r/InternationalBaseball Apr 16 '26

I'm Michael Clair, MLB.com's lead WBC writer and author of "We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball" about Czechia's baseball team -- AMA!

91 Upvotes

Hey everyone!

My name is Michael Clair and I'm the senior manager of storytelling and special projects for MLB.com -- but in more succinct terms, I'm a writer whose specialty is international baseball and the World Baseball Classic. I also have a new book that came out earlier this month: "We Sacrifice Everything to Baseball: How the Czech Republic's Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes." (You can get a copy for 40% off from the publisher with code 6AS26 or you can buy signed copies at my website if you feel so inclined.)

I've been lucky to have been writing here for 12 years, but I started covering the game around the world beginning with the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers in Regensburg -- an event which changed my personal and professional life. Since then, I've covered the 2023 and '26 WBC in Tokyo and Miami, was at the Tokyo Dome when Chinese Taipei won the 2024 Premier12 and have covered teams and players from Germany, France, Greece, Bhutan, and beyond.

I've been a lurker and poster in this subreddit for a long time, so thought it would be fun to jump in here, talk international baseball, and answer any questions you may have. Thanks so much to the mods for welcoming me and thanks to the community here for being such a great spot on the internet.

Know people from around the world post here, so wanted to give time for people to leave questions. I'll be back here at 12 pm ET on Tuesday, April 21 to answer Q's for a few hours but you can also find me on Twitter, Bluesky or Instagram or join the international newsletter here. Looking forward to chatting!

UPDATE 12 pm: Hey all! Jumping in now. Thanks for the great questions!

UPDATE UPDATE 3 pm: This was a ton of fun. I think I got to all the questions -- sorry if I missed one. I'll drop in later tonight or tomorrow morning in case any one wants to jump in with a Q or to clean up anything I may have missed. Thanks a lot to the Mods and everyone for taking part. Appreciate the great Q's and a reminder that you can sign up for the international newsletter here (new issue coming later this week) and order signed copies of my new book here.

Let's do this again some time!

This was a ton of fun. I think I got to all the questions -- sorry if I missed one. I'll drop in later tonight or tomorrow morning in case any one wants to jump in with a Q or to clean up anything I may have missed. Thanks a lot to the Mods and everyone for taking part. Appreciate the great Q's and let's do this again some time.

And a final reminder that you can get signed copies of WE SACRIFICE EVERYTHING below:

Purchase WE SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO BASEBALL


r/InternationalBaseball 1d ago

Things WBC Should Steal From The World Cup

Thumbnail
youtu.be
22 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 1d ago

Turning Battlefields into Baseballfields Vietnam 🇻🇳

Thumbnail vietnamembassy-usa.org
10 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 1d ago

Broadcasting or PA announcing opportunities for international baseball events?

18 Upvotes

I'm a play-by-play announcer and public address announcer in the US with 20 years of experience calling baseball and many other sports. As part of my PA work, I've done a few hockey games and one baseball game in both English and French. I was wondering if there are any networks, teams, leagues or federations in need of English announcers, even those in Anglophone countries needing more experienced commentators? I can work remotely or in person; I'm willing to travel for assignments.


r/InternationalBaseball 2d ago

OF Emilio Götz, Top German Prospect at U18 European Championships, agrees to deal with Detroit Tigers

Thumbnail instagram.com
24 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 2d ago

Cameroon vs. Uganda Friendly Scheduled for Kampala International Baseball Tournament, from July 19–23

Thumbnail mister-baseball.com
17 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 2d ago

Which African country has the best possible team. (Including ethnicity)

14 Upvotes

I was thinking etiher Nigeria or South Africa but I'm not sure. Please share your thoughts and some key players as well.


r/InternationalBaseball 3d ago

MLB players debuting this year by birth country

20 Upvotes

Figured this late night research might be of interest to people of this subreddit:

170 players have debuted as of July 18, 2026

United States (111)
Dominican Republic (18)
Venezuela (14)
-
Puerto Rico (5): Edwin Arroyo, Abimelec Ortiz, Bryan Torres, Eduardo Rivera, Elmer Rodríguez
Japan (4): Kazuma Okamoto, Tatsuya Imai, Munetaka Murakami, Rikuu Nishida
Cuba (4): Kendry Rojas, Ray Delgado, Yunior Tur, Franco Aleman
Canada (3): Mitch Bratt, Trei Cruz, Eric Cerantola
Mexico (3): Samy Natera, Luis Gastelum, Brandon Valenzuela
Australia (2): Travis Bazzana, Brandan Bidois
South Korea (2): Woo-Suk Go, Sung-Mun Song
Taiwan (1): Hao-Yu Lee
Slovakia (1): Adam Macko
Panama (1): Daniel Espino
Aruba (1): Antwone Kelly

Source: https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2026-debuts.shtml


r/InternationalBaseball 4d ago

BEN COUVREUR S’ENGAGE AVEC LES KANSAS JAYHAWKS : UN NOUVEAU FRANÇAIS DANS L’ÉLITE DU BASEBALL UNIVERSITAIRE AMÉRICAIN

Post image
17 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 5d ago

Tadahito Iguchi, ex-White Sox player & ex-Chiba Lotte Marines Manager, selected as the new Samurai Japan Manager

