Taiwan have maintained their place at No. 5 on the updated World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) world rankings for men’s baseball.
The rankings released today also keep Japan on top of the list, extending their lead over the US with 5,495 points to 4,492.
None in the top eight changed places after point totals were updated to reflect results from last month’s WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup in Taiwan and the Baseball European Championship.
Photo Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
Following their stellar showing at the U-18 World Cup losing only to Japan in the final, Taiwan have accumulated a total of 3,885 points for a place in fifth.
Rounding out the top five are Mexico in third with 4,390 points and South Korea in fourth with 4,025 points.
The top 12 nations at the end of this year are to qualify for the third WBSC Premier12 flagship event from Nov. 10 to 24 next year, hosted by Taiwan and Japan.
The rankings weigh a country’s national team performance from U-12 to professional in official WBSC-sanctioned international competitions over a four-year period.
It does not take into account a nation’s professional league or players competing professionally.
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