I didn't realize this, but there has been a Baseball World Cup since 1938. I'm hoping, that with the advent of the World Baseball Classic, that it won't go by the wayside. Kind of like everyone forgets that they played an NFL championship for 40 years before the Super Bowl started.
Anyhow, it was played yearly through World War II and up until 1953, in the western hemisphere mostly. There was then an 8 year gap, when it started again, being played every 4 years, for exactly 8 years. It was then played every year until 1974, when it was then played every other year, until... never mind, just look at the sight.
It was dominated by the Caribbean countries, mostly Cuba, as they were the ones who played the most outside of the US, which did pretty well also. Starting in 1976, the Asian countries got in and have done fairly well also. The European teams, will hosting several cups, have not fared so well as of yet. The next cup is scheduled for Europe.
Amateur players were only allowed until 1996, but the cup has now been opened up to professionals.
The Baseball World Cup has been going for 70 years now, but it remains to be seen if Bud runs it out of business. The WBC is a good thing, and sometimes you have to tear down an old building to make way for a new one. But it will still be a sad day when it happens.
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