Hong’s appointment marks the first CPBL-CTBA joint decision since their landmark partnership agreement was announced in January.

As a rookie for the NPB Yomiuri Giants, he earned 20 wins in 1999. He started and won for Japan the 2006 World Baseball Classic semifinal against Korea. Later he converted into a star closer and one the 2013 World Series with the Red Sox

Watch an eleven-minute video about the Baseball Africa Cup and know more about the story of the National Team that will represent the Continent at the Tokyo 2020 Qualifier and about the development of the game in Africa

Baseball is Africa is expanding as eight new nations on the continent are expected to debut in the update of the WBSC World Rankings. South Africa’s manager Neil Adonis commented: “We are determined to increase the interest in baseball within our country and in Africa.”

The final of the Baseball Africa Cup saw the hosts dominate against Uganda. Zimbabwe won an 11-inning thriller to claim third place. In the Baseball Europe-Africa Olympic Qualifier in Italy South Africa will face fice European National Teams