Top 10 Baseball Tournaments | Craze And Popularity Of Baseball

Welcome to an intriguing discussion of the Top 10 Baseball Tournaments, where the baseball history and significance of the game are vividly brought to life. I will explore the beginnings, legacy, and continuing influence of these renowned tournaments throughout our today’s guide.

These competitions are the apex of the sport, with memorable events immortalized in baseball mythology. These are also the persistent enthusiasm they inspire in players and spectators alike.

Let’s enter a world where rivalries inspire epic battles, where hopes are fulfilled, and where the chase of triumph goes beyond the confines of the playing field. Learn how these competitions impacted the sport’s development and brought nations together via baseball. Join me as I celebrate baseball’s core values through the prism of the sport’s most esteemed competitions.

Table of Contents

1. World Series Baseball

The World Series is the top of the top 10 baseball tournaments in the world. The tournament is played between the two champions of the MLB, and they come from NL and AL.

This is the most viewed, crazed, and popular baseball tournament in the world. After the collaboration between the National League and American League, the World Series started in 1903. The first World Series competitors were Boston Americans (currently named Boston Red Sox), and Pittsburgh Pirates.

Boston won the title and proved that the American League is pretty capable of playing the World Series.

Since then, the World Series has been played every year except in 1904 and 1994. The 1904 series was canceled because of the inferiority of the New York Giants (Currently named San Francisco Giants) owner. He couldn’t tolerate the Boston Americans from the American League as they came most recently.

By the way, the very first World Series was able to attract 100,000 attendees. Contrarily, the last series in 2022 between Houston Astros from AL and Philadelphia Phillies from NL recorded an average of 12 million views.

This indicates the popularity of the Baseball World Series.

Over time, the New York Yankees from the American league bagged 27 World Series championship titles in 118 series. Undoubtedly, they lead the series with the most championship titles.

2. College World Series

The College World Series(CWS) is the official baseball tournament for the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Baseball Tournament. The tournament is held in June every year in Omaha, Nebraska, USA.

The College World Series is also known as NCAA Men’s College World Series (MCWS). 64 teams take part in the tournament in the first round.

The College World Series was first played in 1947 at Robert J. Bobb Stadium in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The series was shifted to Omaha, Nebraska, in 1950. Since then, the series has been played in Omaha.

University of Southern College Baseball is the leader of the series in winning the title: 12 times. They also became runner-up two times. On the other hand, both the University of Texas Baseball Team and Louisiana State University hold 6 College World Series titles.

3. Nippon Professional Baseball

The Greater Japan Tokyo Baseball Club was founded in 1934 and is where Nippon Professional Baseball has its origins. Before adopting the name Nippon Professional Baseball in 1950, it had previously gone by the names Japan Baseball League and Japanese Baseball League.

The NPB season, which has 12 clubs split into the Central League and the Pacific League, normally lasts from late March or early April until early October. There are six clubs in each league, and the home and away schedules are evenly distributed.

To qualify for the playoffs and move on to the Japan Series, the NPB championship series, the clubs struggle ferociously.

The Yomiuri Giants, who have won a record 22 Japan Series titles, have emerged as the most successful NPB team. The Giants have solidified their position as a dominant force in Japanese baseball thanks to a long history and a sizable fan base.

The Saitama Seibu Lions, Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks, Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and Orix Buffaloes are a few other prominent teams.

NPB has a unique place in Japanese culture and has millions of admirers all throughout the country. The league’s popularity is clear from the devoted fans, fervent shouts, and packed stadiums. NPB games have a distinctive ambiance thanks to the fans’ colorful costumes, coordinated cheering and enduring team-specific customs.

Numerous renowned players who have made an enduring impact on Japanese baseball and attracted attention abroad came from this league. Iconic athletes like Sadaharu Oh, Ichiro Suzuki, Hideo Nomo, and Shohei Ohtani have helped to boost the NPB’s international reputation and the popularity of the league.