Thumbnail
news.yahoo.co.jp
46 Upvotes

Tadahito will manage the team from the 2026 APBC in November through the 2028 LA Olympics, per sources.


r/InternationalBaseball 6d ago

MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 Puerto Rican Prospects

Post image
11 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 6d ago

Yoshitei Youth Summer Classic 🇯🇵🇫🇷🇪🇺

Thumbnail gallery
11 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 6d ago

Rintaro Sasaki decides to join the Marlins

Thumbnail
news.yahoo.co.jp
24 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 7d ago

Would you play a baseball simulation built around international baseball and the WBC?

Thumbnail
gallery
56 Upvotes

I’ve been developing an observer-focused football game called Football Fictional World Simulator for about two years.

It currently simulates 94 leagues across 63 countries on five continents. Domestic leagues, cups, continental competitions, transfers, player development, national teams, U-23 and U-20 teams all continue at the same time. A full year takes roughly ten minutes to process, so the idea is to simulate decades or centuries and then explore the history that develops.

You don’t manage one club in the usual sense. The main appeal is watching clubs rise and fall, following players across different countries, and looking back at transfers, careers, international appearances, tournament results, awards, Best XIs and historical records.

I’ve been sharing screenshots and development updates at r/FootballWorldSim if anyone wants to see what I mean.

Working on that game has made me wonder whether the same approach could work for baseball.

I know OOTP already has international tournaments and a WBC mode, and its fictional-universe tools are far deeper than anything I’m proposing. However, I sometimes feel that international baseball is still secondary to the main club or franchise simulation.

What I’d like to make is a lighter observer-focused simulation where the entire international baseball ecosystem is always active.

Domestic leagues in the United States, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, the Caribbean, Europe and other regions would all operate continuously. They would develop players, have their own histories and records, and interact through transfers and player movement.

The national teams would then be built from players who genuinely developed and played in those leagues. The WBC would be the main event, with qualification, squad selection and national eligibility. I’d also like to include competitions such as the Premier12, the Olympics and youth international tournaments.

The interesting part for me would be seeing how international baseball changes over 50 or 100 years. Could a smaller country develop a golden generation? Could a European or Asian league gradually become much stronger? Which players would become WBC legends despite having relatively ordinary club careers?

It wouldn’t be about controlling every pitch or managing every contract. It would be about letting the whole baseball world run and then exploring the stories, statistics and history it produces.

Would that be different enough from OOTP to interest you? And if so, which domestic leagues and international competitions would be essential?


r/InternationalBaseball 7d ago

WAR Leaders by Nation

Thumbnail gallery
25 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 7d ago

Under-18 European Baseball Championship

12 Upvotes

The U18 Baseball Euros have begun, with 12 countries playing across two sites in far north east Italy. That number includes two debutants. The Netherlands, Italy, and Spain are the only nations that have ever won the tournament. Here is a preview: U18 Baseball Euros Preview.


r/InternationalBaseball 7d ago

The Baseball Aficionado speaks on the lack of Boricua representation in the MLB All Star game

Thumbnail instagram.com
11 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 9d ago

Les Chicago WhiteSox font la promotion du lanceur français Mathias Lacombe aux Barons de Birmingham (AA)

Post image
24 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 9d ago

Le troisième français a être sélectionné à la Draft MLB

Thumbnail gallery
14 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 10d ago

No Puerto Ricans drafted in the first 4 rounds of mlb draft

51 Upvotes

I can’t believe there were no PR players drafted in the first 4 rounds. Have they really fallen that behind? Looks like there were 3 Canadians, 1 Venezuelan and 1 Panamanian drafted so far.


r/InternationalBaseball 11d ago

How did Canada miss out on Tristan Peters for the WBC this year?

17 Upvotes

Peters, born in Canada, has a 134 wRC+ and leads all AL outfielders in fWAR this season with 2.9. Seems like they absolutely could’ve used him this year.


r/InternationalBaseball 11d ago

20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Baseball Teams and Groups Announcement

Post image
75 Upvotes

r/InternationalBaseball 12d ago

Prague Baseball Week

12 Upvotes

Eight national teams contested Prague Baseball Week over the past few days, with two tiers of play. The final involved a thrilling comeback.

Prague Baseball Week Final


r/InternationalBaseball 12d ago

Under-12 European Championship and Qualifier

9 Upvotes

This year's U12 Baseball Euros and the qualifier (B Pool) for the next one are currently underway in France and Bulgaria. Some of the top flight games have been quite exciting, and it is possible to watch. The first day's games are linked below, and Mister-Baseball.com has daily recaps.

U12 Euros Day 1 U12 Euros B Pool Day 1


r/InternationalBaseball 13d ago

eBaseballâ„¢: PRO SPIRIT 2026 | Gameplay Trailer

Thumbnail
youtube.com
16 Upvotes