A Guide to South African Baseball



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	Schedule for 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup™ in Japan LAUSANNE, Switzerland – The official tournament schedule for the 2015 WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup™ is available.. The WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup will unite the best young players (aged 16-18) in their respective nations for 50 games from 28 August to 6 September in Osaka, Japan. All 12 nations comprising Group A and Group B will be in action across Maishima Baseball Stadium, Nanko Chuo Stadium and Tokyonaka Rose Baseball Stadium on Day 1 of the group stage: -Game 1: No. 12 Mexico vs. No. 14 Australia -Game 2: No. 3 Cuba vs. No. 11 Italy -Game 3: No. 8 S. Korea vs. No. 29 South Africa -Game 4: No. 4 Chinese Taipei vs. No. 7 Canada -Game 5: No. 2 United States vs. Czech Republic -Game 6: No. 1 Japan vs. No. 15 Brazil

	South Africa are the Champions of Africa South Africa will represent Africa in the IBAF 2015 U18 World Cup after winning the Africa Qualifiers at the Meru University of Science and Technology, Meru, Kenya. The South African 17U team beat Uganda 4-1 runs in a strongly contested final. Uganda got silver while Tanzania beat Kenya 25-13 in the consolation game. The 18U Baseball World Cup is arguably the most competitive and best represented international competition in all of baseball. The elite world championship event has featured superstars like Canada's Brett Lawrie, Japan's Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani, South Korea's Shin-soo Choo, Cuba's Yasiel Puig and Aroldis Chapman, and USA's Clayton Kershaw, Justin Upton and Buster Posey, among countless others - and which, in 2013, had a potential broadcast reach of 144 million homes and potential online/mobile reach of 20 million.

	The Rule 5 Draft Explained The Rule 5 Draft takes place every year at baseball's winter meetings in December. Here's how it works: Players who signed when 18 or younger are eligible for the draft after five years. (Kieran Lovegrove will be eligible in 2017; Callan Pearce in 2018; Dylan Unsworth in 2015; Gift Ngoepe in 2014) Players who signed when 19 or older are eligible after four years. (Tayler Scott will be eligible in 2015) If these players aren't on their teams' 40 man rosters, they're exposed. As in the June draft, teams draft in reverse order of the previous season's standings. Teams that draft players must pay $50k to the player's original team. Those selected must remain on the 25-man roster or the major league DL for the entire season. Otherwise, the claiming team has to offer the player back to his original team for $25k. First, however, he must clear outright waivers. This gives the other 28 teams the opportunity to claim him. If any team claims the player, he must remain on their roster for the entire season or go through waivers again. The draft was more relevant before it was modified under the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, when players were eligible a year earlier.

	Repetitions vs. Genes: What is the Best Age to Start Playing Baseball? When you review the top baseball playing nations in the world, it is apparent that the powerhouses all have one thing in common - they all have well-developed youth programs and children start playing the game in their pre-teens. There has recently been a great deal of debate surrounding the "10,000-hour-rule". The argument, albeit formulated by a journalist Malcolm Gladwell, in Outliers: The Story of Success maintains that regardless of talent or genes, you can master a task simply by practicing it for 10,000 hours. More Information

	German Baseball Academy(Deutsche Baseball Akademie) Goodwill Tour December 2014/January 2015 Pole 2 Pole Baseball, a global collaboration between baseball playing nations is pleased to announce a friendship tour by the German Baseball Academy - Deutsche Baseball Akademie hosted by Cape Town's The Baseball Academy. The German Baseball Academy tour will take place from December 22, 2014 to January 4, 2015. This will be an invitational event with players invited by The Baseball Academy and the event coaching staff. The event is not hosted by the South Africa Baseball Union or the Baseball Association of Western Province (BAWP) or any BAWP (or SABU) affiliated club. For More Information or to Request an Invite

	SABU Snubs USA Baseball's Offer of Assistance The USA 15U Baseball team participating in the 15U Baseball World Cup had embraced the Going to Bat Foundation's "Balls for Africa" campaign and generously agreed to donate all their competition baseballs used in the event to the South Africa team to be used in the development program back in their home country. Arrangements were made for balls to be handed to the South African team as they departed Mazatlan Airport. Balls were to be distributed amongst the team with the Going to Bat Foundation offering to pay any extra weight penalties. Apparently this generous offer was vetoed by the Head of Delegation Roderick Siljeur, without even the courtesy of a phone call to USA Baseball, ostensibly because he asserted that "proper protocol" was not followed but more likely because the President of the Going to Bat Foundation, Keith Lovegrove has been highly critical of SABU and the regression of baseball development in South Africa. The Going to Bat Foundation has apologized to USA Baseball and will now return its focus to the USA inner cities.

