Team Taiwan maintained their No. 2 position in the latest World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) world rankings released yesterday following the conclusion of the World Baseball Classic (WBC), staying close behind top-ranked Japan.
Meanwhile, WBC champions Venezuela saw a significant boost in points to narrow the gap with the world's baseball powerhouses, coming in at No. 5.
During the group stage of this year's WBC, Taiwan fell to Australia and Japan, but defeated the Czech Republic and South Korea to finish with a 2-2 record.
Photo: Taipei Times
Although the team failed to advance to the quarter-finals due to run differentials, they avoided finishing at the bottom of their group, meaning they would not have to play in the qualifying round for the next tournament.
Meanwhile, Japan, the 2023 WBC champions, suffered a quarter-final defeat to Venezuela this year, marking their worst finish in the tournament's history.
The top five spots in the WBSC rankings remain unchanged, with Japan continuing to hold the No. 1 position with 6,337 points (down 339 from the end of last year).
They are closely followed by Taiwan (5,302 points), the US (4,357 points) and South Korea (4,239 points).
Venezuela, the newly crowned world champions, sits at No. 5 with 3,992 points, gaining 339 points after securing their first-ever WBC title.
The updated rankings incorporate the results of this year’s WBC, replacing the points earned in the 2023 tournament, and distribute points based on final standings.
In the rest of the top 12, Puerto Rico (3,298 points) climbed to No. 6, overtaking Mexico (3,227 points), who now sit at No. 7.
Panama now rank No. 8 with 2,744 points.
Australia made the most significant leap among the top 10 nations, rising two spots to No. 9 with 2,425 points, moving ahead of the Netherlands in No. 10 with 2,358 points.
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