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RMc · 01-19-2006, 06:28 PM

It seems that everyone (including me) is fantasing about creating the ultimate global baseball league, with teams in every country. But just how good are different countries at baseball?

To answer this question, I went to the IBAF (International Baseball Federation) website to who's playin' ball these days. There are currently 110 member nations in the IBAF. (Some of these "national" federations are not independent nations, but I'll refer to them all as "countries" to avoid confusion.)

Then I set about trying to determine which national teams have been most successful lately, by using a weighted system of where each team placed in various tournaments (World Cup, Olympics, etc). Using somewhat shaky methodology and few hideous formulas, I came up with the Top 25 Baseball Countries:

U.S.A. 100
Cuba 90
Japan 88
South Korea 86
Panama 84
Canada 82
Chinese Taipei 80
Mexico 78
Nicaragua 76
Rep.Dominicana 74
Netherlands 72
Brazil 70
Puerto Rico 68
China 66
Italy 64
Australia 62
Colombia 60
Philippines 58
Russia 56
South Africa 54
France 52
Spain 50
Sweden 48
Greece 46
Czech Republic 44

The number to right is a Power Rating: The USA is a perfect 100, and the others are in relation to the top team.

Yes, of course the Cubans win every tournament they enter -- tournaments that don't feature MLB players. The US is the country that features (almost) all of the current Major league Baseball teams, and most of the players on those teams are Americans. There's no way, in my mind, the USA isn't number one, and probably by a lot larger margin that what I have listed. But we'll place Cuba at number two, with a 90 rating, and the Japanese just behind at 88.

Why 90 and 88? Several studies I've read suggest the level of play in the Japanese Leagues is roughly 88-90% as good as MLB, so that makes a decent starting point. The rest of the Top 25 step down two percentage points apiece....it's as good a measuring stick as any. (Too bad the IBAF doesn't have a world ranking of teams, like FIFA does.)

What about the other nations of the world? Well, let's start with the 85 (other) members of the IBAF, some of which are comically small (San Marino, the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands and Palau are all members of the IBAF -- and they have a combined population about 93,000, or less than my hometown). Figuring #26 should have a Power rating of 42 (2 less than #25 Czech Republic) and #110 should be rated at 2, here's what we come up with:

India 42
Indonesia 40
Pakistan 39
Nigeria 36
Germany 29
Turkey 26
Iran 26
Thailand 25
Great Britain 24
Ukraine 21
Myanmar 21
Argentina 20
Poland 20
Kenya 18
Morocco 18
Perú 17
Uganda 16
Uzbekistan 16
Malaysia 16
Venezuela 16
North Korea 15
Romania 15
Ghana 14
Sri Lanka 14
Ivory Coast 13
Cameroon 13
Chile 13
Kazakhstan 13
Guatemala 12
Ecuador 11
Zimbabwe 11
Mali 11
Zambia 11
Serbia and Montenegro 10
Portugal 10
Belgium 10
Belarus 10
Hungary 10
Tunisia 10
Bolivia 9
Austria 9
Switzerland 9
Bulgaria 9
Honduras 8
Israel 8
Hong Kong 8
El Salvador 8
Togo 7
Papua New Guinea 7
Denmark 7
Slovakia 7
Finland 7
Georgia 7
Norway 7
Croatia 7
Moldova 7
Singapore 7
Ireland 6
New Zealand 6
Costa Rica 6
Lithuania 6
Liberia 6
Armenia 5
Mongolia 5
Jamaica 5
Namibia 5
Slovenia 4
Lesotho 4
Estonia 4
Fiji 3
Cyprus 3
Malta 2
Brunei 2
Bahamas 2
Netherlands Antilles 2
Samoa 2
Guam 2
Micronesia 2
U.S. Virgin Islands 2
Aruba 2
American Samoa 2
San Marino 2
British Virgin Islands 2
Cook Islands 2
Palau 2

Is India really the #26 baseball-playing country in the world? I doubt it; try Googling "india baseball" sometime, and you won't find much. (They seems to play some other game with a ball and a bat.) But, lacking any other hard data, I decided to rank these 85 countries by population -- and India has 1,080,264,388 or so people, according to Wikipedia. That's a lot of people, yes? Would it really be that hard to scare up a 25-man roster out of a billion people?