	A World of Experience at Such a Young Age Mike Brandyberry \| On 11, Jul 2014 It's a long journey for any ball player to reach the Major Leagues, but for Kieran Lovegrove the journey is even a little longer. Lovegrove was born in Johannesburg, South Africa - a region of the world that does not have the strongest baseball following or level of play. When Lovegrove was just five years old, his family moved he and his sister to California and his love of baseball was discovered and flourished. More Information

Click to enlarge	Powerful Lefty Joins the Ranks of South African Pros Rowan Ebersohn signed as an undrafted free agent with the Minnesota Twins (July 2014). In 2013 Rowan represented the South Africa U18 side in a series against Great Britain. Rowan was also selected to represent South Africa in the 2012 World Baseball Classic Qualifier. Rowan received the award for Junior Sportsperson of the Year at the Benoni Northerns Sports Club’s annual awards in 2013.

Click to enlarge	South African Team Announced for 15U World Cup U-15 Baseball World Cup – which will be staged from 31-July to 10-August in Baja California Sur, Mexico, and features ten of the top fifteen countries in the world More Information

	What will the Scouts be Looking for at the 15U World Cup? Scouts will be there in large numbers, representing all 30 Major League clubs. Give them something to write home about. More Information

	Crusaders and Chatterbox Secure Sponsorship from Pitch in for Baseball, USA. Crusaders Baseball Clubs Grant Robertson's initiative led the way in securing a sponsorship of used baseball equipment from Pitch in for Baseball, USA. Chatterbox's Michael Ward coordinated the shipping of the equipment and arranged an additional sponsorship for the Devonshire Rovers Baseball Club. More Information Pitch in for Baseball

	Yankees unveil plaque for Nelson Mandela The grandson of South Africa’s first black president, Zondwa Mandela, and Robinson’s widow, Rachel, helped unveil a plaque commemorating Mandela’s 1990 speech at the old Yankee Stadium. Also in attendance was Baseball South Africa's ardent supporter and champion Michael Ward. More Information

	Durban Teen joins the ranks of South African pros Callan Pearce hails from Glenwood High School in Durban, South Africa and excelled as a multi-sport, playing cricket, softball and field hockey. Callan was signed to a multi-year contract by the Minnesota Twins where he joins countryman Hein Robb. Callan keeps the number of South African born professionals at eight after Robert Lewis-Walker was released by the Concinnati Reds

	THE U-CAN YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PRORAMME Pioneered by The Baseball Academy in Cape Town, and managed by community leaders from the region, the U-CAN programme offers youth from deprived areas of Cape Town a family-oriented sports & development environment to spent time outside of school. More Information

	Sabermetrics - the specialized analysis of baseball through objective, empirical evidence. Click here for more information

	Scouting Guidelines - the Tools of a Major league Baseball Player Click here for more information

	Do you want to play International Baseball? Are you a talented young baseball player with a South African connection? Click here for more information

	All the pictures from South Africa in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier. Contact BaseballSA.com for originals

World Baseball Classic Qualifier Opening Ceremony	A look back at South Africa in the World Baseball Classic Qualifier

Click to Enlarge ( Mark William James Peddle )	South African Baseball team for the World Baseball lassic Qualifier in Jupiter, Florida September 17, 2012

Click to Enlarge ( Mark William James Peddle )	South African Baseball team braves the humidity in Vero Beach Florida as they prepare for the WBC. Send you favorite player a message on Facebook

Gavin Jeffries, Dylan Unsworth, Alessio Angelucci, Brandon Bouillon and Kieran Lovegrove (Hobie Hiler)	A whole new ballgame: South African national team enjoying its training time at the Vero Beach Sports Village VERO BEACH - The South African national baseball team is enjoying the experience of training at an American professional baseball facility.

	South Africa announces its team for the 2012 World Baseball Classic Qualifier