The 2024 WBSC Premier12 was the 3rd edition of the WBSC Premier12, a baseball championship featuring the 12 highest-ranked national teams in the world, held by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Originally scheduled for 2023, but delayed due to COVID-19, the championship was held from November 9 to 24, 2024, in Japan, Mexico, and Taiwan.
Taiwan won the championship, defeating final round hosts and defending champions Japan, 4–0, in the championship game. It was Chinese Taipei's first Premier12 championship and their first overall senior international baseball title ever.
The United States took third place after a 6–1 win over Venezuela.
Teams The 12 highest-ranked national teams qualified to participate in the 2024 WBSC Premier 12, based on the WBSC World Rankings, as of 18 December 2023. On 20 December, the 12 teams were confirmed, with the only difference from 2019 was Canada being replaced by debutants Panama. The WBSC had originally wanted to expand this edition but due to COVID-19, halted the plans for a future edition.
Africa (0) None qualified
Asia (3)
Americas (7)
Europe (1)
Oceania (1)
Top 12 Rankings as of December 18, 2023 Rank Team Points Confederation
Rosters
Participating nations had to submit their final 28-man rosters no later than 10 October 2024. WBSC rules required teams to carry at least 13 pitchers and two catchers in their squads.
Format The format underwent a slightly different format compared to 2019. Opening Round The tournament began with two groups of six teams each playing in the 12-team Opening Round. Each team played five games, in a round robin format against each other in the group. The top two teams from each group advanced to the Super Round.
Super Round The four remaining teams who advanced to the Super Round, traveled to Japan where they played against the top two teams that advanced from the other group.
After completion, the teams who finished first and second played the gold medal match, while the teams placed third and fourth played for bronze.
Venues Six stadiums were used during the tournament. Japanese cities, Nagoya and Tokyo plus the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, were confirmed as host cities on 11 September 2023, while a then-unknown country from the Americas was scheduled to host the event too. That then-unknown country turned out to be Mexico, with venues in Guadalajara and Tepic being chosen to host an Opening Round group on 4 April 2024.
Group AGroup B Guadalajara, Mexico Taipei, Taiwan Nagoya, JapanEstadio PanamericanoTaipei DomeVantelin Dome NagoyaCapacity: 16,500Capacity: 40,000Capacity: 36,418 Group AGroup BSuper Round and Medal rounds Tepic, Mexico Taipei, Taiwan Tokyo, JapanColoso del PacíficoTaipei Tianmu Baseball StadiumTokyo DomeCapacity: 9,480Capacity: 10,500Capacity: 45,600
Opening round The groups were announced on 18 April 2024. The schedule was announced on 28 May 2024. Group A
Group B
Super Round
The order of the Super Round games could change.
Finals
Bronze medal game
Championship final
Final standings
RkTeamWL163281Bronze medal game354454Eliminated in Group stage53253271472391492311141114
Prize money The WBSC gave $5.2 million in prize money to participants, distributed as follows, with a minimum of half of a team's prize money being distributed equally among its players:
Winner: US$1,500,000 2nd Place: US$750,000 3rd Place: US$500,000 4th Place: US$350,000 5th Place: US$300,000 6th Place: US$250,000 7–12th Place: US$180,000 each Each win in Opening Round: US$10,000 Each win in Super Round: US$20,000 1st Place in Opening Round: US$20,000
Statistical leaders
Batting StatisticNameTotal/AvgBatting average* Chen Chieh-hsien .625Hits Chandler Simpson 17Runs Shōta Morishita 13Home runs Ryan Ward 5Runs batted in Matt Shaw 14Strikeouts Luke Ritter 13Stolen bases Chandler Simpson 9On-base percentage* Chen Chieh-hsien .700Slugging percentage* Kim Do-yeong 1.059OPS* Chen Chieh-hsien 1.617 * Minimum 2 plate appearances per team game
Pitching StatisticNameTotal/AvgERA 7 tied with 0.00Wins 2 tied with 2Losses 3 tied with 2Saves Chun-Wei Wu 3Innings pitched Huang Tzu-peng 12.0Hits allowed Shairon Martis 17Runs allowed Shairon Martis 15Earned runs allowed Shairon Martis 15Walks Takahisa Hayakawa 10Strikeouts 2 tied with 16WHIP* Huang Tzu-peng 0.50 * Minimum 0.8 innings pitched per team game
Notes
Awards Following the conclusion of the tournament, the WBSC announced the Premier12 All-World Team and individual awards winners.
+All-World TeamPositionPlayer Starting Pitcher Rich Hill Relief Pitcher Oddanier Mosqueda Catcher Shōgo Sakakura First Baseman Carlos Pérez Second Baseman Kaito Kozono Third Baseman Matt Shaw Shortstop Didi Gregorius Outfielders Chandler Simpson Chen Chieh-hsien Shōta Morishita Designated Hitter Ryan Ward
+ Individual Awards Award Player Value Most Valuable Player Chen Chieh-hsien Best Batting Average Chen Chieh-hsien B-AVE .632 Pitcher with Best ERA Rich Hill 0.00 ERA Pitcher with Best Win/Loss Average Haruto Inoue 3W – 0L Most Runs Batted In Matt Shaw 14 RBI Home Run King Ryan Ward 5 HR Most Stolen Bases Chandler Simpson 9 SB Most Runs Scored Shōta Morishita 13 Runs Outstanding Defensive Player Chen Chieh-hsien 0 ERR
Sponsors 2024 WBSC Premier12 had 36 sponsors, including 6 global sponsors.
Sponsors of the 2024 WBSC Premier12Global Sponsors
Konami RAXUS Kowa Nippon Express Daiso Kao CorporationSuper/Final Round Sponsors
Coca-Cola MUFG Bank Yomiuri Shimbun Lawson Japan Airlines FanaticsGroup A Sponsors
Mega Red ColaGroup B Sponsors
CTBC Taiwan Sports Lottery Family Mart Eva Air Barista Coffee TransGlobe Life Insurance Chunghwa Telecom GFC, Ltd. Capital Motors, Inc. 1664 J&G Fried Chicken Kinmen Kaoliang Liquor CPC Corporation Taiwan Select Hotel Episode Uni-president New Balance Domino's Burger King
Broadcasting rights
Territory Rights holder(s)MexicoMegacableTVC DeportesTaiwanVideoland Television NetworkEastern Broadcasting CompanyGetWinJapanTBSTV AsahiAmazon Prime VideoJ SportsUnited States and CanadaDAZNNicaragua Canal 4PanamaCable Onda SportVenezuelaSimpleTVColombiaWin SportsDominican RepublicVTV Canal 32CubaTele RebeldeKoreaSPOTVNetherlandsNOSAruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius and St. MarteenNos Pais TelevisionAll other marketsGameTimeDAZN
See also List of sporting events in Taiwan
References
External links Premier12 WBSC 2024 homepage