Durango53
09-08-2003, 02:13 PM
http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/news/mlb_news.jsp?ymd=20030829&content_id=502842&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb
Players will report to Brewers' Maryvale complex
Major League Baseball has finalized its plans to have Team USA train this October in the Arizona Fall League for the upcoming Americas Qualifying Event, said Dean Taylor, the co-chair of Team USA's steering committee.
The Qualifying Event, scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 11 in Panama City, Panama, is one of the preludes to next summer's baseball tournament in the Summer Olympics. The top two of the 12 teams competing qualify to go for the baseball gold medal in Athens, Greece. The U.S. won the gold at the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia.
About 30 members of the U.S. team, competing for 24 roster spots, will begin reporting the first week of October to its training site at the Maryvale Baseball Park, the Spring Training home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Team USA is projected to play a 13-game schedule in the Arizona Fall League and then possible exhibitions against Olympic Qualifying opponents from Mexico and Canada before breaking camp for Panama.
"We will be playing our Arizona Fall League games on the road," Taylor said. "There are some games we'll play on the road and be designated as the home team. Right now, there isn't expected to be any games in Maryvale."
The U.S. must submit an eligible list of 45 players about a month before the Qualifying Event begins. During the November competition, none of the 12 teams can use any player not originally designated on their 45-man lists.
The Arizona Fall League, a proving ground for Major League prospects, begins play in late September and ends in late October. Games are scheduled this year at three Spring Training sites -- Scottsdale, Mesa and Peoria.
The U.S. team will be made up of professional players not on the 25-man roster of any Major League team as of this coming Sunday and will be considered the seventh team in the Fall League while playing its exhibition schedule.
The U.S. will have stiff competition in the Qualifying Event from teams fielded by Canada and all the Latin American baseball playing countries, including Cuba, which just beat a team of U.S. amateur players to win the gold medal earlier this month in the Pan Am Games.
Eight teams will compete in the Olympics, including a squad from Greece, the host country. Already, Holland and Italy survived the European Qualifying Event and have gained berths. Two more will come from Asia and another from the competition between Africa and Oceana.
Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Players will report to Brewers' Maryvale complex
Major League Baseball has finalized its plans to have Team USA train this October in the Arizona Fall League for the upcoming Americas Qualifying Event, said Dean Taylor, the co-chair of Team USA's steering committee.
The Qualifying Event, scheduled for Oct. 30 to Nov. 11 in Panama City, Panama, is one of the preludes to next summer's baseball tournament in the Summer Olympics. The top two of the 12 teams competing qualify to go for the baseball gold medal in Athens, Greece. The U.S. won the gold at the 2000 games in Sydney, Australia.
About 30 members of the U.S. team, competing for 24 roster spots, will begin reporting the first week of October to its training site at the Maryvale Baseball Park, the Spring Training home of the Milwaukee Brewers. Team USA is projected to play a 13-game schedule in the Arizona Fall League and then possible exhibitions against Olympic Qualifying opponents from Mexico and Canada before breaking camp for Panama.
"We will be playing our Arizona Fall League games on the road," Taylor said. "There are some games we'll play on the road and be designated as the home team. Right now, there isn't expected to be any games in Maryvale."
The U.S. must submit an eligible list of 45 players about a month before the Qualifying Event begins. During the November competition, none of the 12 teams can use any player not originally designated on their 45-man lists.
The Arizona Fall League, a proving ground for Major League prospects, begins play in late September and ends in late October. Games are scheduled this year at three Spring Training sites -- Scottsdale, Mesa and Peoria.
The U.S. team will be made up of professional players not on the 25-man roster of any Major League team as of this coming Sunday and will be considered the seventh team in the Fall League while playing its exhibition schedule.
The U.S. will have stiff competition in the Qualifying Event from teams fielded by Canada and all the Latin American baseball playing countries, including Cuba, which just beat a team of U.S. amateur players to win the gold medal earlier this month in the Pan Am Games.
Eight teams will compete in the Olympics, including a squad from Greece, the host country. Already, Holland and Italy survived the European Qualifying Event and have gained berths. Two more will come from Asia and another from the competition between Africa and Oceana.
Barry M. Bloom is a national reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.