SEOUL, South Korea — Co-host and top-ranked Japan has been grouped with the United States in the inaugural Premier12 baseball tournament, which features the top 12 countries in the World Baseball Softball Confederation's rankings.
Japan and the U.S. are joined by the Dominican Republic, South Korea, Venezuela and Mexico in a tough Group B announced Wednesday by the tournament organizers.
"There are a lot of strong teams in that group," said Japan manager Hiroki Kokubo. "I plan to pick a team that can win it all and be No. 1 in the world."
Group A features Taiwan, Cuba, the Netherlands, Canada, Puerto Rico and Italy.