World Baseball Classic of 2009
The 16-Nation WBC Will Take Place In Japan and North America
Mar 1, 2009
It is sometimes said that North American sports do not have worldwide appeal.
That might be true when it comes to American football.
But America’s other three major team sports – baseball, basketball and hockey – compete regularly in international tournaments.
A big one will take place beginning Thursday, March 5, when the second World Baseball Classic begins in Tokyo, Japan. It will end with the championship game on Monday, March 23, at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles.
The event was first held in 2006. The International Baseball Federation and Major League Baseball as a showcase started the tournament. The powers that be want to prove that baseball is a world sport.
It was also inspired by the International Olympic Committee’s decision to drop baseball and softball from the 2012 London Games.
World Baseball Classic Modeled after World Cup
The World Baseball Classic can be compared to the World Cup in soccer in that one country will come out a true world champion.
The 16-team tournament will have four divisions or Pool’s with the top two in each advancing to the second round.
The four pools are as follows: The teams will play round robin against each other.
Pool A: China, Japan, and Chinese Taipei, Korea. At Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Pool B: South Africa, Cuba, and Australia, Mexico. At Foro Sol Stadium, Mexico City, Mexico
Pool C: Canada, United State, Italy, and Venezuela. At Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada
Pool D: Netherlands, Dominican Rep., Panama, and Puerto Rico. At Hiram Bithrorn Stadium, San Juan, PR
Second Round and Finals of WBC Played in U.S.
The top two teams of each division advance to second play at Petro Park, San Diego, California, USA, and Dolphin Stadium, Miami, Fla. USA
The two second round pools will be made of four teams each playing a round-robin with the top two teams advancing to the semifinals and finals to be played at Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles, Calif. USA
Japan Defending WBC Champ
Most of the countries participating have players that play professionally in Major League and Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada.
However, Japan also has top-flight professional leagues where North American and Latin American players have been allowed to participate.
Japan won the last WBC and is the current world champs.
Top Professionals in WBC
There have been plenty of international baseball tournaments held in past years before the 2006 WBC, but most where on the amateur or college level.
Baseball has been played at the Summer Olympics since the Los Angeles Games of 1984 and right through the Beijing Games of 2008.
But the International Olympic Committee discontinued the sport for the 2012 games in London saying the sport lacked worldwide appeal.
Baseball officials want the game reinstated for the 2016 games.
The WBC will be played every four years, just like the World Cup and World Basketball Championships.
