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World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament, featuring Major League players, to be first held in March 2006 and in 2009, as well as every four years thereafter. It is the first international baseball tournament to feature major-league players; the Summer Olympics regularly features college and minor-league players, since it conflicts with the MLB season.
World Baseball Classic - Announcement
The tournament was announced in May 2005. MLB had been attempting to create such a tournament for at least two years; negotiations with the players union and with the owners had held the plan back. Owners, notably Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, had been concerned about their star players being injured in professional play before even spring training begins. This was a concern for the union as well, but their primary objection was with drug testing: MLB wanted the more strenuous Olympic standards in place for the tournament, while the union wanted current MLB standards in place. Eventually the Commissioner's office won out on both issues, with a deal being reached on insurance for player contracts and a fairly tough drug testing standard. MLB teams will not be able to block their players from participating.
Similarly, Nippon Professional Baseball and its players' association had a disagreement about participating 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 when the next tournament is (presumably) held in 2009. After four months of negotiations, NPB officially notified MLB they were accepting the invitation on September 16, 2005.
World Baseball Classic - Cuba
The Cuban National Team announced that they will not allow players who defected to the United States to play in Major League Baseball to play on their team, eliminating big names such as Orlando Hernandez, Jose Contreras, Danys Baez, and Rafael Palmeiro. One former defector, Livan Hernandez, expressed interest in pitching for Puerto Rico, because he owns a house there and the rules allow players to compete for a nation based on permanent residency. On December 14, 2005, it was reported that the United States Treasury Department denied the Cuban National Team a license to play due to the continuing U.S. embargo against Cuba. [1] Major League Baseball says they plan to appeal the decision. The Puerto Rican Baseball Federation has stated that it does not plan to hold games if Cuba is not allowed to participate. [2] On January 6, 2006, the IBAF, Baseball's world governing body, threatened to withdraw its sanctioning of the World Baseball Classic unless the Bush administration allows Cuba to compete. [3] Possibile countries that may replace Cuba, in the event that the 1st decision stands, are Nicaragua and Colombia.
World Baseball Classic - Format
The first World Baseball Classic will feature 16 teams in a round-robin style tournament. The following draw is accurate as of October 7, 2005 with Cuba being the last nation to confirm their participation, recently accepting the invitation on state television.[4]
World Baseball Classic - Pool A
- China
- Japan
- South Korea
- Chinese Taipei
World Baseball Classic - Pool B
- Canada
- Mexico
- South Africa
- United States
World Baseball Classic - Pool C
- Cuba
- The Netherlands
- Panama
- Puerto Rico
World Baseball Classic - Pool D
- Australia
- Dominican Republic
- Italy
- Venezuela
Round One will be played from March 3 to March 11, 2006. Pool A will play their games at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Pool B will play their games at Chase Field and Scottsdale Stadium in the Phoenix area, Pool C will play their games at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Pool D will play their games at Cracker Jack Stadium near Orlando, Florida. Round Two will be played from March 13 to March 15 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California and Hiram Bithorn Stadium. The semifinals on March 18 and the finals on March 20 will be played at PETCO Park in San Diego.
Other related archives2005, 2006, 2009, Anaheim, California, Angel Stadium, Australia, Canada, Chase Field, China, Chinese Taipei, Cracker Jack Stadium, Cuba, Danys Baez, Dominican Republic, George Steinbrenner, Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Japan, Jose Contreras, Livan Hernandez, Major League, March, March 11, March 13, March 15, March 18, March 20, March 3, May, Mexico, Nippon Professional Baseball, October 7, Olympic, Orlando Hernandez, Orlando, Florida, PETCO Park, Panama, Phoenix, Puerto Rico, Rafael Palmeiro, San Diego, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Scottsdale Stadium, September 16, South Korea, Summer Olympics, Tokyo, Tokyo Dome, U.S. embargo against Cuba, United States, United States Treasury Department, Venezuela, Yankees, drug, players union, round-robin, spring training
 Adapted from the Wikipedia article "World Baseball Classic", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki |
