What are the governing bodies for cricket, baseball, and soccer?

[jackson6612]

Hi

I have never played soccer or baseball. These are not popular forms of sport where I live. Cricket is all we have and we love it. But I want to learn the general rules and have some basic knowledge of these sports.

In cricket they have ICC - the international governing body of cricket. It's like an international cricket-UNO. It governs, sets rules, and holds competitions at international level. Then, most countries have domestic competitions held by local bodies and these bodies are recognized by national cricket governing body of respective countries. In India national cricket body is Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Indian Premier League (IPL) is a local body recognized by BCCI and holds domestic competitions. IPL has many teams made up of players from many different countries. Likewise, in England they have County cricket and each county has its own team. Though, I don't know how English domestic cricket really works.

Some days ago I was reading about the baseball and came across Major League Baseball (MLB). Is it some local body or an international body which govern baseball internationally? Is there some international body?

Is there any international governing body for soccer?

Please help me to learn about these games. Thanks.

 

[Chi Meson]

This is exactly where Wikipedia comes in. MLB is American. 29 teams from the US and 1 from Canada, it is the de facto international organization for baseball. The championship is called the "World Series," which sounds a bit haughty but if a team from a different country ever got even close to good enough to challenge the best American team, well then maybe a name change would be considered. Japan might be approaching that point, I'm not really sure, but I think most other countries don't care enough about the game for it to really matter.

 

[jackson6612]

This is exactly where Wikipedia comes in. MLB is American. 29 teams from the US and 1 from Canada, it is the de facto international organization for baseball. The championship is called the "World Series," which sounds a bit haughty but if a team from a different country ever got even close to good enough to challenge the best American team, well then maybe a name change would be considered. Japan might be approaching that point, I'm not really sure, but I think most other countries don't care enough about the game for it to really matter.

Thanks, Chi.

I had been to Wikipedia but couldn't really understand the stuff. The stuff there may seem to you easy to understand and enough to get acquainted with both sports - soccer and baseball - because you already have enough information of them. If you have no previous knowledge of the game of cricket, then I think Wikipedia won't be of much help unless you have read hundreds of articles there. You can get most of the answers if you have proper search terms to use with a search engine. But learning from a live person is more preferable because you can ask any questions that may pop up while discussing the topic.

Why do you think the title "World Series" is haughty? It's not "American and Canadian Series", that would sound haughty. The word "World" there tells us that any team from anywhere in the world can take part in the competition.

Best wishes
Jackson

 

[Insanity]

Douglas Adams in his Hitchhiker's series described the rules of cricket were so complicated, that if all the rules were complied into a single volume, it would collapse under its own weight into a black hole.

There are leagues and organization for baseball.

* Major League Baseball
* International Baseball Federation
* Minor League Baseball
* British Baseball Federation

 

[Vagn]

Hi

Is there any international governing body for soccer?

Please help me to learn about these games. Thanks.

There is, called FIFA who have been in the press quite a lot recently over the controversial decision to award Qatar the 2022 World Cup. Each continent also has its own regional governing body, which arranges international and club continental competitions such as the UEFA European Championship, and the UEFA Champions League. Each country then has its own governing body which oversees national competitions. The main exception to this rule is the US which has an unusual league system in the first place.

 

[Chi Meson]

Why do you think the title "World Series" is haughty? It's not "American and Canadian Series", that would sound haughty. The word "World" there tells us that any team from anywhere in the world can take part in the competition.

But that's just it, they can't. The "World Series" is the championship for the 30 very American (including 1 Canadian) teams in the Major League. It is NOT open to any other team in the world. It has essentially been assumed (and so far it's hard to argue otherwise) that the best team from America MUST be the best team in the world. If it were any other game than baseball, it would be utterly pretentious. But as of now, since all of the best players in the world come to the US to play in the best teams in the world, it's going to be a while before a non-American team can get enough world-class players to beat the best American team.

I'm guessing, but I'll bet that the best team in the Japanese league could beat some of the Major League teams, but that would be it.

 

[jackson6612]

There are leagues and organization for baseball.

* Major League Baseball
* International Baseball Federation
* Minor League Baseball
* British Baseball Federation

Is there any difference between the words league and federation in the context above? To me, there isn't a difference. Please let me know what you have to say about this. Thanks.

 

[Insanity]

Is there any difference between the words league and federation in the context above? To me, there isn't a difference. Please let me know what you have to say about this. Thanks.

Leagues are more local organizations, federations are international. The difference is the scale of their organization.

