The Nicaraguan national baseball team is preparing for the World Baseball Classic (WBC) qualifiers with a training camp in Japan. The team arrived in Hyuga City, Miyazaki Prefecture, on Feb. 11 and will train there until Feb. 19 before heading to Taiwan for the Taipei Qualification Pool, where team Nicaragua will face South Africa, Spain, and hosts Chinese Taipei.
It’s time for the WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC QUALIFIER ✈️✈️
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 will be traveling this sundayto Miyazaki, Japan🇯🇵to continue the training camp which includes 4 exhibition games against japanesse teams, one of them the Yomiuri Giants @TokyoGiants
On tuesday february 18th… pic.twitter.com/aZWZO9X3ca
— Fernando Rayo (@Rayo2Fer) February 7, 2025
Nicaragua’s decision to hold its training camp in Japan rather than Taiwan is rooted in its federation’s growing baseball ties with the country. In 2024, the U-23 Nicaraguan national team trained in Japan ahead of the WBSC U-23 World Cup in China, where they surprisingly secured a third-place finish. During their visit in August, Nicaragua scheduled an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants’ third team.
Giants third team manager Norihiro Komada was enthusiastic about the opportunity, stating, “It’s rare for us to play against a foreign national team, and it will be a valuable learning opportunity for the Giants’ players and coaches to experience an unfamiliar baseball style and culture. I hope that through this exchange, we can grow together, and our relationship will develop even further.”
Nicaraguan Baseball Federation (FENIBA) President Nemesio Porras echoed this sentiment, adding, “I hope this opportunity leads to even more baseball exchanges between Japan and Nicaragua.” However, the game was ultimately canceled due to bad weather.
The relationship between the two sides was established in Jan. 2024, when the Giants’ women’s team visited Nicaragua as part of the franchise’s 90th-anniversary project. This initial exchange laid the foundation for continued collaboration, which will be evident again as the Giants are expected to hold practice with Team Nicaragua in Miyazaki.
Nicaragua, ranked 16th in the world by the WBSC, aims to reclaim its place in the main WBC tournament after going winless in Pool D of the 2023 edition. In that tournament, the team struggled offensively, scoring just one run in each of its four losses to Puerto Rico, Israel, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela, which resulted in its relegation to the qualifiers.
The training camp schedule includes practice days and exhibition games against local industrial and independent league Japanese teams, including JR West, the Miyazaki Sunshines, Nissan Kyushu Automobile, and Tokyo Gas.
Official Schedule according to Japanese FENIBA representative Shota Abe:
● Feb. 11: Arrival in Japan, travel to Hyuga City
● Feb. 12-13: Practice at Daiodani Baseball Stadium
● Feb. 14: vs. JR West (Kushima Municipal Baseball Field, 12:30 PM)
● Feb. 15: vs. Miyazaki Sunshines (Daiodani Sports Park Baseball Field, 12:30 PM)
● Feb. 16: Off Day
● Feb. 17: vs. Nissan Kyushu Automobile (Nissan Star Ground, 1:00 PM)
● Feb.18: vs. Tokyo Gas (Nishikibaru Baseball Field, 12:30 PM)
● Feb. 19: Departure for Taiwan
Nicaragua will open its WBC qualifiers against South Africa on Feb. 21 in Taiwan. The tournament will follow the same pitching restrictions as the 2023 World Baseball Classic:
● 50 or more pitches: 4 days of rest
● 30 to 49 pitches: 1 day of rest
● Maximum of 65 pitches per player per game
WBN WBC: https://worldbaseball.com/league/wbc/
Photo Credit: Nicaragua starting pitcher Carlos Rodriguez (12) aims a pitch during the second inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Puerto Rico, Saturday, March 11, 2023, in Miami. (AP Photo/Marta Lavandier)