4. Olympic Baseball

Baseball became an official Olympic sport for the first time at the 1992 Games in Barcelona. It stayed on the schedule until the 2004 Games in Athens. From 2008 to 2016, the game wasn’t played at the Olympics due to several reasons.

But, baseball came back at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, which was moved to 2021 because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Did you know that baseball became a part of the Olympics in the year 1900? But it was just a track and field exercise until 1992. What happened next was that it became an official Olympic sport in 1992.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) governs baseball in the Olympics. Dominant teams in Olympics baseball are from Cuba, the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

In 1992, 1996, and 2004, Cuba was extremely successful, taking home three gold medals. With one gold medal each, the United States, South Korea, and Japan have also been outstanding teams.

The return of baseball to the Olympics in 2020 was a momentous occasion for the sport and offered a chance for international exposure. Baseball’s involvement in the Olympics promotes the sport and highlights the abilities of individuals from other nations.

It is significant to remember that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) will evaluate and decide whether to include baseball in future Olympics for each edition of the games.

Popularity, global participation, and compatibility with the objectives of the Olympic Movement all play a role in the choice. Unfortunately, baseball will not be featured at the Paris, France, Summer Olympics in 2024. The good news is that WSC wants to continue including baseball in the Olympics from LA28.

5. Little League Baseball World Series

When the Little League was first held on August 23, 1947, it was a local tournament. Played in Memorial Park, Williamsport, Pennsylvania, the headquarters complex of the league, won by a team from Pennsylvania named Maynard. After that, California has been holding the series-winning leading record with 7 championships.

After the first tournament was held, it got huge popularity and even became an international tournament later on. Since then, teams from over 28 countries have been participating in the tournament.

By the way, the tournament is generally held in August every year. Teams from various nations and areas fight against one another in the double-elimination format. The games are held at Howard J. Lamade Stadium and Volunteer Stadium. These draw sizable crowds of fervent supporters, encouraging families, and energetic spectators.

A magnificent occasion that honors the hopes and goals of young baseball players from all across the world is the Little League Baseball World Series. It gives evidence of the strength of youth, good sportsmanship, and enjoyment of the game while giving its participants priceless life lessons and lifelong memories.

6. Caribbean Series

Teams from the Caribbean region compete in the annual baseball competition known as the Caribbean Series. It is undoubtedly one of the top 10 baseball tournaments.

In accordance with historical records, the first Caribbean Series competition was held in 1949 in Havana, Cuba. The purpose of the competition was to bring and play the winners of the professional baseball leagues from several Caribbean nations against one another.

The Cuban Almendares team won the inaugural Caribbean Series championship. They were declared the champions of the inaugural competition in 1949. Every year, the Caribbean Series normally takes place in February. Although the precise dates may change, it is usually planned to occur during the baseball offseason.

Over the years, The Caribbean Series has become incredibly well-liked. One of the most prestigious baseball competitions in the Caribbean is widely considered to have taken place there. The competition draws a sizable audience and causes a great deal of enthusiasm among baseball fans.

The teams competing in the Caribbean Series are from nations with baseball-playing professional leagues. These nations consist of:

The winner of the Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) takes part in the competition. Also, the Mexican Pacific League (LMP) champion competes in the Caribbean Series.

Along with them, the following are the teams in this series.

Puerto Rico: The winner of the Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League (LBPRC) represents Puerto Rico in this series.
Venezuela: The winner of the Caribbean Series represents the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP).
Cuba: The Serie Nacional, Cuba’s premier baseball league, is used to determine which team would represent Cuba at the event.

Each team plays against every other team in the series. The series uses a round-robin system. The team that records the best in the round-robin phase is declared the champion at the end of the series.

7. Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) Taiwan Series (Taiwan)

The top professional baseball league in Taiwan, the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL), was founded in 1989. Wonder about the name? Don’t be exhausted. Please, keep in mind that the Chinese Professional Baseball League(CPBL) is a Taiwanese league, not a Chinese league.

By the way, the series final is the playoff of the league to choose the league champion. The Taiwan Series playoff is normally played in October or November of each year. Depending on the regular season schedule and the postseason games prior to the series, the precise dates might change.

