By Allan Simpson
May 11, 2005

The inaugural World Baseball Classic, scheduled for next March, should be the greatest event in the up and down history of international baseball, as it will bring together the world's best players for the first time in a true international competition. Here are 10 moments over the years that have been instrumental in the game broadening its horizons:

1. Baseball gains medal status in Olympics. Baseball gained official Olympic status on Oct. 13, 1986, effective with the 1992 Games in Barcelona. That sparked worldwide growth in the sport, and 112 nations now have recognized baseball federations, including Russia and China.

2. Professional players become eligible for international competition. The congress of the International Baseball Federation voted in favor of allowing pros--including major leaguers--to take part in international competition on Sept. 21, 1996. Major leaguers have never participated in a significant international competition because of scheduling conflicts, however.

3. Team USA gets attention at 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Baseball was only a demonstration sport, but sellout crowds at Dodger Stadium helped the sport gain full medal status two years later. The U.S. fielded arguably the greatest amateur team ever, featuring Will Clark, Mark McGwire and Barry Larkin, but lost in the gold-medal game to Japan.

4. MLB plays games on foreign soil. No regular season major league game had ever been played outside the United States or Canada before the Padres met the Mets in a three-game series in Monterrey, Mexico, on Aug. 16-18 1996. Since then, games have been played in Japan and Puerto Rico, including last year's season opener, as Major League Baseball expands its global appeal.

5. U.S. wins gold at 2000 Olympics. In the first Olympics featuring professional players, Brewers prospect Ben Sheets spun a three-hitter as the U.S. beat previously invincible Cuba in the gold-medal game, 4-0.

6. Cuba dominates the baseball world. Cuba has dominated international competition for a half-century, including a 10-year span from 1987-97 when it reeled off 134 consecutive wins in major international competition. Vulnerable in 1999 at the Pan American Games because of defections, the introduction of wood bats and the use of pros by the U.S. and Canada, Cuba still won the gold medal to qualify for the Sydney Olympics. It was a sign that even though the playing field has been leveled to some degree, the Cubans remain a force.

7. U.S. gets knocked out of 2004 Olympics in qualifying tournament. Team USA, the defending Olympic gold medalist, failed to even qualify for the 2004 Athens Games when it was upset by Mexico, 2-1, in a qualification tournament in Panama.

8. Goodwill teams travel to Japan. Teams of barnstorming major leaguers have been making postseason trips to Japan since 1931, with the exception of a 17-year absence around World War II. All-star teams of college players from the U.S. and Japan have taken turns playing host to one another since 1967.

9. 1969 World Cup marks American return to international prominence. The U.S. had little presence in international baseball in 1967, when it upset Cuba at the Pan American Games with a team of college all-stars. Buoyed by that success, the U.S. participated in the '69 World Cup in the Dominican Republic for the first time in 26 years. America has been an active participant in major international events since and a major player in the growth of international baseball.

10. Record crowds turn out for 1936 Olympics. Against the backdrop of Hitler's Germany, the largest crowd (estimated at 125,000) ever to see a baseball game watched two U.S. teams play an exhibition game at Olympic Stadium in Berlin.