And what about the countries that aren't even in the IBAF, starting with Pakistan...144 million people without a ballclub? OK, let's make Pakistan a 20 -- a replacement level country, if you will -- and rate the rest:

Bangladesh 20
Vietnam 19
Egypt 18
Ethiopia 18
Democratic Republic of the Congo 16
Sudan 13
Tanzania 13
Algeria 12
Afghanistan 11
Nepal 11
Saudi Arabia 11
Iraq 11
Yemen 9
Mozambique 9
Syria 9
Madagascar 9
Burkina Faso 8
Cambodia 8
Malawi 7
Niger 7
Angola 7
Senegal 7
Chad 7
Guinea 6
Somalia 6
Rwanda 6
Haiti 6
Azerbaijan 6
Benin 6
Tajikistan 6
Burundi 5
Paraguay 5
Laos 5
Sierra Leone 5
Libya 5
Jordan 5
Kyrgyzstan 5
Turkmenistan 5
Eritrea 4
Bosnia and Herzegovina 4
Lebanon 4
Central African Republic 4
Albania 4
Uruguay 4
Mauritania 4
Republic of the Congo 4
Oman 4
United Arab Emirates 3
West Bank 3
Kuwait 3
Latvia 3
Bhutan 3
Republic of Macedonia 3
Botswana 3
The Gambia 3
Guinea-Bissau 2
Gabon 2
Gaza Strip 2
Mauritius 2
Swaziland 2
Trinidad and Tobago 2
East Timor 2
Qatar 2
Réunion 2
Guyana 2
Bahrain 2
Comoros 2
Solomon Islands 2
Equatorial Guinea 2
Djibouti 1
Luxembourg 1
Macau SAR (PRC) 1
Guadeloupe 1
Suriname 1
Martinique 1
Cape Verde 1
Maldives 1
Iceland 1
Belize 1
Barbados 1
Western Sahara 1
French Polynesia 1
New Caledonia 1
Vanuatu 1
French Guiana 1
Mayotte 1
São Tomé and Príncipe 1
Saint Lucia 1
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1
Tonga 1
Kiribati 1
Jersey 1
Grenada 1
Seychelles 1
Northern Mariana Islands 1
Isle of Man 1
Andorra 1
Dominica 1
Antigua and Barbuda 1
Bermuda 1
Guernsey 1
Marshall Islands 1
Greenland 1
Faroe Islands 0
Cayman Islands 0
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0
Liechtenstein 0
Monaco 0
Gibraltar 0
Turks and Caicos Islands 0
Wallis and Futuna 0
Anguilla 0
Nauru 0
Tuvalu 0

I drew the line at countries with 10,000 people.

Putting it all together:

