OTTAWA – Amid the completion of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) has released its most recent World Rankings and Canada finds itself in eighth spot in the 45 country ranking.
The eighth place ranking is down one from the previous rankings due to Canada’s early elimination at the World Baseball Classic earlier this month.
With its victory at the WBC, Japan moves to third in the rankings, up from fourth. Cuba still remains number one followed by Korea, which moved to second from third. The USA dropped two spots down to fourth.
The IBAF debuted its World Rankings earlier this year in January. Developed in conjunction with Scott Goode, a sports information director from Harding University (Arkansas), the rankings are based on a point total which IBAF member federations (teams) earn from IBAF-sanctioned events in a four-year window, or a period of time that encompasses two IBAF Baseball World Cups.
Teams earn points based on their finish in an event. A tournament winner takes home 50 points, second place, 40; third place, 30; and fourth place, 15. From there, points are divided evenly among the remaining teams in the event to ensure balance between tournaments that feature different-sized fields.
Once points are rewarded based on a team’s finish, that amount is then multiplied by a number based on the strength of the event. Major world championships, such as an Olympic Games, IBAF Baseball World Cup or World Baseball Classic, all receive 4X multipliers. Minor world championship events (Junior, Youth or FISU University Worlds for example) have a 1X multiplier, and all other continental championships receive multipliers from 1X-.25X based on how many teams in the top-10 of the current IBAF World Rankings compete in the event.
Here are the top ten countries as ranked by the IBAF:
1. Cuba
2. Korea
3. Japan
4. USA
5. Chinese Taipei
6. Netherlands
7. Mexico
8. Canada
9. Australia
10. Puerto Rico
Complete IBAF World Rankings: http://www.ibaf.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Files_-_world_rankings/2009_IBAF_World_Rankings_March.htm
