World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic

Most recent season or competition: 2017 World Baseball Classic
World Baseball Classic logo
Sport	Baseball
Founded	2005 (2005)
No. of teams	16 (finals)
Continent	International
Most recent champion(s)	United States (1st title)
Most titles	Japan (2 titles)

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). It was proposed to the IBAF by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. It is the main baseball tournament sanctioned by the WBSC, which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".^[1]

It previously coexisted with Olympic Baseball (until 2008) and the Baseball World Cup (until 2011) as IBAF–sanctioned tournaments,^[2] but baseball has not been on the Olympic program since 2008, after it was voted out by the International Olympic Committee in 2005. The final men's Baseball World Cup was held in 2011, and was discontinued to streamline the international calendar.

The tournament is the first of its kind to have the national teams of IBAF's member federations feature professional players from the major leagues around the world including Major League Baseball. In addition to providing a format for the best baseball players in the world to compete against one another while representing their home countries, the World Baseball Classic was created in order to further promote the game around the globe.

After a 3-year gap between the first two installments of the tournament, plans were made for the World Baseball Classic to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event. The third installment of the Classic was held in 2013, and the fourth was held in 2017.

History

Japan winning the inaugural World Baseball Classic

Modeled after the FIFA World Cup and organized in large part as a response to the International Olympic Committee's decision to remove baseball as an Olympic sport in 2005, the WBC has grown into a major sporting event worldwide, though to a lesser extent in the United States. In fact, the final series in 2006 and 2009 rank among the highest-rated sporting events in Japanese television history.^[3]

The format for the 2006 tournament featured round-robin group play in the first and second rounds, followed by single-elimination semifinals and finals. The first game in WBC history saw South Korea defeat Chinese Taipei 2-0 before a crowd of 5,193 at the Tokyo Dome on March 3, 2006. South Korea went on to advance to the semifinals with a 6–0 record but was defeated by Japan (which had lost twice to South Korea in the earlier rounds) for a berth in the final game. Meanwhile, Cuba defeated the Dominican Republic for the other berth in the final game. Japan then defeated Cuba 10–6 to be crowned the first champion of the World Baseball Classic.

In the 2009 tournament, the controversial round-robin format from 2006 was replaced by a modified double-elimination format for the first two rounds (the semifinals and final game remained single-elimination). The eight teams advancing from the first round were the same as in 2006, except for a "Cinderella" performance by the Netherlands, which twice defeated the Dominican Republic to reach the second round. In the semifinals, South Korea defeated Venezuela while Japan defeated the United States, and Japan then emerged victorious for the second straight Classic, winning the final game over South Korea 5–3 in 10 innings.

Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the WBC were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth. The other four contested a qualifying round in late 2012, along with 12 additional teams. As a result, two new teams competed for the first time: Brazil and Spain, respectively replacing Panama and South Africa. The round-robin format was brought back for the first-round of the tournament, while the second-round remained double-elimination. The main tournament took place in March 2013 and ended with an all-Caribbean championship game, as the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico, which had upset two-time champion Japan in the semifinals. The Dominican Republic also became the first team to win the tournament with a perfect record (8-0).

The 2017 tournament returned to the format used in 2006, where both the first and second rounds were round-robin, though with the addition of tiebreaker games if needed. Colombia and Israel qualified for the first time, with Israel, using a roster mostly of Jewish American players, able to reach the second round in its WBC debut. Defending champion Dominican Republic extended its WBC winning streak to 11 games, dating to the 2013 tournament, before being eliminated in the second round. The United States won its first WBC championship, defeating Japan and Puerto Rico in the semifinals and finals, respectively. Puerto Rico had been undefeated in the tournament before losing in the final, its second straight runner-up finish.

Qualification

The first two iterations of the Classic featured the same 16 teams, chosen by invitation. A qualifying round was added leading into the 2013 tournament and takes place in the year before the WBC proper. The top 12 finishing teams from each WBC automatically qualify for the next edition, while the four lowest finishers (the teams that finish in last place in their first-round pools) are relegated to the qualifying round to compete against 12 new entrants. Qualifying consists of four four-team modified double-elimination tournaments, with the winners earning the last four slots in the main tournament. The addition of qualifying has allowed four nations (Brazil, Colombia, Israel, and Spain) from outside the original 16 to compete in the WBC.