The top 3 teams from the CPBL regular season standings compete in the Taiwan Series playoff. The league title is decided by a best-of-seven series between these clubs. The CPBL champion earns a spot in the Asian Series.

Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions have won the most titles in the CPBL, with a total of 10 championship titles. The current champion, CTBC Brothers, who has won 9 titles, is the second-highest title winner.

In Taiwan, the Taiwan Series has created a sizable fan base of ardent supporters. The Series serves as a showcase for the skill and competitiveness of Taiwanese baseball players. Baseball is getting hugely popular in the nation.

The CPBL is a venue for the sport’s promotion in Taiwan and offers exhilarating baseball action. The CPBL’s top teams come together for the championship series, which thrills fans who are ready to support their preferred teams.

8. World Baseball Classic

If you want to know which tournament is the most popular aside from the World Series, the name is The World Baseball Classic (WBC). It is one of the top 10 baseball tournaments, not the USA baseball tournament, but rather an international one.

WBC is the only international tournament that features MLB players. When the tournament was first held in 2006, the International Baseball Federation sanctioned it. After 2013, World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) has been sanctioned by WBC, along with the collaboration with Major League Baseball (MLB).

By the way, national teams from worldwide participate in WBC. Teams from the United States, Japan, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and other countries participate in WBC.

The series is generally held in March. The series goes through multiple rounds. Teams play in two pools with a round-robin method. The game goes through game 16, then quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then final.

Since the WBC has been played, the 2023 tournament was the most watched tournament of all time. You know what is the amazing thing here? Every game gained an average of 1.5 million views.

By the way, Japan was the first champion in the series in 2006. And the amazing fact is they also became the champion in 2023 by defeating the United States. Japan won 3 titles in WBC history, which is also the highest one.

The World Baseball Classic is a great opportunity for baseball fans to see the best players in the world compete against each other. It is also a great opportunity for baseball to grow around the world.

9. WBSC Premier 12

WBSC, or World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier 12, is one of the most prestigious international and top 10 baseball tournaments. It was first played in 2015 and is set to be held every 4 years.

The tournament features the top 12 ranked baseball teams around the world. By the way, the second season of the tournament was held in 2019, Japan and South Korea played against each other in the final game.

By the way, the first champion of WBSC Premier 12 was South Korea, whereas the second champion in 2019 was Japan.

10. Korean Series (South Korea)

Korean Series is the playoff KBO League, which is a regular baseball league in South Korea. The Korean Series was first held in 1982 as the playoff of the KBO League when the league was held for the first time in Korean history.

The structure of the Korean League is pretty interesting. The best four teams are qualified for the playoff.

The four teams play against each other. Then the winning team plays against the team which finished the regular season in second place.

After this game, the winner plays against the team which makes first place in the regular season. This match determines the champion in the tournament.

But the Korean series added the wild card game between the fourth-placed and fifth-placed teams in the regular season of KBO from 2015. Now the championship is held between the pennant winner and the winner of the second round.

The championship is played by following the best-of-seven rule. The team that wins the most games is determined as the champion.

Kia Tigers is the most title championship holder, with 11 titles. The second most title winner is SSG Landers with its 5 titles, which also is the most recent winner of the tournament in 2022.

Special Mention As a League: Major League Baseball (MLB)

Aside from the playoff/championship tournaments, I can’t get off without mentioning the most popular league in the world. I am talking about Major League Baseball, America’s, even the world’s most prestigious baseball league.

With unconditional state, MLB (Major League Baseball) is the top baseball league in the world. You may wonder, is this a tournament?

Actually, MLB itself isn’t the tournament, it is the regular season of the World Series tournament.

30 teams play in MLB from the National League and American League. 29 teams are from the United States, and 1 is from Canada, making it the wealthiest baseball tournament in the world.

The MLB was started in 1903 when the National League and American League made a national agreement to be merged. Though they remained separate entities till 2000, they became a single organization in 2000.

