Baseball in Spain Gets Boost from International Events | 
When fans think of baseball in Spanish-speaking regions, places like Puerto Rico, Cuba, Venezuela and the Dominican Republic come to mind. Spain, the former motherland for many of those Latin American countries, probably wouldn’t be in anyone’s top 10, although its roots in the sport go back almost as far.
Now, with a major clinic and tournament scheduled for the country this month, Spain is looking to improve its baseball standing internationally, from the bottom up.
An important part of the initiative will be a baseball clinic in Madrid this Saturday, June 6, in conjunction with Major League Baseball International, as well as the semi-finals and finals of the European Cup, which will bring together the top four club teams in Europe, on June 20-21 in Barcelona.
“The two events in Spain this month highlight the depth of baseball’s growth in the country, from the grassroots to the club level and beyond,” said IBAF President Dr. Harvey Schiller. “Spain’s ties to baseball go back over 100 years, and include baseball’s elevation to the Olympic Programme at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, and most recently the opening of an elite baseball academy in Tenerife. The efforts of the Spanish Federation continue to be outstanding, and we are excited about the progress being made as we head through the summer and into the World Cup.”
Saturday’s baseball clinic will be held for several hundred young people at the municipal baseball field of “La Elipa” in Madrid, as part of an initiative by the Madrid City Council, Madrid 2016, the Spanish Baseball Federation, MLBI and the IBAF to grow the game at the grassroots level.
The European Champions Cup will be held in Barcelona between the top four club teams in Europe: Fortitudo Bologna and Danesi Caffe’ Nettuno of Italy against L and D Amsterdam and Corendon Kinheim of the Netherlands. The semi-finals will take place Saturday 20 June and the finals and third place game on Sunday 21 June.
In addition to these special events, the IBAF is working to host a series of continued elite and youth clinics across Spain and other countries throughout the summer months. The Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball opened an elite academy in Spain, and recently signed their first-ever Spanish prospect.
Before being eclipsed in the mid-20th century by football (soccer), baseball enjoyed a run of prominence in Spain. Now reborn, the Spanish League has grown in popularity in recent years. Four-time defending champion Marlins Puerto Cruz is off to another sizzling start, opening the season with a 20-0 record after a pair of road victories last weekend. F.C. Barcelona has remained within shouting distance in the standings at 16-4.
Barcelona, the city where baseball debuted as an Olympic medal sport in 1992, will play host to the first round of the 2009 World Cup, with games between Spain, South Africa, Puerto Rico, and Cuba from 10-12 September. Other first round games will be held in Regensburg, Germany, Moscow, Prague and Stockholm, from 9-12 September.
The second round will be split between Italy and the Netherlands, while the final round will be in Italy on 27 September. In total, 22 nations will compete for the coveted world championship.
Topics: baseball world cup, Spain
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