History of USA baseball

Inventors of the modern game, the United States competed in its first international baseball tournament in 1938. Then known as the Amateur World Series -- and renamed the Baseball World Cup 50 years later -- this initial competition contained just two teams: USA and Great Britain. They faced off in five games across England over the span of a week in August. The games drew crowds of as many as 10,000 people.

The USA, which rostered two future Major Leaguers, lost four of the five games.

It is credited with a silver medal in the USA Baseball record book.

Since then, the USA has done a whole lot of winning on the diamond. It earned its first gold medal at the 1967 Pan American Games and has gone on to win more than 50 golds across all of its national teams: professional, collegiate, women’s, 18U, 15U, 12U, and formerly 16U and 14U.

You can count the 2017 World Baseball Classic among those victories.

Here is a guide to USA Baseball in advance of its title defense at the 2023 Classic.

WBSC Rank: 3

Last WBC appearance: 2017

Best WBC finish: 1st, 2017

USA’s top WBC moments

The championship (2017)

Tournament MVP Marcus Stroman held Team Puerto Rico to one hit over six shutout innings as Team USA romped, 8-0, to capture its first World Baseball Classic gold.

However, a defensive gem from a few days earlier still resides as that tourney’s most iconic image.

You don’t typically see the word “heroic” used to describe a home run robbery, but Adam Jones’ thievery of then-Orioles teammate Manny Machado was exactly that for Team USA in a second-round elimination game. It’s arguably the most indelible moment in tournament history. Inarguably, it helped the USA knock off Team Dominican Republic – the defending WBC champions – and sparked its run to the title.

US rides Wright to semis (2009)

Four years before David Wright became known as Captain America, he authored what he called one of the biggest moments of his career.

To set the stage, Team USA trailed Puerto Rico by two runs entering the bottom of the ninth inning. The loser goes home. The winner heads to the semifinals, which was unchartered territory for the United States in the WBC.

Team USA rallied with singles from Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts followed by walks by Jimmy Rollins and Kevin Youkilis. With the deficit cut to one and the bases loaded, Wright hit a slicing line drive to right field that gave the USA a 6-5 victory.

Griffey's two-homer game (2006)

The inaugural WBC wasn’t a very joyous one for Team USA, which was eliminated in the second round and finished in eighth place. However, the roster featured a handful of MLB legends, including Roger Clemens, Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez and Griffey Jr.

Here’s Junior going deep twice as part of a seven-RBI afternoon as the USA defeated South Africa, 17-0, invoking the tournament’s “mercy rule” after the fifth inning. This stands as Team USA’s largest margin of victory and most runs scored in a WBC game.

Professional National Team Triumphs

Professional players became eligible for international baseball events beginning in 1999. Since then, Team USA has won a gold medal in four tournaments. We’ve already mentioned one of them: the 2017 WBC. Here are the other three:

2009 Baseball World Cup

Team USA powered its way to victory in the 38th and penultimate Baseball World Cup. The USA hit 38 home runs in 15 games and posted a .977 team OPS. Tournament MVP Justin Smoak crushed nine homers in just 55 at-bats. Ike Davis and Trevor Plouffe homered three times each, and Pedro Alvarez had a three-homer game against Chinese Taipei.

Cory Luebke starred on the mound, permitting three runs over 18 innings and recording a 22-2 strikeout-to-walk differential. He struck out seven batters over 4 1/3 innings in the team’s 10-5 win over Cuba in the gold medal game.

2007 Baseball World Cup

Cuba had dominated the Baseball World Cup heading into the ‘07 edition. However, its nine-tournament winning streak, dating back to 1984, was snapped by a USA squad headlined by Evan Longoria. The 2008 AL Rookie of the Year collected two hits and two runs in the 6-3 win over Cuba that secured the gold. Colby Rasmus and World Cup MVP Jayson Nix each hit better than .380 and logged a slugging percentage above .700 during the tournament.

This marked the USA’s third World Cup gold medal and its first since 1974.

2000 Summer Olympics

It is known as the “Miracle on Grass.”

Nobody gave Tommy Lasorda’s squad of 24 Minor Leaguers much of a chance in their gold medal game against Cuba, the two-time defending Olympic champions. Besides, Team Cuba had already beaten the USA earlier in the tournament, 6-1. But a star was born on Sept. 27 as right-hander Ben Sheets completely befuddled the powerful opposition. Sheets, the Brewers’ first-round Draft pick in 1999, pitched a three-hit shutout to give Team USA its first Olympic gold. He induced 16 ground-ball outs and didn’t allow a runner beyond second base.

Pitching was the USA’s strength in Sydney, Australia; the staff, which also included Roy Oswalt, Ryan Franklin and Jon Rauch, registered a 1.35 ERA. Doug Mientkiewicz and 37-year-old Pat Borders each batted better than .400 to help pace Team USA’s offense.

Notable Team USA Rosters

Of course, the vast majority of USA Baseball teams have been comprised of amateurs -- high schoolers and college players brought together to wear the stars and stripes in international competition. Let’s take a minute to recognize some of the more star-studded squads who did just that.

2018 U18: Corbin Carroll, Riley Greene, Jack Leiter, Anthony Volpe, Bobby Witt Jr.

USA’s 2018 Collegiate team was also filled with future stars -- Adley Rutschman, Spencer Torkelson, Andrew Vaughn, etc. -- but that team didn’t dominate like this group. In nine games at the Pan-American Championships, Team USA went undefeated and outscored its opponents 131-27. Witt batted a cool .576 with a 1.736 OPS in 33 at-bats. Pete Crow-Armstrong, CJ Abrams and Dylan Crews, the No. 1 prospect in the 2023 Draft, were also a part of this loaded roster.

