The International Baseball Federation (IBAF) is the former international

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

. It has since been superseded by the

World Baseball Softball Confederation The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) is the international Sports governing body, governing body for the sports of baseball, softball, Baseball5 and Blind baseball. It was established in 2013 by the merger of the International Baseba ...

(WBSC), and continues to exist as the WBSC's baseball division. Between 1944 and 1975, it was known by its Spanish-language name, as the ''Federación Internacional de Béisbol Amateur'', or FIBA. Prior to the establishment of the WBSC, the IBAF was the sole entity recognized by the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

as overseeing the sport, and as the designated organizer and promoter of major international tournaments like the

Baseball World Cup The Baseball World Cup (BWC) was an international baseball tournament for national teams around the world, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). First held in 1938 as the Amateur World Series (AWS), it was, for most of its ...

(originally the Amateur World Series) and the Intercontinental Cup. It also organized the

inaugural In government and politics, inauguration is the process of swearing a person into office and thus making that person the incumbent. Such an inauguration commonly occurs through a formal ceremony or special event, which may also include an inau ...

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized in World Baseball Clas ...

(WBC), in cooperation with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

, in 2006. One of its principal responsibilities as the WBSC's umbrella is to organize, standardize and sanction international competitions, using the WBSC name, among baseball's 124 national governing bodies through its various tournaments to determine a world champion and calculate world rankings for both men's and women's baseball. Its offices are housed within the WBSC headquarters in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

, Switzerland—the Olympic Capital.

History

Background

The first-ever international baseball event was a series of exhibition games that took place during the

1904 Summer Olympics The 1904 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the III Olympiad and also known as St. Louis 1904) were an international multi-sport event held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from 1 July to 23 November 1904. Many events were conducted ...

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, United States. The exhibition proved so successful that it was given an encore at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Sweden. The two popular showings in St. Louis and Stockholm laid the groundwork for baseball's international surge in popularity, leading the sport to be placed onto the program as an exhibition sport at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. This exhibition was extremely well received as 92,565 spectators filled the Olympic Stadium in Berlin to watch a game between two teams from the US. Following the success of Berlin, the first ever

was organized in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, England, in August 1938. The United States and Great Britain engaged in five games, of which the British won four. The growth of baseball competitions involving the representation of countries, coupled with the birth of the Baseball World Cup, provided the need for an institution to help develop, organize, regulate and oversee these events, thus the International Baseball Federation was established in 1938. It was initially headquartered in the offices of Orange Bowl Stadium in

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

Early years and FIBA

Conflicts of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

prompted the IOC to cancel the Summer Games that had been scheduled to take place in Tokyo in 1940 and in London in 1944, thereby halting baseball's tour as a demonstration sport. Nevertheless, by 1950, FIBA was able to expand the format of the Baseball World Cup that was contested in

Managua, Nicaragua Managua () is the capital city, capital and largest city of Nicaragua, and one of the List of largest cities in Central America, largest cities in Central America. Located on the shores of Lake Managua, the city had an estimated population of 1, ...

, to 12 participating countries. In 1951, the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

were established and baseball was on the official program from the onset. In April 1953, Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain came together to establish what is now known as the Confederation of European Baseball and organized the first ever

European Baseball Championship The European Baseball Championship is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Europe, governed by the Confederation of European Baseball (CEB). History Italy won the inaugural European Baseball Championship in , and ...

a year later. The

Baseball Federation of Asia WBSC Asia, cooperated with the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA) and Softball Asia (SA), is the governing body of the sport of baseball and softball in Asia. The federation is governed by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. History Th ...

(BFA) was founded in May 1954 as the second continental confederation under the umbrella of FIBA. The BFA wasted little time in organizing its first continental tournament, as it celebrated the

Asian Baseball Championship The Asian Baseball Championship is the main championship tournament between national baseball teams in Asia, governed by the Baseball Federation of Asia (BFA). It is held every other year in odd-numbered years and since 1983 it also functions ...

in December of that same year in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines. The exposure of baseball to an international audience continued at the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

, which saw approximately 114,000 spectators slowly fill the

Melbourne Cricket Ground The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), also known locally as the 'G, is a sports stadium located in Yarra Park, Melbourne, Victoria. Founded and managed by the Melbourne Cricket Club, it is the largest stadium in the Southern Hemisphere, the Lis ...

to witness Australia vs. US in a demonstration contest in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia. This crowd of 114,000 was registered as a

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

for the largest attendance for any single baseball game. (The record lasted over 50 years before it was broken at a March 29, 2008

exhibition game between the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

and

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

that drew 115,300 people to the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

.) Baseball as an Olympic demonstration sport was finally able to take its act to Asia at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

in Tokyo, Japan, where baseball was already exceptionally popular. Following the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

