World Baseball Classic

History

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.

In the 2006 tournament, South Korea advanced to the semifinals with an undefeated 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 main tournament took place in March 2013, and ended with the Dominican Republic defeating Puerto Rico in the final. The Dominican Republic also became the first team to win the tournament with a perfect record (8-0). In 2017, Team USA won against Puerto Rico, 8-0. This was the first USA title.

Qualification

The first two iterations of the Classic featured the same sixteen teams. For the 2013 tournament, qualifier rounds were introduced. In the year prior to the tournament, the four worst teams from the previous tournament enter four-team modified double-elimination tournaments with twelve additional teams, with one team from each four-team tournament qualifying to the main tournament.

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.

Performance of nations

The 2006 and 2009 tournaments each had the same 16–team field, chosen by invitation. Beginning with the 2013 tournament, the four last-placed teams from the previous tournament's first round each contested a qualifying round against three new teams. The outcome of this process has been that 14 of the original 16 teams have continued to appear in every tournament. In 2013, Canada and Chinese Taipei re-qualified while Panama and South Africa were respectively replaced by Brazil and Spain. In 2017, Australia and Mexico re-qualified while Brazil and Spain were respectively replaced by Israel and Colombia.

The three countries to have won the tournament are Japan (2006, 2009), the Dominican Republic (2013), and the United States (2017). Other teams to have reached the championship game are Cuba, Puerto Rico, and South Korea. Other teams to have reached the semifinals are the Netherlands and Venezuela. Other teams to have reached the second round are Israel, Italy, Mexico, and Taiwan.

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. 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. Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman took home the award in 2017 for the United States after no-hitting Puerto Rico through six innings in an 8-0 win in the Finals.

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 three editions of the Classic thus far, players representing eight different teams have been named to an All-WBC team, with Japan leading the way with eight representatives.

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:

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:

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

Mercy rules do not apply during the championship round.

Designated hitter

The designated hitter rule applies for all games.

Extra innings

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

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

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

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 Volquez, 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. 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, Japanese players agreed to take part after reaching a compromise with tournament organizers on sharing sponsorship and licensing revenue.

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. MLB Network also has 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. 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.

Attendance

Excluding qualifier games.

Venues

Each host city is listed with the number of WBC rounds it has 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