After the “Gala dei Diamanti” in Parma, Italy on Tuesday, Baseball.it talked with newly crowned IBAF President Riccardo Fraccari. Here are his takes on a few topics:
About John C. Ostermeyer’s withdrawal before the elections on Sunday:
Fraccari participated in several meetings before the IBAF Congress and was asked how Ostermeyer could lead the IBAF, if he only gets elected by countries such as Fiji, while Fraccari got the support from USA, Japan and Cuba. So, Fraccari met with Ostermeyer three times until the Australian realized it doesn’t make much sense.
About Ruud van Zetten not making into the Executive Committee:
Fraccari is not very happy that van Zetten was excluded and didn’t make it as treasurer. He was on his team, but America and Asia voted otherwise.
About his first steps as IBAF President:
Fraccari first wants to reorganize the office in Lausanne to create more transparency and efficiency, to strengthen the relationship with Major League Baseball and to settle the financial situation.
About the apparent mismanagement by the IBAF in the last two years:
Fraccari emphasized this with the fact that the IBAF wasted about $11 million in the last two years. The IBAF needs to reassess the business, maximize synergies and focus on merchandizing, especially since more than $9 million from the IOC will be missing.
About upcoming international tournaments:
Fraccari said that they need to rethink the various events and ask what’s important and then focus on those, which have a real quality. In 2010 for example could be the last edition of the Intercontinental Cup, which is Taiwan a candidate to host it. The IBAF Baseball World Cup instead needs to have a different value and could become some sort of qualifier for the World Baseball Classic: and every continent, each using the model used for latest World Cup in Europe, could proclaim own representatives. A world championship for club teams also could be a possibility. They will talk about it during the first meeting of the Executive Committee in Rome, Italy on January 20th.