, a selection of premier U.S. college players defeated the Cuba national team twice in Mexico City to win the International Amateur Baseball Tournament (though it was not officially a demonstration sport). Juan Isa expanded FIBA's reach to include Europe, inviting

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

to the Amateur World Series for the first time in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

FEMBA split

Isa's tenure as president was controversial. Some federations felt that power had been concentrated in the hands of the Latin American federations for too long, to the detriment of federations in Europe and North America. Tensions came to a head at the 1973 FIBA Congress, where the Congress suspended Nicaragua and awarded the 1973 Amateur World Series to Cuba; Isa also refused to call for new elections. As a result, Nicaraguan, Italian, and U.S. officials withdrew from FIBA, and instead formed formed the ''Federación Mundial de Béisbol Amateur'' (World Amateur Baseball Federation), also knowns as FEMBA. Other countries to join FEMBA included Argentina, Canada, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and South Africa. William "Dutch" Fehring was elected president, and Carlos García Solórzano vice president. The Caribbean federations — Venezuela, Panama, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Cuba, and the Dutch Antilles — remained with FIBA. The

Baseball Federation of Cuba The Baseball Federation of Cuba (, FCB) is the governing body of the sport of baseball in Cuba. History The Baseball Federation of Cuba was established in 1938. The professional Cuban League was dismantled in 1961, following the Cuban Revolutio ...

characterized the division as driven by

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

political tensions. However, this was denied by Roger Panaye, president of the European Amateur Baseball Confederation (CEBA): Under FEMBA, the first Intercontinental Cup was organized in

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

; another would follow in 1975. FEMBA also organized its own 1973 Amateur World Series in Nicaragua, to compete with the one being held by FIBA in Cuba. Fehring, with the backing of MLB Commissioner Bowie Kuhn, pushed

head Lord Killanin to include baseball at the Olympics. However, Killanin told him it would not occur as long as baseball was represented by two different organizations. The FEMBA-FIBA split was resolved in 1976 thanks to the mediation of

Mexican Olympic Committee The Mexican Olympic Committee () (COM) is the organization that represents Mexican athletes in the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the Pan American Games and the Central American and Caribbean Games. It was created and formally recognized ...

president

Mario Vázquez Raña Mario Vázquez Raña (June 7, 1932 - February 8, 2015) was a Mexican businessman and sports administrator, who served on both national and Olympic committees. He served as a member of the executive board of the International Olympic Committee (IO ...

; FIBA was reorganized as AINBA (), with Manuel González Guerra elected president and Carlos García Solórzano vice president.

Baseball at the Summer Olympics

In 1978, the IOC awarded the hosting rights of the 1984 Summer Olympics to Los Angeles, and Robert Smith quickly went to work, in his capacity as a member of the

United States Olympic Committee The United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee (USOPC) is the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and the National Paralympic Committee (NPC) for the United States. It was founded in 1895 and is headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado ...

, to reestablish baseball as part of the Olympic Programme. Smith reached out to the then-Los Angeles Dodgers owner, Peter O'Malley, and

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

head baseball coach and subsequent

College Baseball Hall of Fame The National College Baseball Hall of Fame is an institution operated by the College Baseball Foundation serving as the central point for the study of the history of college baseball in the United States. In partnership with the Southwest Collect ...

inductee,

Rod Dedeaux Raoul Martial "Rod" Dedeaux (February 17, 1914 – January 5, 2006) was an American college baseball coach who compiled what is widely recognized as among the greatest records of any coach in the sport's amateur history. Dedeaux was the head ba ...

. The group organized an IBAF congress the following year in Los Angeles in order to establish an Olympic Baseball Committee. Through these efforts, baseball was again categorized as a demonstration sport and an eight-team tournament was organized at

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a ballpark in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. It is the home of the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a ...

, as part of the official Summer Olympic Programme. The present IBAF President, Riccardo Fraccari, was the head umpire of the championship game. A third branch of the IBAF continental confederations formed in 1985. The

Pan American Baseball Confederation WBSC Americas, formerly known as Pan American Baseball Confederation (COPABE, Spanish language, Spanish: ''Confederación Panamericana de Béisbol'', Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Confederação Pan-Americana de Beisebol''), is the governing ...

(COPABE) was finally established after it was deemed necessary due to the strong expansion and increase of the national member federations stemming from the Olympic Baseball Committee campaign. In 1986, a historic IOC vote put baseball onto the Olympic Programme as a medal sport for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Spain. Baseball would travel to

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, Korea, for the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

. This was the final time the IBAF, in conjunction with the IOC, would organize baseball as a demonstration (not medal) sport at the Olympics. In 1989, the Baseball Confederation of Oceania (BCO) was established as the 4th branch of the IBAF. The African Baseball and Softball Association (ABSA) was formed in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria soon after, in June 1990. Baseball was played up in a traditional amateur format up until the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. In 1998, the IBAF, MLB and the

Major League Baseball Players Association The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) is the labor union representing all current Major League Baseball (MLB) and Minor League Baseball (MiLB) players. All players, managers, coaches, and athletic trainers who hold or have held ...

reached an agreement to allow the participation of professional players in international competition. The United States used a minor league selection to beat Cuba in the gold medal game at the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Australia. Cuba regained the world title, defeating Australia for the gold medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece.

