If you were president of the IBAF what would you do to help promote the game?

[twinsfan09]

I would personallyhave world rankings, making the world cup, qualfiers, and olympics on TV and get more bigger name sponser. I would also add more teams to the world cup and seperate North and South america for qualifyication rounds.

[ShawnC]

Well, the IBAF should hire PLowry for the rankings.

Since baseball won't be in the Olympics after 2008 (unless they manage to get it voted back in for 2016), the priority of any IBAF president should be sort out the international competitions before getting them on TV. I still don't see what the point is in having a Baseball World Cup and a World Baseball Classic. Since the WBC looks set to expand to 24 teams in 2013, I would probably scrap the Baseball World Cup or turn it into a Baseball Club World Cup to be contested by the MLB, NPB, CPBL and KBO champions (and possibly the Venezuelan and Mexican champions or the winner and runner up of the Caribbean Series) - essentially a true World Series. The Baseball World Cup and Olympic qualifiers would be merged and revamped to become qualifiers for the WBC. I would also turn the Intercontinental Cup into a Confederations Cup or maybe have a separate Confederations Cup where only the champions of the various IBAF Confederations (5 teams) would compete alongside the WBC Champion, previous Confederation Cup winner and the host country (for 8 teams in all). In all there would be 2-3 major international competitions and 1 major global inter-league competition.

I wouldn't separate North and South America until there is more strength in South America (currently its only Venezuela followed by Colombia), so maybe when Ecuador and Brazil reach the level of South Africa or Australia then I might consider separating the Americas.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Well, the IBAF should hire PLowry for the rankings.

Since baseball won't be in the Olympics after 2008 (unless they manage to get it voted back in for 2016), the priority of any IBAF president should be sort out the international competitions before getting them on TV. I still don't see what the point is in having a Baseball World Cup and a World Baseball Classic. Since the WBC looks set to expand to 24 teams in 2013, I would probably scrap the Baseball World Cup or turn it into a Baseball Club World Cup to be contested by the MLB, NPB, CPBL and KBO champions (and possibly the Venezuelan and Mexican champions or the winner and runner up of the Caribbean Series) - essentially a true World Series. The Baseball World Cup and Olympic qualifiers would be merged and revamped to become qualifiers for the WBC. I would also turn the Intercontinental Cup into a Confederations Cup or maybe have a separate Confederations Cup where only the champions of the various IBAF Confederations (5 teams) would compete alongside the WBC Champion, previous Confederation Cup winner and the host country (for 8 teams in all). In all there would be 2-3 major international competitions and 1 major global inter-league competition.

I wouldn't separate North and South America until there is more strength in South America (currently its only Venezuela followed by Colombia), so maybe when Ecuador and Brazil reach the level of South Africa or Australia then I might consider separating the Americas.

Where is Europe in your plans?

[Pere]

I basically like ShawnC's ideas, although the Confederation Cup still seems a little duplicative.

I'd run the WBC every two years, with the regional-qualifying tournaments alternating, and both phases of this event in the spring of the respective years. Autumns would be for the annual international club championships. (Or the other way round, maybe.)

With a scheme like that, who needs the Olympics? :cap:

[twinsfan09]

Baseball Club World Cup to be contested by the MLB, NPB, CPBL and KBO champions (and possibly the Venezuelan and Mexican champions or the winner and runner up of the Caribbean Series) - essentially a true World Series.

I like the idea

[ShawnC]

Where is Europe in your plans?

What about Europe? Europe's teams qualify for those events just like every other region's/confederation's. Europe may not have any teams in a Baseball Club World Cup, but then from what I gather Europe doesn't have any professional club leagues anywhere near the KBO, NPB or CPBL. But, then neither does Australia or any African country. The strongest areas in baseball are the Americas and Asia. When a good professional league gets started up in Africa, Australia and in some European country, then the champions of those leagues could compete in a Baseball Club World Cup. Until then why should they? And it is (or should be) up to each country to start and run their own professional league. Depending on the IBAF to do everything will lead to the kind of dependency cycle/situation that we find with the lowest ranked football teams and FIFA whereby if it wasn't for FIFA those football associations and football in general would collapse to literal irrelevance in those countries (like American Samoa or Fiji) - right now they are only practically irrelevant.