U.S.A. 100
Cuba 90
Japan 88
South Korea 86
Panama 84
Canada 82
Chinese Taipei 80
Mexico 78
Nicaragua 76
Dominican Republic 74
Netherlands 72
Brazil 70
Puerto Rico 68
China 66
Italy 64
Australia 62
Colombia 60
Philippines 58
Russia 56
South Africa 54
France 52
Spain 50
Sweden 48
Greece 46
Czech Republic 44
India 42
Indonesia 40
Pakistan 39
Nigeria 36
Germany 29
Turkey 26
Iran 26
Thailand 25
Great Britain 24
Ukraine 21
Myanmar 21
Argentina 20
Poland 20
Bangladesh 20
Vietnam 19
Kenya 18
Morocco 18
Egypt 18
Ethiopia 18
Perú 17
Uganda 16
Uzbekistan 16
Malaysia 16
Venezuela 16
Dem Rep of Congo 16
North Korea 15
Romania 15
Ghana 14
Sri Lanka 14
Ivory Coast 13
Cameroon 13
Chile 13
Kazakhstan 13
Sudan 13
Tanzania 13
Guatemala 12
Algeria 12
Ecuador 11
Zimbabwe 11
Mali 11
Zambia 11
Afghanistan 11
Nepal 11
Saudi Arabia 11
Iraq 11
Serbia and Montenegro 10
Portugal 10
Belgium 10
Belarus 10
Hungary 10
Tunisia 10
Bolivia 9
Austria 9
Switzerland 9
Bulgaria 9
Yemen 9
Mozambique 9
Syria 9
Madagascar 9
Honduras 8
Israel 8
Hong Kong 8
El Salvador 8
Burkina Faso 8
Cambodia 8
Togo 7
Papua New Guinea 7
Denmark 7
Slovakia 7
Finland 7
Georgia 7
Norway 7
Croatia 7
Moldova 7
Singapore 7
Malawi 7
Niger 7
Angola 7
Senegal 7
Chad 7
Ireland 6
New Zealand 6
Costa Rica 6
Lithuania 6
Liberia 6
Guinea 6
Somalia 6
Rwanda 6
Haiti 6
Azerbaijan 6
Benin 6
Tajikistan 6
Armenia 5
Mongolia 5
Jamaica 5
Namibia 5
Burundi 5
Paraguay 5
Laos 5
Sierra Leone 5
Libya 5
Jordan 5
Kyrgyzstan 5
Turkmenistan 5
Slovenia 4
Lesotho 4
Estonia 4
Eritrea 4
Bosnia and Herzegovina 4
Lebanon 4
Central African Republic 4
Albania 4
Uruguay 4
Mauritania 4
Republic of the Congo 4
Oman 4
Fiji 3
Cyprus 3
United Arab Emirates 3
West Bank 3
Kuwait 3
Latvia 3
Bhutan 3
Republic of Macedonia 3
Botswana 3
The Gambia 3
Malta 2
Brunei 2
Bahamas 2
Netherlands Antilles 2
Samoa 2
Guam 2
Micronesia 2
U.S. Virgin Islands 2
Aruba 2
American Samoa 2
San Marino 2
British Virgin Islands 2
Cook Islands 2
Palau 2
Guinea-Bissau 2
Gabon 2
Gaza Strip 2
Mauritius 2
Swaziland 2
Trinidad and Tobago 2
East Timor 2
Qatar 2
Réunion 2
Guyana 2
Bahrain 2
Comoros 2
Solomon Islands 2
Equatorial Guinea 2
Djibouti 1
Luxembourg 1
Macau SAR (PRC) 1
Guadeloupe 1
Suriname 1
Martinique 1
Cape Verde 1
Maldives 1
Iceland 1
Belize 1
Barbados 1
Western Sahara 1
French Polynesia 1
New Caledonia 1
Vanuatu 1
French Guiana 1
Mayotte 1
São Tomé and Príncipe 1
Saint Lucia 1
St Vincent/Grenadines 1
Tonga 1
Kiribati 1
Jersey 1
Grenada 1
Seychelles 1
Northern Mariana Islands 1
Isle of Man 1
Andorra 1
Dominica 1
Antigua and Barbuda 1
Bermuda 1
Guernsey 1
Marshall Islands 1
Greenland 1
Faroe Islands 0
Cayman Islands 0
Saint Kitts and Nevis 0
Liechtenstein 0
Monaco 0
Gibraltar 0
Turks and Caicos Islands 0
Wallis and Futuna 0
Anguilla 0
Nauru 0
Tuvalu 0

That's 224 countries, each with their own league. Figure eight teams in each league, and 200 players in each team's system...that's 358,400 players!