Setbacks and reformation

On July 7, 2005, the IOC Session voted to remove baseball and softball from the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

program. Baseball made its last Olympic appearance and Korea took the gold medal at the

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

. The IBAF, under President Harvey Schiller, attempted to reinstate baseball onto the Olympic Programme, but the IOC vote of August 2009 kept baseball off the 2016 program, as golf and rugby were selected. In February 2011, Dr. Harvey Schiller was appointed as a member of the IOC's Women and Sport Commission. On April 1, 2011, the IBAF, under first-year President

Riccardo Fraccari Riccardo Fraccari (born 30 May 1949 in Pisa, Italy) is an international sports administrator who is the current president of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). He was previously president of the International Baseball Federation ...

, and the

International Softball Federation Map of member states., 400px, right The International Softball Federation (ISF) is the former international governing body for the sport of softball with its world headquarters and training centre at Plant City, Florida. The ISF is a non-profit ...

announced that they were studying how to prepare a joint proposal in order to revive play of both sports at the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

. As part of that proposal, in April 2013, the two organizations began the process of merging into a new combined federation that will govern both sports, the

(WBSC). The merging was concluded in 2015, and WBSC managed to obtain the bid for 2020 Games on following months.

International events

The International Baseball Federation organized the following world championship tournaments before WBSC merger: * WBSC Premier 12 *

* IBAF Women's Baseball World Cup * IBAF 23U Baseball World Cup (formerly 21U) * IBAF 18U Baseball World Cup * IBAF 15U Baseball World Cup (formerly 16U) * IBAF 12U Baseball World Cup The first-ever 12U Baseball World Championship was played in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

from July 8 to 17, 2011.

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

won the first title. In addition, the IBAF is the sanctioning body for the

, which is hosted by

and the

and held every four years in the year after the Summer Olympics. The IBAF abandoned its former world championship, the

, after the 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic. It was originally intended to be the sanctioning body for the Premier 12, a new men's international tournament – featuring the twelve best-ranked national teams – that began in 2015; that tournament instead has been sanctioned by the WBSC. This event is played in the year preceding the Summer Olympics. The IBAF discontinued the Intercontinental Cup, which was an invitational event and last held in 2010.

Organizational structure

The IBAF comprises five continental confederations that currently represent a total of 127 national member federations. * IBAF Africa: African Baseball & Softball Association (ABSA) - 24 member countries * IBAF Oceania: Baseball Confederation of Oceania (BCO) - 14 member countries * IBAF Asia:

(BFA) - 24 member countries * IBAF Europe: Confederation of European Baseball () (CEB) - 38 member countries * IBAF Americas:

() (COPABE) - 27 member countries

Presidents

Leslie Mann Leslie Mann (born March 26, 1972) is an American actress. She has appeared in numerous films, including '' The Cable Guy'' (1996), '' She's the One'' (1996), ''George of the Jungle'' (1997), '' Big Daddy'' (1999), '' Orange County'' (2002), '' ...

: 1938 * Jaime Mariné: 1939 to 1943 * Jorge Reyes: 1944 to 1945 *

Pablo Morales Pedro Pablo Morales Jr. (born December 5, 1964) is an American former competitive swimmer. He set world records in the 100-meter butterfly in 1984 and 1986. He was the 100-meter butterfly gold medalist at the 1992 Olympic Games, as well as wi ...

: 1946 to 1947 * Chale Pereira: 1948 to 1950 *

: 1951 to 1952 * Carlos Manuel Zecca: 1953 to 1968 * FIBA: Juan Isa: 1969 to 1975 (FIBA from 1973 to 1975) * FEMBA: William Fehring: 1973 to 1974 * FEMBA: Carlos J. García: 1975 * Manuel González Guerra: 1976 to 1979 * Robert E. Smith: 1981 to 1993 *

Aldo Notari Aldo Notari (September 6, 1932July 26, 2006) was an Italian baseball player and executive who served as president of the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from 1993 to 2006. He is best known for the creation of the World Baseball Classic dur ...

: 1993 to 2006 (*) * Tom Peng: 2006 to 2007 * Harvey Schiller: 2007 to 2009 *

: 2009 to present (*) Aldo Notari died during the period as the president, thus the first vice president, Tom Peng of Taiwan, served as acting president from July 2006 to 2007.

Awards

Footnotes

External links

International Baseball Federation
– official website (archived) {{Authority control * * World Baseball Classic

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

Sports organizations established in 1938 Organisations based in Lausanne Articles containing video clips World Baseball Softball Confederation