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Major youth baseball tournament in Sarasota-Bradenton this month

laura finaldi, sarasota herald-tribune
·2 min read
Ed Smith Stadium will host part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup this month. The competition is a tournament for the best young baseball players in the world.
Ed Smith Stadium will host part of the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup this month. The competition is a tournament for the best young baseball players in the world.

Some of the best young baseball players in the world will compete this month in Sarasota-Bradenton for a baseball World Cup title.

This week kicks off the World Baseball Softball Confederation U-18 Baseball World Cup 2021 at two local spring training venues — Sarasota’s Ed Smith Stadium and Bradenton’s LECOM Park. The event brings together the top 12 under-18 baseball teams from all over the world to compete in 50 games for the WBSC Baseball World Cup.

The tournament is designed to introduce fans to “tomorrow’s stars today,” according to USA Baseball; past participants include Clayton Kershaw, Alex Rodriguez, Bryce Harper and more. Teams from Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania will participate this year.

From the announcement: Region will host Baseball World Cup

More sporting events: Dragon boat athletes to explore Sarasota-Manatee, other parts of Florida

The event was originally scheduled for 2021, but was postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, it will take place from Sept. 9-18.

Three games will be played per day, with the exception of Sept. 14, which will be reserved for makeup games. The tournament’s gold and bronze medal games will be Sept. 18 at Ed Smith Stadium.

This is the first time the tournament will be held in the U.S. since 1995, according to USA Baseball. The games were founded by the International Baseball Federation (now WBSC) and the first tournament took place in 1981 in the U.S. That year, the South Korean team won gold. Since then, the event has been held five other times in the U.S.

Cuba holds the title for most gold medals at 11, followed by the U.S. (nine), South Korea (five), Chinese Taipei (two) and Canada (one).

The Sarasota area’s profile as a spot to hold global sporting events has been rising over the past few years.

In July, Nathan Benderson Park hosted the International Dragon Boat Federation Club Crew World Championships, which brought together dragon boat clubs from all over the world.

The park has also hosted the 2018 World Rowing Masters Regatta, the 2019 World Rowing Under 23 Championships and the 2017 World Rowing Championships.

The Concession Golf Club in eastern Manatee County also hosted the PGA Tour World Golf Championships - Mexico Championship last year.

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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Youth baseball World Cup coming to Sarasota-Bradenton