Ouch. Gotta get outta the house more...

01-19-2006, 06:28 PM	#1
RMc All Star Starter Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 1,718	Spanning the globe... It seems that everyone (including me) is fantasing about creating the ultimate global baseball league, with teams in every country. But just how good are different countries at baseball? To answer this question, I went to the IBAF (International Baseball Federation) website to who's playin' ball these days. There are currently 110 member nations in the IBAF. (Some of these "national" federations are not independent nations, but I'll refer to them all as "countries" to avoid confusion.) Then I set about trying to determine which national teams have been most successful lately, by using a weighted system of where each team placed in various tournaments (World Cup, Olympics, etc). Using somewhat shaky methodology and few hideous formulas, I came up with the Top 25 Baseball Countries: U.S.A. 100 Cuba 90 Japan 88 South Korea 86 Panama 84 Canada 82 Chinese Taipei 80 Mexico 78 Nicaragua 76 Rep.Dominicana 74 Netherlands 72 Brazil 70 Puerto Rico 68 China 66 Italy 64 Australia 62 Colombia 60 Philippines 58 Russia 56 South Africa 54 France 52 Spain 50 Sweden 48 Greece 46 Czech Republic 44 The number to right is a Power Rating: The USA is a perfect 100, and the others are in relation to the top team. Yes, of course the Cubans win every tournament they enter -- tournaments that don't feature MLB players. The US is the country that features (almost) all of the current Major league Baseball teams, and most of the players on those teams are Americans. There's no way, in my mind, the USA isn't number one, and probably by a lot larger margin that what I have listed. But we'll place Cuba at number two, with a 90 rating, and the Japanese just behind at 88. Why 90 and 88? Several studies I've read suggest the level of play in the Japanese Leagues is roughly 88-90% as good as MLB, so that makes a decent starting point. The rest of the Top 25 step down two percentage points apiece....it's as good a measuring stick as any. (Too bad the IBAF doesn't have a world ranking of teams, like FIFA does.) What about the other nations of the world? Well, let's start with the 85 (other) members of the IBAF, some of which are comically small (San Marino, the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands and Palau are all members of the IBAF -- and they have a combined population about 93,000, or less than my hometown). Figuring #26 should have a Power rating of 42 (2 less than #25 Czech Republic) and #110 should be rated at 2, here's what we come up with: India 42 Indonesia 40 Pakistan 39 Nigeria 36 Germany 29 Turkey 26 Iran 26 Thailand 25 Great Britain 24 Ukraine 21 Myanmar 21 Argentina 20 Poland 20 Kenya 18 Morocco 18 Perú 17 Uganda 16 Uzbekistan 16 Malaysia 16 Venezuela 16 North Korea 15 Romania 15 Ghana 14 Sri Lanka 14 Ivory Coast 13 Cameroon 13 Chile 13 Kazakhstan 13 Guatemala 12 Ecuador 11 Zimbabwe 11 