Two coaching staff changes were announced today for the third installment of the Premier 12 baseball tournament, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The Managers for the United States and the Dominican Republic were named today.
USA Baseball revealed that Mike Scioscia will be their headman for the 2024 tournament. Scioscia is a former big league player and manager. He spent 13 seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers, where he was a part of two World Series titles. After playing, Scioscia began his managerial career with the Los Angeles Angels. Starting in 2000, Scioscia spent 19 seasons with the Halos, where he guided them to 1650 wins, ranking him 20th all-time in wins as a manager. Scioscia helped the Angels break a 15-year playoff drought in 2002 before leading them to their only World Series title in franchise history.
Scioscia previously managed Team USA in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. Under Scioscia, the US went 4-0 in qualifying games to clinch its ticket to the Olympics. There, he led the team to a 4-2 record and the silver medal. Team USA led the Olympics in several categories, including a 2.19 ERA and a .226 batting average against.
The Dominican Republic also announced their manager for the upcoming tournament. Cesar Martin will lead the Dominican Republic during this year’s Premier 12. A native of the DR, Martin is currently the manager for the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. He has led the Fisher Cats over the past four seasons and recently became the winningest manager in Fisher Cats history with 205.
Before his time in New Hampshire, Martin spent two seasons with the Lansing Lugnuts and was the 2019 Florida State League Manager of the Year for the Dunedin Blue Jays.
The Premier 12 will be held from November 9-24 and will feature the top 12 teams in the WBSC Men’s World Ranking. After round-robin play, the top two finishers of each group will advance to the Super Round on November 21-23. The Premier 12 Championship Game will take place on November 24 between the first and second-place teams of the Super Round.
🌏⚔️ The Global Baseball Battle is set!
🔝⚾ Groups announced for @Premier12 2024 presented by RAXUS.
🔗 Check out the details here: https://t.co/eZur5wJNIc #Premier12 pic.twitter.com/LUeyoln6WD
— WBSC ⚾🥎 (@WBSC) April 18, 2024
Photo Credit: Manager Mike Scioscia of Team USA speaks to the team during the Workout Day for the 2021 WBSC Baseball America Qualifier at Jackie Robinson Training Complex on Monday, May 24, 2021 in Vero Beach, Florida. (Photo by Rhona Wise/MLB Photos via Getty Images)
