The World Baseball Classic and Beyond
GB Baseball’s performance at the 2023 World Baseball Classic was a major moment in the sport’s history in the country but the best is yet to come.
Training at Chase Field
The players and coaches got a chance to shine on the world stage and delivered.
The fans were able to get behind the jersey and celebrate the success of the team and the approach they took to the tournament.
“The objective for us was straightforward. Achieving it was a stretch target but a group of people was assembled that I believed could secure our automatic qualification for the next edition of the World Baseball Classic,” said Gary Anderson, Head of the GB Delegation and Performance Director & Olympic Team Leader at BSUK.
Head of Delegation, Gary Anderson
“Instead of focusing on the results, we put the focus on the performances that would get us the results.
“Our performance was underpinned by core elements - trust consistency, values, belonging and communication.
“At our prep camp, we held a private session of “what makes us” a powerful team during which every single player and staff member gave their story of what made us Great Britain.
“It was emotional and allowed us all to have genuine understanding and empathy for each other.
“This set the performance foundations for the tournament.”
Head coach Drew Spencer summed up the team’s performance and what it meant at home and abroad.
Beating Colombia
“After the Mexico game, we were just so proud of how the entire team had performed. We felt we had earned the respect of the other teams at the tournament with our relentless competitiveness and that we had made the fans of GB Baseball proud,” he said.
For Liam Carroll and Will Lintern, long time GB players and coaches, it was a chance to make a contribution on the world’s biggest stage.
Liam Carroll
“Getting to play catch with Gavin Marshall (my childhood idol) was a transcendental experience. It’s so loud in there (the stadium), like nothing I've ever experienced before. And getting to catch up ground balls during infield practice for a team like we had was a memory I will cherish forever,” said Will.
Will Lintern
Third base coach TS Reed has no doubt what those days in Phoenix mean for future generations of British baseball players..
“And for the future, to leave an impactful, positive legacy behind through this opportunity, to inspire the generations that come after.
“To grow the game, that’s something all of our players and staff strive for each and every day.
“The Classic provides the largest platform for us to continue pursuing that inspiration for not just the future of GB baseball, but for youth athletes who are GB fans world wide.”
“The Classic meant everything to us.”
The silver medal in the WBSC European Championships and the U23s European silver medal performance and the qualification for the U23 World Cup showed that the World Baseball Classic was the start of something big for British baseball.
Work is now underway to prepare the men’s senior team for not just the 2026 World Baseball Classic but also qualification for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
Massive thanks must go to UK Sport and the National Lottery for the the support they have given and continue to give the the GB Baseball Programme.
Great Britain Baseball is now in the top 20 baseball playing countries in the world. Its a remarkable achievement but the best is yet to come.
#LetGoGB
All photographs courtesy of Paul Stodart.