Mali 11 Zambia 11 Serbia and Montenegro 10 Portugal 10 Belgium 10 Belarus 10 Hungary 10 Tunisia 10 Bolivia 9 Austria 9 Switzerland 9 Bulgaria 9 Honduras 8 Israel 8 Hong Kong 8 El Salvador 8 Togo 7 Papua New Guinea 7 Denmark 7 Slovakia 7 Finland 7 Georgia 7 Norway 7 Croatia 7 Moldova 7 Singapore 7 Ireland 6 New Zealand 6 Costa Rica 6 Lithuania 6 Liberia 6 Armenia 5 Mongolia 5 Jamaica 5 Namibia 5 Slovenia 4 Lesotho 4 Estonia 4 Fiji 3 Cyprus 3 Malta 2 Brunei 2 Bahamas 2 Netherlands Antilles 2 Samoa 2 Guam 2 Micronesia 2 U.S. Virgin Islands 2 Aruba 2 American Samoa 2 San Marino 2 British Virgin Islands 2 Cook Islands 2 Palau 2 Is India really the #26 baseball-playing country in the world? I doubt it; try Googling "india baseball" sometime, and you won't find much. (They seems to play some other game with a ball and a bat.) But, lacking any other hard data, I decided to rank these 85 countries by population -- and India has 1,080,264,388 or so people, according to Wikipedia. That's a lot of people, yes? Would it really be that hard to scare up a 25-man roster out of a billion people? And what about the countries that aren't even in the IBAF, starting with Pakistan...144 million people without a ballclub? OK, let's make Pakistan a 20 -- a replacement level country, if you will -- and rate the rest: Bangladesh 20 Vietnam 19 Egypt 18 Ethiopia 18 Democratic Republic of the Congo 16 Sudan 13 Tanzania 13 Algeria 12 Afghanistan 11 Nepal 11 Saudi Arabia 11 Iraq 11 Yemen 9 Mozambique 9 Syria 9 Madagascar 9 Burkina Faso 8 Cambodia 8 Malawi 7 Niger 7 Angola 7 Senegal 7 Chad 7 Guinea 6 Somalia 6 Rwanda 6 Haiti 6 Azerbaijan 6 Benin 6 Tajikistan 6 Burundi 5 Paraguay 5 Laos 5 Sierra Leone 5 Libya 5 Jordan 5 Kyrgyzstan 5 Turkmenistan 5 Eritrea 4 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 Lebanon 4 Central African Republic 4 Albania 4 Uruguay 4 Mauritania 4 Republic of the Congo 4 Oman 4 United Arab Emirates 3 West Bank 3 Kuwait 3 Latvia 3 Bhutan 3 Republic of Macedonia 3 Botswana 3 The Gambia 3 Guinea-Bissau 2 Gabon 2 Gaza Strip 2 Mauritius 2 Swaziland 2 Trinidad and Tobago 2 East Timor 2 Qatar 2 Réunion 2 Guyana 2 Bahrain 2 Comoros 2 Solomon Islands 2 Equatorial Guinea 2 Djibouti 1 Luxembourg 1 Macau SAR (PRC) 1 Guadeloupe 1 Suriname 1 Martinique 1 Cape Verde 1 Maldives 1 Iceland 1 Belize 1 Barbados 1 Western Sahara 1 French Polynesia 1 New Caledonia 1 Vanuatu 1 French Guiana 1 Mayotte 1 São Tomé and Príncipe 1 Saint Lucia 1 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1 Tonga 1 Kiribati 1 Jersey 1 Grenada 1 Seychelles 1 Northern Mariana Islands 1 Isle of Man 1 Andorra 1 Dominica 1 Antigua and Barbuda 1 Bermuda 1 Guernsey 1 Marshall Islands 1 Greenland 1 Faroe Islands 0 Cayman Islands 0 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0 Liechtenstein 0 Monaco 0 Gibraltar 0 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 Wallis and Futuna 0 Anguilla 0 Nauru 0 Tuvalu 0 I drew the line at countries with 10,000 people. Putting it all together: U.S.A. 100 Cuba 90 Japan 88 South Korea 86 Panama 84 Canada 82 Chinese Taipei 80 Mexico 78 Nicaragua 76 Dominican Republic 74 Netherlands 72 Brazil 70 Puerto Rico 68 China 66 Italy 64 Australia 62 Colombia 60 Philippines 58 Russia 56 South Africa 54 France 52 Spain 50 Sweden 48 Greece 46 Czech Republic 44 India 42 Indonesia 40 Pakistan 39 Nigeria 36 Germany 29 Turkey 26 Iran 26 Thailand 25 Great Britain 24 Ukraine 21 Myanmar 21 Argentina 20 Poland 20 Bangladesh 20 Vietnam 19 Kenya 18 Morocco 18 Egypt 18 Ethiopia 18 Perú 17 Uganda 16 Uzbekistan 16 Malaysia 16 Venezuela 16 Dem Rep of Congo 16 North Korea 15 Romania 15 Ghana 14 Sri Lanka 14 Ivory Coast 13 Cameroon 13 Chile 13 Kazakhstan 13 Sudan 13 Tanzania 13 Guatemala 12 Algeria 12 Ecuador 11 Zimbabwe 11 Mali 11 Zambia 11 Afghanistan 11 Nepal 11 Saudi Arabia 11 Iraq 11 Serbia and Montenegro 10 Portugal 10 Belgium 10 Belarus 10 Hungary 10 Tunisia 10 Bolivia 9 Austria 9 Switzerland 9 Bulgaria 9 Yemen 9 Mozambique 9 Syria 9 Madagascar 9 Honduras 8 Israel 8 Hong Kong 8 El Salvador 8 Burkina Faso 8 Cambodia 8 Togo 7 Papua New Guinea 7 Denmark 7 Slovakia 7 Finland 7 Georgia 7 Norway 7 Croatia 7 Moldova 7 Singapore 7 Malawi 7 Niger 7 Angola 7 Senegal 7 Chad 7 Ireland 6 New Zealand 6 Costa Rica 6 Lithuania 6 Liberia 6 Guinea 6 Somalia 6 Rwanda 6 Haiti 6 Azerbaijan 6 Benin 6 Tajikistan 6 Armenia 5 Mongolia 5 Jamaica 5 Namibia 5 Burundi 5 Paraguay 5 Laos 5 Sierra Leone 5 Libya 5 Jordan 5 Kyrgyzstan 5 Turkmenistan 5 Slovenia 4 Lesotho 4 Estonia 4 Eritrea 4 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 Lebanon 4 Central African Republic 4 Albania 4 Uruguay 4 Mauritania 4 Republic of the Congo 4 Oman 4 Fiji 3 Cyprus 3 United Arab Emirates 3 West Bank 3 Kuwait 3 Latvia 3 Bhutan 3 Republic of Macedonia 3 Botswana 3 The Gambia 3 Malta 2 Brunei 2 Bahamas 2 Netherlands Antilles 2 Samoa 2 Guam 2 Micronesia 2 U.S. Virgin Islands 2 Aruba 2 American Samoa 2 San Marino 2 British Virgin Islands 2 Cook Islands 2 Palau 2 Guinea-Bissau 2 Gabon 2 Gaza Strip 2 Mauritius 2 Swaziland 2 Trinidad and Tobago 2 East Timor 2 Qatar 2 Réunion 2 Guyana 2 Bahrain 2 Comoros 2 Solomon Islands 2 Equatorial Guinea 2 Djibouti 1 Luxembourg 1 Macau SAR (PRC) 1 Guadeloupe 1 Suriname 1 Martinique 1 Cape Verde 1 Maldives 1 Iceland 1 Belize 1 Barbados 1 Western Sahara 1 French Polynesia 1 New Caledonia 1 Vanuatu 1 French Guiana 1 Mayotte 1 São Tomé and Príncipe 1 Saint Lucia 1 St Vincent/Grenadines 1 Tonga 1 Kiribati 1 Jersey 1 Grenada 1 Seychelles 1 Northern Mariana Islands 1 Isle of Man 1 Andorra 1 Dominica 1 Antigua and Barbuda 1 Bermuda 1 Guernsey 1 Marshall Islands 1 Greenland 1 Faroe Islands 0 Cayman Islands 0 Saint Kitts and Nevis 0 Liechtenstein 0 Monaco 0 Gibraltar 0 Turks and Caicos Islands 0 Wallis and Futuna 0 Anguilla 0 Nauru 0 Tuvalu 0 That's 224 countries, each with their own league. Figure eight teams in each league, and 200 players in each team's system...that's 358,400 players! Ouch. Gotta get outta the house more...