Puerto Rico national baseball team

Puerto Rico national baseball team
Information
Country Puerto Rico
FederationFederación de Béisbol Aficionado de Puerto Rico
ConfederationCOPABE
ManagerYadier Molina (WBC)
Juan González (WBSC)
WBSC ranking
Current 12 Steady (18 December 2023)[1]
Highest9 (December 2014)
Lowest16 (December 2021)
Uniforms
Home
Away
Alternate
World Baseball Classic
Appearances5 (first in 2006)
Best result 2nd (2 times, most recent in 2017)
Olympic Games
Appearances2 (first in 1988)
Best result 3rd (1 time, in 1988)
World Cup
Appearances26 (first in 1940)
Best result 1st (1 time, in 1951)
Intercontinental Cup
Appearances6 (first in 1973)
Best result 2nd (1 time, in 1973)
Pan American Games
Appearances10 (first in 1959)
Best result 1st (1 time, in 2019)

The Puerto Rico national baseball team (Spanish: Selección de béisbol de Puerto Rico), also known as Team Rubio[2] is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 13th in the world.[1] Puerto Rico is the incumbent Pan American and Central American/Caribbean champion, as well as the 2017 World Baseball Classic runner-up. The team competed against Israel, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Nicaragua in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in March 2023 in Miami, Florida.

After debuting in the amateur predecessor to the Baseball World Cup, the team won its first medal by finishing second in 1947, a performance that it repeated the following year. In 1951, Puerto Rico became the world baseball champion by winning the event. The team went on to gather six more medals during the tournament's existence, finishing second twice and third four times.

Puerto Rico was an inaugural member of the World Baseball Classic, making its debut in the first edition. The team has advanced to the second round in all of its appearances, in the process becoming the first team to score mercy rule wins over Cuba and the United States. In the 2013 World Baseball Classic, Puerto Rico became the second team from the Western Hemisphere to advance to the final, eliminating two-time defending world champion Japan in the semifinals before finishing as the event's runner-up. The team has also participated in several other international competitions, such as the Central American and Caribbean Games, the Pan American Games, Americas Baseball Cup, Intercontinental Cup, and Haarlem Baseball Week, winning medals in most.

  1. ^ a b "The WBSC World Ranking". WBSC. 18 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Fans of Puerto Rico's WBC team set hair-related world record".