 

[AlephZero]

Douglas Adams in his Hitchhiker's series described the rules of cricket were so complicated, that if all the rules were complied into a single volume, it would collapse under its own weight into a black hole.

But this will never happen, because cricket does not have rules, it has laws.

Actually, the laws of cricket are compiled into a single volume, but reading it from cover to cover is not recommended. In any case, you can deduce all the laws from one fundamental principle, which states thati "the umpires are always right".

 

[jackson6612]

Leagues are more local organizations, federations are international. The difference is the scale of their organization.

Thanks, Insanity. It seems the cricket is a lot simpler organization as compared to the games of soccer and baseball, or it's just me.

But this will never happen, because cricket does not have rules, it has laws.

Actually, the laws of cricket are compiled into a single volume, but reading it from cover to cover is not recommended. In any case, you can deduce all the laws from one fundamental principle, which states thati "the umpires are always right".

Hi Aleph

Things are changing now because they aren't always right.

 

[jtbell]

Leagues are more local organizations, federations are international. The difference is the scale of their organization.

A "league" is a collection of teams that play against each other, with a champion determined by rankings or a playoff at the end of the season.

A "federation" is usually a collection of leagues, which might organize some kind of overall championship. In soccer, FIFA organizes the World Cup.

 

[cobalt124]

But I want to learn the general rules and have some basic knowledge of these sports

I had been to Wikipedia but couldn't really understand the stuff. The stuff there may seem to you easy to understand and enough to get acquainted with both sports - soccer and baseball - because you already have enough information of them. If you have no previous knowledge of the game of cricket, then I think Wikipedia won't be of much help unless you have read hundreds of articles there. You can get most of the answers if you have proper search terms to use with a search engine. But learning from a live person is more preferable because you can ask any questions that may pop up while discussing the topic.

As far as soccer goes, I don't think I could explain it better than Wikipedia. Looking at the article though it does look over detailed for someone who has never seen the game before and only wants an overview. Might I suggest you read the article and field questions here, and I (and others presumably) will be able to answer and simplify.

 

[Gokul43201]

The championship is called the "World Series," which sounds a bit haughty but if a team from a different country ever got even close to good enough to challenge the best American team, well then maybe a name change would be considered. Japan might be approaching that point, I'm not really sure, but I think most other countries don't care enough about the game for it to really matter.

Among the last 15 Baseball World Cups, the dominant country was Cuba, with 12 wins. The US has 2 and South Korea 1. I don't think any MLB players participate in the Wolrd Cups.

Over the last five Olympics where Baseball was a medalled sport, Cuba again dominated with 3 golds and 2 silvers. The US won a gold and 2 bronzes, while SK won a gold and a bronze. Japan won a silver and 2 bronzes. However, since the Olympics overlaps with the MLB season, I can't imagine any MLB all-stars signed up for the Olympic team.

The MLB, however, created the World Baseball Classic in 2006, a true international tournament that happens before the baseball season in the US, and in which MLB players participate. So far, there have been two WBC tournaments, with Japan winning both, beating South Korea and Cuba in the finals. The US managed one 4th place finish after losing to Venezuela in the semifinal of the last tournament. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_World_Cup
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball_at_the_Summer_Olympics
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Baseball_Classic

 

[mugaliens]

Does anyone else recall the '70's commercial song which went something like, "Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet?"

Meanwhile, to give equal air time, I really enjoyed the movie http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lagaan" ! I learned more about cricket than I knew existed, while really enjoying Indian music for the first time!

I have never played soccer or baseball.

I've never played cricket! Funny world we live in.

Please help me to learn about these games. Thanks.

Have you tried http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football" ?

The rules of baseball and soccer are simple. American football, on the other hand, can drive the refs themselves crazy!

This raises a good question, though: What order of complexity does everyone else here on PF order the various sports? Include darts and curling, if you feel like it. As for the big four, from least to most complex, I'd guess at:

1. Association football (soccer)

2. Baseball

3. Cricket

4. American football

Perhaps this reflects what I know or don't know about them. It would be interesting to see what others think!

 

[cobalt124]

I'd swap 3 and 4.

 

[mugaliens]

Really? You think cricket's more complicated than American football?

Could be. I have a theory "the older the sport, the simpler the sport." Tennis is way old, and quite simply, actually. American football, if I'm not mistaken, is perhaps one of the most recent team sports in existence today. I'm still puzzling at it, and I grew up with it.

Perhaps they keep tweaking the rules to keep our interest? (small smile) Could be!

 

[cobalt124]

I could be wrong. I don't know much American Football. It looks closer to soccer than cricket, but then again there's all the tactics and plays and stuff, so yes you could be right.