By the way, since AL and NL are the two organizations that comprise the MLB, the actual start of the tournament was in 1876, since NL started back then.

But, MLB recognized Cincinnati Red Stockings in 1969 as their first professional game, which was played in 1869. So as you can consider, the start of MLB in 1869.

By the way, let’s make things short. The Major League regular season typically starts in the first week of April or the last week of March. For the 2023 season, the season started on March 30. The 2022 season started on April 7, 2022.

On the other hand, the regular season typically ends on the last Sunday of September or on the first Sunday of October. Each team plays 162 games in the regular season.

National League(NL)

As I already mentioned, the National League is part of MLB, I haven’t put this as a separate tournament. The National League is the oldest of two leagues in MLB. This is also called “Senior Circuit” since it was the first league of MLB.

It was first established on February 2, 1876, as a replacement for the National Association of Professional Baseball Players. It was played between 1871 to 1875.

This league had been surviving a lot of rival leagues, one of them was the American Association, which lasted from 1882 to 1891. Currently, it is the oldest surviving league and one of the living hearts of MLB.

NL consists of 15 teams (Part of MLB) Here is the list of the teams.

Atlanta Braves
Miami Marlins
New York Mets
Philadelphia Phillies
Washington DC National
Chicago Cubs
Cincinnati Reds
Milwaukee Brewers
Pittsburgh Pirates
St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Diamondbacks
Colorado Rockies
Los Angeles Dodgers
San Diego Padres
San Francisco Giants.

American League (AL)

The American League is the other MLB of two leagues. It was established in 1893 as a minor league association and was called Western League initially. After the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs’ 1899 season, AL was associated with the NL and became a part of Major League Baseball in 1901.

On the other hand, 1901 is recognized as the first season of MLB. By 1903, the America League was granted the same status as the National League.

The special phenomenon of AL is the team New York Yankees. They won 40 AL Titles, whereas Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox followed them with the titles of 15 and 14, respectively.

Though it came in MLB after 25 years of NL, the New York Yankees is also the highest World Series owner with 27 championships. And the NL league alone holds the 67 championships of the 118 World Series played.

Here’s the team list of the American League.

Baltimore Orioles
Boston Red Sox
New York Yankees
Tampa Bay Rays
Toronto Blue Jays
Chicago White Sox
Cleveland Indians
Detroit Tigers
Kansas City Royals
Minnesota Twins
Houston Astros
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
Oakland Athletics
Seattle Mariners
Texas Rangers.

Honorable Mention of Baseball Tournaments

Aside from the discussed baseball tournaments, here I mention some of the popular tournaments too. Some of them have ceased, though. Here’s what you got to go.

Baseball World Cup: It was an international tournament for national baseball teams around the world. The tournament was replaced by the World Baseball Classic in 2011.
Asia Series: It was an international club baseball tournament. CPBL, KBO, ABL, and NPB CEB European Champion Cup, contested in the tournament. The Asia series has been discontinued since 2013.
Australian Baseball League (ABL): It is an Australian domestic baseball league that was first held in 1989. Then it collaborated with MLB in 2010.
Mexican Pacific League (LMP) Championship Series: LMP is the highest professional baseball tournament in Mexico. It is held in January after the regular season ends. LMP was first held in 1945.
Cuban National Series: It is the highest level of professional baseball tournament in Cuba. One of the characteristics of the Cuban National League is it spans for a long time, from November to May. The Cuban National Series was first held in 1961.
Dominican Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) Championship Series: LIDOM is the highest level of professional baseball tournament in the Dominican Republic. It was founded in 1951 and officially recognized in 1955.

Bottom Line

Baseball was primarily popular in North America at the time. But, it started to become popular around the world in the middle of the 20th century. As a result, many national and international baseball tournaments have been created worldwide.

Here, I have discussed the top 10 baseball tournaments around the world. They have their appeal and craze among people accordingly. However, mentioned MLB as a league since it is the most popular league in the world, and the World Series Baseball championship comes as a byproduct of it.