed an undefeated season and took home the gold medal in the COPABE A/14U Championships. The 14U and 16U programs will now be replaced by a 15U National Team and 14U and 17U National Development Programs in 2012.
PROFESSIONAL TEAMS (WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC TEAM, WORLD CUP TEAM)
Since 1999, USA Baseball has been selecting teams of professional-level Minor and Major League players to represent the United States in various international competitions, including the World Baseball Classic and the IBAF Baseball World Cup.
Among the first teams of professional players that USA Baseball fielded was the 2000 U.S. Olympic Baseball Team, managed by Tommy Lasorda at the Sydney Games. Led by Ben Sheets, the team of Minor League players defeated Cuba for the gold medal. In 2008, a Davey Johnson-led U.S. team featuring Dexter Fowler, Matt LaPorta and Stephen Strasburg took home the bronze medal from the Beijing Games, which currently stands as the last Olympic Games featuring a baseball competition.
For the inaugural 2006 World Baseball Classic, USA Baseball selected its first team comprised of Major League baseball players. The team featured such stars as Chase Utley, Derek Jeter and Chipper Jones. In the second installment of the WBC in 2009, with players like Dustin Pedroia, Ryan Braun, Jimmy Rollins and Jeter donning the red, white and blue, the U.S. team finished fourth, losing to Japan in the semifinals.
Other recent highlights for the Professional Team include winning the gold medal in the 2007 and 2009 World Cups. Those teams featured young stars such as Pedro Alvarez, Evan Longoria, Colby Rasmus and Justin Smoak.
In 2011, USA Baseball fielded one team of professional Minor League players to compete in both the World Cup and Pan American Games. The Pan American team posted a 10-6 record and took home the silver medal from Lagos de Moreno, Mexico. Joe Thurston and Brett Jackson led the team offensively, and Andy Van Hekken and Drew Smyly contributed strong pitching performances.
The World Cup Team was named co-bronze medalist of the IBAF Baseball World Cup, which was played in Panama. The U.S. shared the honor with Canada after their bronze-medal game was rained out.
USA Baseball does not have any events planned for the Professional Team in 2012, but it will be back in action in early 2013 with the third installment of the World Baseball Classic.
COLLEGIATE NATIONAL TEAM
The USA Baseball Collegiate National Team (CNT) is comprised of the top collegiate baseball players in the country. The team competes each summer in a schedule of exhibition games across the U.S. and overseas against the world's top baseball talent. As part of this schedule, the U.S. takes on the Japan Collegiate All-Stars nearly every summer, and squares off in international friendship series against the likes of Canada, Chinese Taipei, Cuba and the Netherlands. Each summer schedule also features a prominent international tournament for the age group, which includes the Pan American Games and the FISU World Collegiate Baseball Championships.
The Collegiate program has witnessed great success in recent years. In 2009, for example, the U.S. won the inaugural World Baseball Challenge in Canada, and in 2011, the CNT posted an 11-2-1 record, defeating Japan in four out of five games during their international friendship series.
In March 2012, USA Baseball and the Cuban Baseball Federation announced the renewal of its international friendship series for the first time since 1996. The two teams will play a five-game series in Cuba, set to run July 5-9. The CNT will also compete in the annual Prospect Classic against the USA Baseball 18U National Team in 2012, and it will travel overseas to the Netherlands to take part in the Honkbal Haarlem Baseball Week.
Players who have taken the field for the Collegiate National Team and have gone on to have successful Major League baseball careers include such notables as Jim Abbott, Troy Glaus, Todd Helton, Ryan Howard, Barry Larkin, Tino Martinez, Pedroia, David Price, Huston Street, Mark Teixeira, Troy Tulowitzki, Jason Varitek and Ryan Zimmerman.
18U NATIONAL TEAM
Comprised of the nation's top players ages 16-18, the USA Baseball 18U National Team is a perennial power on the international baseball scene. The team competes in two major events in bi-yearly cycles -- the COPABE AAA/18U Pan American Championships and the IBAF AAA/18U World Junior Championships. On the heels of its first ever Pan Am title in 2009, the 2011 18U National Team posted a record of 14-0-1 en route to gold at the COPABE 18U/AAA Pan American Championships in Venezuela.
Each year, USA Baseball and its national member organizations who are competing in the event invite the top high school-aged players in America to the Tournament of Stars presented by Major League Baseball, an all-star tournament featuring the top 18U players in the country. The event is held at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C., and is used as the primary selection vehicle for the 18U National Team.
This year, in addition to the Tournament of Stars, the 18U National team will compete in the second annual Prospect Classic, and it will finish its season by participating in the IBAF Junior AAA/18U World Championships located in Seoul, South Korea.
Current Major Leaguers Matt Holliday, Scott Kazmir, Jeff Francoeur, Clayton Kershaw, Buster Posey, Eric Hosmer, Freddie Freeman and B.J. and Justin Upton have all worn the USA jersey as 18U players.
17U NATIONAL TEAM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
In 2012, USA Baseball will field its first ever 17U National Team Development Program. Members of the 17U NTDP will be identified through the 17U East and West Championships and the National Team Identification Series. The players will take part in skill-development sessions, listen to various guest speakers and compete in intrasquad games. The 17U NTDP will serve as a tool for USA Baseball to prepare the players for future competition at the national team level.
15U NATIONAL TEAM
In 2012, USA Baseball will debut its 15U National Team. The club will be comprised of some of the most talented young players across the county. This year, the 15U National Team will compete in the IBAF AA/15U Youth World Championships.
A staple on the 15U baseball community's calendar going forward, USA Baseball's 15U Championships help the organization identify players for the National Team. The event is held in two regions -- East (Florida) and West (Arizona) -- and 72 teams compete in each region. USA Baseball representatives and scouts select the top players from each region and from there the National Team is chosen.
14U NATIONAL TEAM DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
Along with the 17U National Team Development Program, 2012 will be the inaugural year for the 14U National Team Development Program. Members of the 14U NTDP will be identified through the 14U East and West Championships. The players will take part in skill-development sessions, listen to various guest speakers and compete in intrasquad games. The 14U NTDP will serve as a tool for USA Baseball to prepare its players for future competition at the national team level.
WOMEN'S NATIONAL TEAM
The USA Baseball Women's National Team (WNT) was established in 2004, when an 18-player team was chosen following open tryouts across the nation, and the squad went on to capture the gold medal in the first-ever IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup in Edmonton, Canada. The team repeated as IBAF World Cup gold medalists in 2006 in Taiwan and took home the bronze medal from the 2008 World Cup in Japan. In 2010, the WNT won a second bronze medal in World Cup in Maracay, Venezuela.
When not competing in the World Cup, the Women's National Team squares off in international friendship series, leads youth clinics and works to grow the game of baseball among women in the U.S.
In 2012, the Woman's National Team will hold tryouts at three locations across the country, followed by a trials period which will be held at the University of San Francisco. The WNT will then take part in the IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup, which will be played in Edmonton, Alberta.
FINANCIALS
• 2008 United States Baseball Federation and Baseball America Foundation combined audited financials
• 2009 United States Baseball Federation and Baseball America Foundation combined audited financials
• 2010 United States Baseball Federation and Baseball America Foundation combined audited financials
• 2008 United States Baseball Federation IRS Form 990
• 2009 United States Baseball Federation IRS Form 990
• 2010 United States Baseball Federation IRS Form 990
• 2008 Baseball America Foundation IRS Form 990
• 2009 Baseball America Foundation IRS Form 990
• 2010 Baseball America Foundation IRS Form 990
