Iraq Baseball Team Hopes for the West Asian Cup This Weekend
Iraq’s baseball team poses for a team photoBY: David DeMaria/Contributing Writer
With spring training right beginning in the U.S., Iraq’s national baseball team is focusing their attention on the 13th West Asia Baseball Cup, beginning February 25. The tournament, which is to be held at the Jinnah Sports Stadium in Islamabad, Pakistan, serves as a qualifier for the Asian Baseball Championship later this year.
Pakistan has hosted and won the event all three times it has taken place, the first being in 2012. Other teams competing in this year’s tournament with Iraq include India, Iran, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
At the last edition of the tournament, held in the Pakistani city of Lahore in February 2015, Iraq struggled mightily, losing all three of its matches in a lopsided fashion. First, Pakistan defeated Iraq 20-0, and then it was India shutting them out 20-0. The Iraqis were finally able to get on the board against Iran, but still suffered an 18-4 defeat at the hands of their Persian foes.
Other Arab countries that maintain memberships with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) include Morocco and Tunisia, but neither country has competed internationally.
At the Little League level, teams from United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have competed in Asia-Pacific regional qualifiers for the Little League World Series, though neither country is affiliated with the international governing body of the sport.
Iraq has been a member of the WBSC since 2009. The national team visited the Washington, D.C. area in May of 2010, and attended a Washington Nationals game before ever competing internationally. The team hopes to turn their past struggles into success, beginning with this weekend’s tournament in Islamabad.
