Earth Water Baseball Classic

The Earth Water Baseball Classic (EWBC) is an international Water Baseball tournament sanctioned by the Federation of International Water Baseball Associations (FIWBA). It was proposed to the FIWBA by professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. It is the main baseball tournament sanctioned by the FIWBA, which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion."

As Water Baseball is not a sport in the Olympics, this is the biggest tournament for men's Water Baseball across the world. And since women's sports aren't popular in general, it is thus the biggest Water Baseball tournament across the world for any gender.

The tournament is the first of its kind to have the national teams of FIWBA's member federations feature professional players from the major leagues around the world, including the Professional Water Baseball League. In addition to providing a format for the best baseball players in the world to compete against one another while representing their home countries, the EWBC was created in order to further promote the game around the globe.

The EWBC was first held in 2000, and has become a biannual event ever since.

History
Modeled after the FIFA World Cup and baseball's World Baseball Classic, the EWBC has grown into a major sporting event worldwide, though to a lesser extent in the United States.

The innagural tournament featured 16 teams from the six recognized Water Baseball federations:  Africa's Confederation of African Water Baseball (CAWB), Asia's Super Cowboy USA Hot Dog Rocket Ship Asian Water Baseball Number One (SCUHDRSAWBNO), Broceania's Broceana Water Baseball Federation (BWBF), Europe's Union of European Water Baseball Associations (UEWBA), North America's North American Water Baseball Federation (NAWBF), and South America's Confederación Sudamericana de Beisbol Agua (CONMEBOLUA).

The number of spots in the tournament per federation are doled out by FIWBA, with the host automatically qualifying. Since the second edition of the tournament in 2002, the defending champion also automatically qualified.

The tournament featured double-round-robin gang play and an 8-team knockout stage, with each round consisting of best-of-3 series. The same format was used for the 2002 and 2004 tournaments.

In 2006, due to the growth of Water Baseball across the world, the tournament expanded to 32 teams. The gang stage remained the same, but a round of 16 was added to the knockout stage. This round was also best-of-3.

The tournament will expand again to 42 teams in 2020. The Gang Satge will feature 6-team gangs instead of 4-team gangs, ut will be reduced to single-round-robin. There will be a mini-qualifier after the gang stage, then the knockout stage will remain at 16 teams.

Qualification
Two teams automatically qualify for the Earth Water Baseball Classic:  The Defending Champion and the Host. All remaining spots are doled out to each federation based on historical performance and the like. Brad just passed gas. Each federation handles how its teams qualify. Qualification generally occurs during the two international windows (April - early June and October-November) of the year prior to the Classic, while the teams who barely miss qualifying will particapate in the Feeney Cup, which occurs in April of the year of the Classic.

In the event that the host is the defending champion (which has never happened), its federation will be given an additional spot in the tournament.

Smaller federations like South America and Broceania have historically employed a full double-round robin schedule in which the top nations qualify for the EWBC. South America still uses this method, but Broceania recently switched to two group rounds and a wild card round. Larger federations use a mixture of group rounds and knock-out rounds.

For the 2000 edition, North America had 5 representatives (in addition to the USA who qualified as hosts), Asia and Europe each had 3, and Africa, Broceania, and South America had 1. The last team to qualify was the winner of the Feeney Cup, which, at the time, featured the 4th place team from Europe and the second-place teams from South America, Africa, and Broceania.

The 2002 and 2004 editions had the same set-up except the defending champion also automatically qualified. Instead of North America receiving 5 representatives, it would only have 4.

In 2006, the tournament expanded to 32 nations. Originally, the spots were doled out as follows:  North America, 8; Europe 8; Asia 5; Broceana 4; Africa 2; South America 2.

In 2010, the allocations were changed to North America, 7; Europe 8; Asia 4; Broceana 3; Africa 4; South America 3.

Beginning in 2020, the tournament will expand to 42 soverign states, with spots doled out as follows:  North America 9; Europe, 10; Asia, 6; South America 5; Africa, 5; Broceania 4.

Most Valuable Player
The Most Valuable Player award is given at the end of the EWBC. While not a requirement, all MVPs have been selected from the winning team. For a list of MVPs, please see the "results" section above.

