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The Premier12 is coming soon. One of the biggest worldwide baseball tournaments occurs every four years. In this case, it's not the World Baseball Classic. The tournament limits itself to 12 teams, as the name suggests, and the top-ranked countries from the year prior are automatically put into the field.
The Premier12 is going to be held in 2024 in keeping with its four-year promise. As the 2023 calendar year comes to a close, the 12 teams that outranked the rest of the world will come together next year to duke it out.
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Those 12 teams currently are as follows:
- Japan
- Mexico
- USA
- Jorea
- Chinese Taipei
- Venezuela
- Netherlands
- Cuba
- Dominican Republic
- Panama
- Australia
- Puerto Rico
WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) President Riccardo Fraccari said via WBSC.org:
"Congratulations to the top 12 teams in the world for qualifying to the Premier12. We've had two memorable editions of the WBSC's flagship event and we're looking forward to another hugely successful tournament next year, with the best of international baseball captivating fans all around the world."
A couple of world powers barely got onto the list, but all they need to do is qualify in order to compete next year. The Premier12 will take place November 10 to November 24, 2024.
Premier12 showcases elite talent
Given that the competition is one of the few opportunities for the world at large to show off their baseball skills, it goes without saying that stars show up and show out here. Sometimes, they're future MLB stars. That was the case for Shohei Ohtani when he appeared at the tournament in 2015.
Now, he's perhaps the best player in the sport. Seiya Suzuki, Chicago Cubs star outfielder, was at the tournament the last time it aired, and he eventually became an MLB player.
Jung Hoo Lee was at the same tournament. He's not yet the proven MLB player the others are, but he just signed a pretty hefty contract with the San Francisco Giants. Who will be added to the baseball world's watch list this time?
