By Oh Sang-jin Reporter= South Korea’s men’s baseball team has moved up one spot to No. 4 in the world rankings.
The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) released the men’s baseball world rankings on its official website on Friday, reflecting the results of the recently concluded U-12 Baseball World Cup.
In the rankings, South Korea moved up to fourth place with 4,025 points, ahead of Chinese Taipei (3,991 points), which dropped to fifth place.
The WBSC compiles the rankings based on a country’s performance in international competition over the last four years, from U-12 to adult national teams.
South Korea reached a high of No. 2 in August 2021, shortly after the conclusion of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, but has since experienced a steady decline. Ranked third in the Dec. 31, 2021, rankings and fourth in the Dec. 31, 2022, one-year update, the country dropped to fifth after a first-round exit from the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March. In the latest rankings, which were compiled about five months later, South Korea has managed to rebound.
Meanwhile, Japan (5,274 points) retained the top spot in the latest rankings, ahead of the United States (4,654 points). Japan took the top spot in 2014 and has remained steadfastly at the top ever since. The U-12 Baseball World Cup champions closed the gap on Japan from 921 to 620 points.스포츠토토
Mexico (4,226 points), which made a vertical jump from fifth to third after reaching its first-ever quarterfinal at the last WBC, remains in third place. Venezuela (3,774 points) took sixth place behind South Korea and Chinese Taipei, while the Netherlands (3,187 points) edged out Cuba (2,880 points) for seventh place. Panama (2,196 points) jumped three spots in one fell swoop to 11th place, improving their chances of qualifying for the WBSC Premier12.