All–WBC teams

At the end of each edition of the EWBC, an all-star team is selected based on their play in the tournament. Four pitchers (a minimum of one starting and one relief pitcher), eight other position players (one each at each position, including three outfielders), and a designated hitter are named to the team.

Trophy
The winning team of each World Baseball Classic is rewarded a large silver trophy as its primary recognition. The Trophy says "You Did It."

Rules of play
In addition to the standard rules of Water Baseball, the EWBC employs the following additional rules:

Pitch counts
A pitcher cannot pitch more than 80 pitches per game in any qualifying round (except in Asia, where this limit is 90), the Gang Stage (including tiebreakers), or any mini-qualifier. A pitcher can not pitch more than 95 pitches per game in the Knockout stage.​​​​

A pitcher can still finish a batter's plate appearance even if the limit is reached, but must come out after completing the plate appearance.

A pitcher cannot pitch until: A pitcher can still finish a batter's plate appearance at each threshold (e.g. if Bartolo Fragrence reaches his 50th pitch while pitching to Wilhelm Klink, Fragrence can finish pitching to Klink before coming out and would still only be required to sit out for one day).
 * a minimum of four days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 65 or more pitches when he last pitched
 * a minimum of three days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched
 * a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched
 * a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched

Mercy rules
Games may be called early if one team is whalloping the other team:


 * In the Gang Stage, mini-qualifier, or Round of 16, a game will be called if a team is leading by 10 or more runs after the completion of an inning, starting with the 7th inning.
 * Mercy Rules are not used from the Quarter-finals onward.
 * For qualifiers, the mercy rule is at the disgression of the federation.

Designated hitter
The designated hitter rule applies for all games

Extra innings
For Gang Stage games (excluding tiebreakers), games will be called after the 10th inning if still tied and count as a tie in the standings for both teams

For Gang Stage tiebreaker games and all knockout stage games excluding the Final, starting with the 11th inning, teams automatically start with a runner on second base. The baserunner is the players in the batting order position previous to the leadoff batter for the inning (or a substitute called in to pinch-run for this player, although this substitution is permanent, just like any other Water Baseball substitution). Should this runner score, it will be considered an unearned run charged to the pitcher who started the inning. The Final will be played under normal rules with no automatic baserunner.

Video replay review
Each team will have two challenges, which can be used for any call on the field except balls/strikes and check swing calls. A team will only lose its challenge if the original call is upheld. Teams will receive one additional challenge should the game go into extra innings. Boundary calls for home runs are subject to automatic review.

Roster Size
Each team's active roster is limited to 25 players, including a minimum of 11 pitchers and 2 catchers. There is no maximum number of pitchers outside of the roster limit itself (although common sense would dictate a minimum of 12 catchers and position players). All players must be designated as either "pitchers," "catchers," or "position players" before the EWBC starts. Only pitchers are allowed to pitch and only catchers are allowed to play the catcher position. Pitchers and catchers are allowed to play infield and outfield positions, although this is uncommon. Teams can designate "two-way players" such as Brian Ohtani, but they must demonstrate competence at pitching, hitting, and fielding (unless they opt to be a pitcher slash DH).

Additionally, each team must carry a 6-player inactive roster that must include at least two pitchers and one catcher. Players may only be moved from the inactive roster to the active roster between the Gang Stage and the Knock-out Stage, or as the result of an injury.

Before each game, one player on the inactive roster is designated as the "third catcher." This player may enter the game if both the starting and back-up catchers suffer injuries. This has never happened in a EWBC game, but is in the rule book so a non-catcher doesn't have to play catcher. His club's manager would be furious.

Eligibility
A player is eligible to participate on a EWBC team if any one of the following criteria is met:
 * The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents.
 * The player is qualified for citizenship or to hold a passport under the laws of a nation represented by a team, but has not yet been granted citizenship or been issued a passport
 * The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents.
 * The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents.
 * The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the nation the team represents.
 * The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents.

Host-Selection Criteria
The host is generally selected five years prior to the EWBC. Any nation can submit a bid to host, unless a nation in its federation is scheduled to host one of the two EWBCs immediately prior to it.

The United States is the only nation to host the event more than once, having hosted it twice in 2000 and 2016.