Results

Year	Final Host		Final				Semifinalists			Number of teams
			Champions	Score	Runners-up		3rd place	4th place
2006 Details	San Diego		Japan	10–6	Cuba		South Korea	Dominican Republic		16
2009 Details	Los Angeles		Japan	5–3 (F/10)	South Korea		Venezuela	United States		16
2013 Details	San Francisco		Dominican Republic	3−0	Puerto Rico		Japan	Netherlands		16
2017 Details	Los Angeles		United States	8−0	Puerto Rico		Japan	Netherlands		16

Medal table

Once the final of each World Baseball Classic concludes, the players of the winning team receive gold medals during the closing ceremony immediately after the losing team receives silver medals. The third place team receives bronze medals at a separate date. The WBC does not hold a third-place playoff, so the ranking of the third- and fourth-placed teams is determined by the WBSC.

Rank	Country	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Japan	2	0	2	4
2	Dominican Republic	1	0	0	1
	United States	1	0	0	1
4	Puerto Rico	0	2	0	2
5	South Korea	0	1	1	2
6	Cuba	0	1	0	1
7	Venezuela	0	0	1	1

Performance of nations

The countries that have participated in WBC showing their highest result achieved, and the countries to participate in the qualifying tournament as of 2016. This does not include placing from the 2017 WBC.

A total of 20 nations have competed in the WBC proper, with 14 teams appearing in all four editions. Japan has been the most successful, as the only nation with multiple WBC titles (2006, 2009), the most wins in WBC play (23), and as the only nation to reach at least the semifinal round in all four editions of the WBC. The Dominican Republic owns the best overall winning percentage in WBC play at .750 (18-6 record), bolstered by its 8-0 mark en route to the 2013 title. A surprising first-round exit in 2009 stands out as the Dominican's only poor showing.

Along with Japan, three other nations have advanced to at least the second round in all four WBCs: Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Despite having access to more MLB talent than any other nation, Team USA posted an underwhelming 10-10 overall record through the first three WBCs, with only one appearance in the semifinals. The Americans broke through in 2017, going 6-2 on their way to their first WBC title. Cuba lived up to its history of strong international play by reaching the championship game of the inaugural WBC in 2006 before losing to Japan. However, Cuba has failed to make a significant mark on the tournament since, making three straight second round exits and going just 2-7 in second round games since 2009. Meanwhile, Caribbean rival Puerto Rico made consecutive appearances in the WBC finals in 2013 and 2017, albeit losing both, and stood second to Japan for the most WBC wins (20) after the 2017 tournament.

The Netherlands, South Korea, and Venezuela have been other countries to reach the championship round. Other teams to have reached the second round at least once are Chinese Taipei, Israel, Italy, and Mexico. Conversely, of the 14 teams to appear in all four tournaments, three have never made the second round: Australia, Canada, and China.

Honors

Most Valuable Player

The most significant award for individual performance during the tournament is the Most Valuable Player Award. Whichever player wins it receives a trophy after the final. The inaugural winner of the award in 2006 was Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka, who pitched 13 innings and finished with a 3–0 record. Soon after this performance, Matsuzaka received a multi–million dollar contract to join the Boston Red Sox of America's Major League Baseball.^[4] Again in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Matsuzaka received the world classic MVP, finishing with a record of 3–0 and an ERA of 2.54. In 2013, Robinson Canó won MVP after hitting .469 with two home runs and six RBI over the course of the tournament.^[5] Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman took home the award in 2017 for the United States. Stroman posted a 2.35 ERA over three starts and no-hit Puerto Rico through six innings in an 8-0 win in the Finals.^[6]

Year	Player	Position	Nationality
2006	Matsuzaka, DaisukeDaisuke Matsuzaka	Starting pitcher	Japan
2009	Matsuzaka, DaisukeDaisuke Matsuzaka	Starting pitcher	Japan
2013	Canó, RobinsonRobinson Canó	Second baseman	Dominican Republic
2017	Stroman, MarcusMarcus Stroman	Starting pitcher	United States

All–WBC teams

At the end of each edition of the World Baseball Classic, an all-star team is selected based on their play in the tournament. Three pitchers, eight other position players (one each at each position, including three outfielders), and a designated hitter are named to the team. In the four editions of the Classic thus far, players representing 10 different countries have been named to an All-WBC team, with Japan and Puerto Rico leading the way with nine representatives each.

• 2006 All–WBC Team
• 2009 All–WBC Team
• 2013 All–WBC Team
• 2017 All–WBC Team

Statistical leaders

All-time WBC individual leaders in various statistical categories through the end of the 2017 tournament, excluding qualifier games.^[7]

Batting Statistic Player Total Hits Frederich Cepeda 32 Home runs Alfredo Despaigne 7 Runs batted in Frederich Cepeda 23 Runs scored Frederich Cepeda 19 Doubles Frederich Cepeda Justin Morneau 8 Triples Yoenis Cespedes 3 Strikeouts Carlos Beltran 20 Stolen bases Tsuyoshi Nishioka Jimmy Rollins Ichiro Suzuki 5 Games played Carlos Beltran 28 At-bats Carlos Beltran 95