I basically like ShawnC's ideas, although the Confederation Cup still seems a little duplicative.

I'd run the WBC every two years, with the regional-qualifying tournaments alternating, and both phases of this event in the spring of the respective years. Autumns would be for the annual international club championships. (Or the other way round, maybe.)

With a scheme like that, who needs the Olympics?

Thanks. The Confederation Cup would only be duplicative if the Intercontinental Cup was kept. Ideally the Intercontinental Cup would become a Confederation Cup in practice with only the champions from each IBAF continental confederation participating (along with the host, previous Intercontinental Cup champion and the WBC champion). It would essentially be a Champion's Cup.

I like your suggestion for the WBC and its regional qualifiers. Not sure about having the WBC every 2 years though. Mightn' it be more practical to have the WBC and Intercontinental Cup alternate? So WBC in 2009 and revamped IC in 2011 and then WBC in 2013? As you said though, the international club championships would be annual. That should give just the right amount of baseball without overworking the fans' pockets (and patience and interest - have to keep the interest piqued).

I agree entirely with your sentiments on the Olympics? Who needs them? If the IBAF revamped its international programmes, then there wouldn't be any need for baseball in the Olympics. Besides, like a bad marriage, it was probably time for a divorce - what was the point of having baseball in the Olympics if no major leaguers could participate and show the world what baseball really has to offer in terms of professional skills? I would ask the same thing for football, although FIFA and the IOC came to a deal in the 80s which allowed the top (essentiall professional) players from lesser footballing countries to participate (to make the competition more meaningful - after all how meaningful can it be when Brazil has never won a gold medal in Olympic football?). If essentially pro athletes compete in track and field they should also compete in the other sports or those sports should simply get out of the Olympic programme (the Olympics are too long anyway). And I also wouldn't support getting baseball back in the Olympics if the situation is going to be the same ol' same ol' where major leaguers couldn't participate for their country. The lack of major league professional players is partly the reason for the lacklustre interest in the Baseball World Cup in the first place. If the FIFA World Cup did not permit the professional football players, I would bet anyone here over US$100 that the popularity of the FIFA World Cup would be a whole lot less than it is now with more interest being shown in competitions where the popular pro players actually take part (Euro2008 and Champions League for example).

[Richard]

I would speak with MLB officials about playing pro games in Europe just like they did in China today. I would also spend money in Brazil because it is the largest country by far in Latin America and one of the largest in the world. They have fledgling baseball programs in Sao Paolo and Rio and several minor league players. It is run by Brazilians of Japanese descent who are very organized. Take a look at their web site on the international section of MLB.com.

[Shootmaster_44]

My first step would be to forget about the Olympics unless MLB is willing to shut down their season for like the NHL. My second step would be to convince the MLBPA and MLB to allow non-playoff MLB players to participate in the IBAF World Cup. The third step is to see the WBC become something of the Olympics for baseball. Have it as the showcase tournament where the elites play.

Fourthly, I would revamp the World Cup and have it tiered with multiple tournaments played akin to the World Hockey Championship. Only the bottom rung countries would have to qualify into the lowest division. The winner and silver medalist from each division would be promoted and the last and second last teams would be relegated to the lower division. This would help promote baseball in the lower countries by allowing them the opportunity to hold a world championship event. Plus it would mean something for a country such as say Ghana or Portugal to ascend to the top division. It would mean the chance to play with the big boys. I always look at the countries like Slovenia who qualify to play in Division 1 in hockey as the best free promotion a sport could have in a country. Once baseball is as universally played and popular as soccer then I would move to a FIFA World Cup model. But until it gets there the IBAF needs as many world championship events as possible to promote the game.

If the IBAF feels its necessary for baseball to be played in a multi-sport world event, I would get baseball on the programme for the World Games. Each side would help the other. With high level baseball in the World Games, its profile might be improved and could end up with it televised. On the other hand baseball would be promoted by the World Games as a part of a multi-sport world event.