2013 Collegiate: Alex Bregman, Matt Chapman, Carlos Rodón, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner

This team didn’t play for any medals but -- look at that list! You can add Michael Conforto, Bradley Zimmer and Cole Irvin as well. They compiled a 20-3 record, including a five-game sweep of Cuba to end their season. Bregman batted a team-high .361 while Rodón pitched 17 shutout innings with 21 strikeouts.

A quick aside: Is there any player who has played with a wider array of future All-Stars in international competition than Bregman? His 16U team featured Corey Seager and Matt Olson, and went undefeated en route to a gold medal. One year later, Bregman earned another gold on an 18U team with Joey Gallo and Jesse Winker. Bregman was also a member of the 2014 Collegiate team, playing alongside Dansby Swanson, Walker Buehler and Bryan Reynolds, to name a few. And that was all before his inclusion on the 2017 WBC team.

2010 Collegiate: Gerrit Cole, Sonny Gray, Anthony Rendon, George Springer

Cole and Gray returned from the 2009 Collegiate team that won gold at the World Baseball Challenge to team up with two future Silver Slugger winners. Although they had to settle for second at the FISU World University Championships, Team USA went 16-3 overall as Cole and Gray shined on the mound. They gave up only three earned runs and compiled 60 K’s through 49 combined innings.

2009 18U: Nick Castellanos, Kevin Gausman, Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, Robbie Ray, Jameson Taillon

This absolutely incredible collection of talent gave everyone a glimpse of the future at the Pan American Junior Championships. USA went 8-0 and steamrolled the competition to the tune of a 99-14 run differential. A 6-1 victory over Cuba in the gold medal final snapped Team Cuba’s streak of seven consecutive tournament championships. Harper and Machado clubbed four of the team’s eight homers. Taillon struck out 28 over 13 2/3 scoreless frames.

2003 Collegiate: Dustin Pedroia, Huston Street, Justin Verlander, Jered Weaver

Team USA entered the ‘03 Pan American Games with a 22-0 record and appeared poised to finally top Cuba, which was the eight-time defending champions. But the USA was bested by Nicaragua early in the tourney and ultimately beaten by Cuba, 3-1, in the gold medal game. Pedroia had the second-most hits on the team. Verlander was solid (1.45 ERA), but Street and Weaver were the real standouts. The former tossed 29 shutout innings while the latter allowed two runs over 48 innings.

1984 Olympics: Will Clark, Barry Larkin, Mark McGwire

This tournament marked baseball’s official debut in the Olympic program, and Team USA was the heavy favorite to win it. Besides the fact that these Olympics were being held in Los Angeles, the home team was led by this trio, who would go on to earn a combined 30 All-Star selections. However, the USA ended up in second place after Japan pulled off the upset in the final game. Clark hit a robust .429 with three homers in five games, but Larkin and McGwire scuffled at the plate.

1973 Collegiate: Fred Lynn, Paul Molitor, Dave Winfield

USA Baseball doesn’t list stats for the 1973 Collegiate team online, which is a shame. One can certainly wonder what these three stars could accomplish together.

Other Famous National Team Alums

You could fill the space needed for Tolstoy’s “War and Peace” with the entire rundown of noteworthy players who have suited up for Team USA through the years. Here is a selected list of names we haven’t mentioned yet.

Tim Anderson (2006 18U)
Nolan Arenado (2017 Professional)
Jake Arrieta (2006 Collegiate, 2008 Olympics)
Albert Belle (1984 18U)
Kris Bryant (2012 Collegiate)
Freddie Freeman (2005 16U, 2006 18U) -- Freeman racked up 17 hits, 16 RBIs and 33 total bases over eight games in the ‘05 IBAF World Youth Championships.
Nomar Garciaparra (1992 Olympics)
Jason Giambi (1992 Olympics)
Paul Goldschmidt (2017 Professional)
Todd Helton (1993 Collegiate)
Matt Holliday (1997 18U, 2003 and 2006 Professional)
Ryan Howard (2000 Collegiate)
Clayton Kershaw (2005 18U)
Francisco Lindor (2009 16U, 2010 18U) -- Although he has played for his native Puerto Rico in the WBC, Lindor scored the game-winning run for Team USA in the ninth inning of the gold medal game versus Cuba in the 2009 IBAF World Youth Championships.
Joe Mauer (1999-2000 18U, 2003 and 2013 Professional)
Andrew McCutchen (2004 18U, 2017 Professional)
Mike Mussina (1986 18U)
Buster Posey (2004 18U, 2017 Professional)
David Price (2005-2006 Collegiate)
Max Scherzer (2005 Collegiate) -- Prior to joining forces on the Tigers and Dodgers, Scherzer and Price helped the ‘05 Collegiate team compile a 16-4 record. They totaled 63 strikeouts over 48 2/3 combined innings.
John Smoltz (1985 18U)
Giancarlo Stanton (2013 and 2017 Professional)
Stephen Strasburg (2008 Collegiate, Olympics) -- A few weeks before helping Team USA claim the bronze in the Summer Olympics, Strasburg and his teammates on the Collegiate squad wrapped up a perfect 24-0 season, which included two tournament gold medals.
Mark Teixeira (2000 Collegiate, 2006 Professional)
Frank Thomas (1987 Collegiate)
Mike Trout (2010 Professional)
Kyle Tucker (2012 15U)
Troy Tulowitzki (2004 Collegiate)
Chase Utley (2006 Professional)
Matt Williams (1985 Collegiate)
Kyle Wright (2016 Collegiate)
Christian Yelich (2017 Professional)
Ryan Zimmerman (2004 Collegiate) -- Zimmerman was named MVP of the FISU World University Championships after hitting .468 with a 1.322 OPS. That gold medal team included Tulowitzki, Alex Gordon, Ian Kennedy and Daniel Bard.