Pitching Statistic Player Total Wins Daisuke Matsuzaka 6 Losses Hung-wen Chen 3 Games Fernando Rodney 15 Starts Daisuke Matsuzaka Edinson Volquez 6 Saves Fernando Rodney 8 Innings pitched Diegomar Markwell 28.0 Hits allowed Diegomar Markwell 30 Runs allowed Barry Armitage 14 Earned runs allowed Barry Armitage David Bergman 12 Walks Edinson Volquez 11 Strikeouts Daisuke Matsuzaka 23

Trophy

The winning team of each world baseball classic is rewarded a large silver trophy as its primary recognition. The two trophies earned by Japan during the inaugural and second classics have been on display at the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.

Rules of play

In addition to the standard rules of baseball, the World Baseball Classic employs the following additional rules:

Pitch counts

A pitcher cannot pitch more than:

• 85 pitches per game in the Qualifying Round (all tournaments since 2013, when this round was introduced)
• 65 pitches per game in the First Round (all tournaments except 2009, in which the limit was 70)
• 80 pitches per game in the Second Round (all tournaments except 2009, in which the limit was 85)
• 95 pitches per game in the Championship Round (all tournaments except 2009, in which the limit was 100)

A pitcher can still finish a batter's plate appearance even if the limit is reached, but must come out after completing the plate appearance.

A pitcher cannot pitch 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

Mercy rules

Games are called if one team is ahead by:

-10 or more runs after any complete inning, beginning with the completion of the seventh inning, or;

-15 or more runs after any complete inning, beginning with the completion of the fifth inning^[8]

Mercy rules do not apply during the championship round.

Designated hitter

The designated hitter rule applies for all games.^[9]

Extra innings

Starting with the 11th inning, teams automatically start with runners on first and second base.^[10] These are the players in the two batting order positions previous to the leadoff batter for the inning.

Video replay review

During the first and second rounds, video review is available only for "boundary" calls, such as determining whether a potential home run ball was fair or foul, did or did not clear the fence, or was interfered with by a fan. Such reviews can only be initiated by the umpires and cannot be requested by the teams. For the championship round, video review is available for all situations it would be during a Major League Baseball regular season game.

Run differential

Unlike regular season play, where the number of runs by which a team wins a game is not relevant, the number of runs by which a WBC team wins may be relevant if a tie later develops in the standings. This caused problems during the 2013 WBC, where one game spawned a bench-clearing brawl between the Canadian and Mexican teams (Canadian hitter Chris Robinson had bunted for a base hit after Canada had already taken a large lead, causing Mexican pitcher Arnold Leon to throw three consecutive pitches at the next hitter, Rene Tosoni).

Eligibility and participation

Eligibility

A player is eligible to participate on a World Baseball Classic team if any one of the following criteria is met:^[11]

• The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents.
• The player is qualified for citizenship or to hold a passport under the laws of a nation represented by a team, but has not been granted citizenship or been issued a passport; in this case, the player may be made eligible by WBCI upon petition by the player or team.
• The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the nation the team represents.
• The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents.^[12]

Player participation

In 2006, many high caliber players from both Major League Baseball and in leagues around the world participated in the World Baseball Classic. Amongst the players that made the All–WBC team were Americans Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. From Japan, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Ichiro Suzuki and Tomoya Satozaki were on the team. Other internationals included players from Cuba—Yulieski Gourriel, Yoandy Garlobo and Yadel Martí; and from the Dominican Republic—Albert Pujols, Pedro Martínez and José Bautista. The 2009 Classic saw a similarly high-profile field, with a number of players such as Hall of Famers Pedro Martínez and Iván Rodríguez, plus potential future Hall of Famer Chipper Jones and the major international debuts of Cuba's Yoenis Céspedes and Aroldis Chapman.

For the 2013 tournament, many high-profile players decided not to participate, including key players from the 2009 Japanese team such as Yu Darvish, Ichiro, and Hisashi Iwakuma. However, other prominent players came, such as Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, R.A. Dickey, Joey Votto, Adrian Gonzalez, Robinson Canó, and José Reyes, among many others.

In 2017, former All-Stars such as Adam Jones, Chris Archer, Buster Posey, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew McCutchen and others played for the United States. For the Dominican Republic, former All-Stars Adrián Beltré, Robinson Canó, Manny Machado, José Reyes, Edinson Vólquez, and more participated. Adrián González played once more for Mexico, and Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltrán represented Puerto Rico alongside up-and-coming stars such as Javier Báez, Carlos Correa, and Francisco Lindor. Venezuela's roster included José Altuve and Miguel Cabrera.