The biggest thing I would do is ensure the World Cup and any other top level world championship (i.e. World Games or any new MLB participated tournament) was televised in all participating countries. Even if the best I could do is get the World Cup on at 3 AM on CBC or TSN, it would be better than having it not televised at all. If this is the supposed world championship tournament for baseball, then it should be on television for the world to see. Currently, it seems as if the IBAF is saying lets declare a world champion, but not tell anyone who it is. In Canada, I can watch pretty much any sport's world championship on some channel. Even American Football, which is barely played outside of North America, I can watch their world championship. Yet, baseball which is probably one of the top 5 or 6 team sports in the world, I cannot. This is the biggest thing that needs to be rectified.

Even if people don't know the names, they will rally behind the flag. The 1999 Pan-Am Games in Winnipeg proved that point as far as Canadian baseball goes. People watched that tournament and it made names like Stubby Clapp and Ryan Radmanovich household names. When people tuned in to the initial games, the names meant nothing other than the name on the jersey. Its what has made the World Junior Hockey Championship so successful in Canada. Its not the name on the back that matters, its the name on the front. The IBAF has to realize this and televise their games.

[ROC~~]

The first step, merge WBC, the current Baseball World Cup, and the Baseball Intercontinental Cup all together into a TRUE BASEBALL WORLD CUP Tournament. Create a baseball world ranking. Expand the baseball world cup participate teams from 16 to 18-24 teams.

[Unit312J]

video somehow

IBAF needs to show the games, through T.V. and or Internet worldwide, and they have a vehicle to do that inexpensively already. Then they can just continue to build and expand on that as they realize there is an audience out there. This past week I talked to a couple of the Team USA players from the World Cup that I saw in Spring Training. I introduced myself as the broadcaster from the World Cup, and the two I got to talk to said they LOVED watching the replays (replays for them), and that a lot of people back home were excited they got to watch the games. There is an audience out there, but I'm not convinced IBAF believes that yet.

[Richard]

Unit312J, I think you or someone else mentioned that the reason the baseball World Cup is not played in the US is because other governments subsidize the international teams. I think the baseball World Cup somehow should be played in the U.S., just to garner publicity for the sport. Americans are good at generating publicity. Most American baseball fans do not even know a World Cup exists! I think the Cup should be played here maybe once every decade.

[stejay]

I would follow FIFA, soccer's governing body. I would have, as you say, world rankings, a world cup, and also grass roots baseball in countries where baseball is not so hot, like most of Europe, some of South America, a ,ot of Australia, and parts of Asia.

[twinsfan09]

I also have the website be more informational. Like the FIFA's website tells about that countries league and standings if you click on the country where the IBAF's is just an address and who is the president. But the new IBAF website is better than the old one.

[stejay]

I would also work more with the MLB. I would also create a radical new idea. MLB asia, with teams from Asia playing each other, and in 4-5 leagues. The same with Europe, South America, the Carribean, Africa, Oceania and the two best placed losers(record wise). And then the winners from the World Series, the Europe Series, Asia Series, Africa Series, Carribean Series, South American Series, Oceania Series and the best losers would play each other in a knock out tournament in the off season, in one location so less traveling. The players would play better as there is something better to play for, such as beating U.S. teams, and maybe even getting scouted by Major League teams. This would be beneficial to the World game in my opinion

[jalbright]

I would also work more with the MLB. I would also create a radical new idea. MLB asia, with teams from Asia playing each other, and in 4-5 leagues. The same with Europe, South America, the Carribean, Africa, Oceania and the two best placed losers(record wise). And then the winners from the World Series, the Europe Series, Asia Series, Africa Series, Carribean Series, South American Series, Oceania Series and the best losers would play each other in a knock out tournament in the off season, in one location so less traveling. The players would play better as there is something better to play for, such as beating U.S. teams, and maybe even getting scouted by Major League teams. This would be beneficial to the World game in my opinion

MLB Asia might be an interesting idea, but you're going to have to get the cooperation of the Taiwanese, Koreans and Japanese at a minimum to make it work. There's lots of animosity between the Koreans and Japanese, which won't help, and you've got to get people who've got established little power pockets in their own leagues (NPB, KBO, whatever) to accept a place in a new organization. In short, such an idea is a tall order, one that will take a lot of work to make happen--and something that won't likely happen quickly. It might well be worth trying to get it to happen, but at a minimum we're talking about a long-term goal here. IBAF certainly wouldn't be able to snap it's fingers and have everyone go along.