2009 World Baseball Classic Preview
Dominican Republic, United States, Champ Japan, Cuba Among Favorites
Jan 27, 2009
The 2009 baseball season will start with the second-ever 2009 World Baseball Classic from March 5-23 in five different countries featuring 16 nations with the Dominican Republic, United States, reigning champions Japan and 2006 finalists Cuba as the leading contenders.
Background On WBC
The World Baseball Classic is the first international baseball tournament to include players from the U.S. Major League Baseball. The WBC is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and supported by Major League Baseball, Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korea Baseball Organization, the Major League Baseball Players Association and other professional leagues and players associations from around the world. The tournament will be held every four years beginning in 2013 with plans in place to expand the participant field.
Great Following In 2006
More than 740,000 fans from 48 U.S. states and 15 countries attended games at the 2006 Classic and millions more watched on television as Japan won the first-ever WBC. The inaugural tournament was broadcasted by 48 media outlets in 10 languages to 205 countries and territories around the world. And media members representing 25 different nations attended the 39 games in seven host venues across three countries/territories.
Japan Win 2006 Title, Daisuke Matsuzaka MVP
The 2006 Classic had some surprises. Canada failed to get out of the first round while the United States and Venezuela could not move past the second round despite loads of talent. Cuba knocked off the Dominican Republic in the semi-finals to set up a final showdown with Japan, who shut out Korea 6-0 in the semis. In the final, Daisuke Matsuzaka beat Cuba 10-6 to win the Most Valuable Player award after going 3-0 with a 1.38 ERA in three starts before becoming a star in Major League Baseball.
2009 Classic Schedule
The 16 teams participating are: Japan, Cuba, the United States, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Korea, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Netherlands, Panama, Chinese Taipei, Italy, China and South Africa. Tickets can be bought online through MLB.comXXXXXXXXXXX. The first round is broken down into four pools of four teams each:
• Tokyo (March 5-9): Japan, China, Chinese Taipei, Korea
• Toronto (March 7-11): USA, Canada, Venezuela, Italy
• San Juan, P.R. (March 7-11): Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Panama
• Mexico City (March 8-12): Mexico, Cuba, South Africa, Australia
The top two teams of each group will move on to the second round with the winners from Toronto meeting the winners from Puerto Rico in the second round at Miami's Dolphin Stadium. And the The winners from Tokyo will meet the winners from Mexico City in San Diego's PETCO Park. The semifinals and final will be played March 21 and 23 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
Best Talent From Throughout The World
The WBC will have so much talent it will be like an All-Star Game. Among the stars are:
Carlos Beltran, Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera, Cole Hamels, Felix Hernandez, Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Evan Longoria, Dustin Pedroia, Hanley Ramirez, Alex Rodriguez, Grady Sizemore, Ichiro Suzuki, David Wright, Kevin Youkilis, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Justin Morneau, Adrian Gonzalez, Jimmy Rollins, Albert Pujols, Aramis Ramirez, Jose Reyes, Alfonso Soriano, Johan Santana and Alex Rios.
Impressive Coaches On Staffs
There are also a number of legendary figures on coaching staffs throughout the Classic. The top names are Felipe Alou (Dominican Republic), Davey Johnson (U.S.), Mike Schmidt (U.S.), Barry Larkin (U.S.), Mel Stottlemeyer Sr. (U.S.), Lee Smith (South Africa), Mike Piazza (Italy), Mike Hargrove (Italy), Bert Blyleven (Netherlands), Hector Lopez (Panama), Graeme Lloyd (Australia), Pat Kelly (Australia) and Vinny Castilla (Mexico)
Games Available Throughout The Globe
The games will be televised throughout the globe. The MLB Network will televise 16 World Baseball Classic games, along with a nightly studio show dedicated to the tournament. ESPN will televise 23 games of the Classic in the U.S., including the semifinal and final games, across ESPN and ESPN2 and on its Spanish-language platform, ESPN Deportes
Regulations
A pitcher cannot until: a minimum of four days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched; a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched; a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched. A pitcher cannot pitch more than 70 pitchers per game in Round One, 85 pitches per game in Round Two, 100 pitchers per game in the semi-finals and final. A pitcher can still finish a batter's plate appearance even if the limit is reach but he must come out after the at-bat. And any pitcher who throws 30 or more pitches in the semifinals will not be eligible to pitch in the final.
A game will be called if the leading team is ahead by 10 or more runs after at least seven innings or 15 or more runs after at least five innings.
Designated Hitter
The designated hitter rule applies for all games.
Instant Replay
The Major League Baseball rule on video replay will be adopted for the World Baseball Classic, allowing umpires to review certain "boundary" calls, such as home runs over the fence, fair/foul home run calls or fan interference on home run calls.