Involvement of professional leagues

The tournament was announced in May 2005 by Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig.^[13] Major League Baseball had been attempting to create such a tournament for at least two years; negotiations with the players' union (MLBPA) and with the team owners had held the plan back. Owners, notably New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, had been concerned about their star players being injured in international play before the beginning of spring training, and the professional season. This was a concern for the MLBPA as well, but their primary objection was with drug testing. MLB wanted the stricter Olympic standards in place for the tournament, while the union wanted current MLB standards in place. Eventually, a deal was reached on insurance for player contracts and a fairly tough drug testing standard. MLB teams would not be able to directly block their players from participating.

Similarly, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and its players' association had a disagreement over participation in the tournament. While the owners initially agreed to the invitation, the players' union was concerned about the time of year the tournament was scheduled to take place, as well as their right to be better represented for the 2009 tournament. On September 16, 2005, after four months of negotiations, NPB officially notified the IBAF and MLB they had accepted the invitation. In September 2012, after having threatened to boycott the event despite its domestic popularity,^[14] Japanese players agreed to take part after reaching a compromise with tournament organizers on sharing sponsorship and licensing revenue.^[15]

Coverage

Though the first two World Baseball Classic finals were shown on ESPN in the United States, the entire 2013 tournament was shown exclusively on MLB Network domestically.^[16] MLB Network also had the television rights for the 2017 Classic. Also at the moment, ESPN Deportes provides Spanish-language coverage and ESPN Radio has audio rights for the Classic.^[17] Sportsnet is the current broadcaster in Canada while ESPN America covers the tournament for the United Kingdom, Ireland and other parts of Europe.

The first qualifier round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic aired in the United States and Puerto Rico on the MLB Network; and in Australia, New Zealand, and selected surrounding islands on ESPN.^[18]

Attendance

Wikimedia Commons has media related to World Baseball Classic.

Excluding qualifier games.

Venues

Unlike comparable tournaments the FIFA World Cup and FIBA Basketball World Cup where one country hosts the entire event, each WBC has used multiple hosts spread around different parts of the globe. Thus far, seven different nations have hosted at least one WBC pool, with each edition of the tournament featuring games played in Asia, Latin America, and the United States. The championship round is traditionally held at Major League Baseball stadiums in the US.

Host cities are listed with the number of WBC rounds they have hosted in parenthesis. Each year is then listed along with the round hosted: 1st, 2nd, or Championship.

Tokyo, Japan (5): 2006 1, 2009 1, 2013 2, 2017 1, 2017 2
San Juan, Puerto Rico (4): 2006 1, 2006 2, 2009 1, 2013 1
San Diego, California, United States (3): 2006 C, 2009 2, 2017 2
Miami, Florida, United States (3): 2009 2, 2013 2, 2017 1
Los Angeles, California, United States (2): 2009 C, 2017 C
Phoenix, Arizona, and Scottsdale, Arizona, United States (2): 2006 1, 2013 1
San Francisco, California, United States (1): 2013 C
Anaheim, California, United States (1): 2006 2
Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States (1): 2006 1
Mexico City, Mexico (1): 2009 1
Toronto, Ontario, Canada (1): 2009 1
Fukuoka, Japan (1): 2013 1
Taichung, Taiwan (1): 2013 1
Seoul, South Korea (1): 2017 1
Guadalajara, Mexico (1): 2017 1

See also

• Baseball awards § World

References

External links

• Official website
• Results, Rosters & Stats

World Baseball Classic
Tournaments	2006 2009 2013 2017
Qualification	2006 2009 2013 2017
Finals	2006 2009 2013 2017
Rosters	2006 2009 2013 2017
Records and statistics	Team appearances

International baseball
WBSC (former governing body: IBAF) World Rankings Teams
WBSC Events	World Baseball Classic WBSC Premier12 U23 World Cup U18 World Cup U15 World Cup U12 World Cup Women's Baseball World Cup
Minor World Events	Grand Forks International Haarlem Baseball Week Summer Universiade World Baseball Challenge World Port Tournament World University
Defunct World Events	Baseball at the Summer Olympics World Games Baseball World Cup Intercontinental Cup Women's Baseball World Series
Africa	African Baseball & Softball Association – All-Africa Games
Americas	Pan American Baseball Confederation – Pan American Games America Cup Caribbean Series Central American and Caribbean Games South American Games
Asia	Baseball Federation of Asia – Asian Championship Asian Games Junior (under 18) Southeast Asian Games SAARC Baseball Championship Asia Series
Europe	Confederation of European Baseball – European Championship European Cup "Final Four" Under-21 Junior (under 18) Youth (under 16) Juveniles (under 12)
Oceania	Baseball Confederation of Oceania – Oceania Championship Pacific Games