2006 World Baseball Classic

2006 World Baseball Classic
2006 World Baseball Classic Logo
Dates March 3 to 20, 2006
Teams 16
Finals
Finals host(s) PETCO Park, San Diego, California
Championship game R H E
 Japan 10 10 3
 Cuba 6 11 1
9 innings
Semifinalists  South Korea
 Dominican Republic
Round 2
Pool 1 host(s) Angel Stadium, Anaheim, California
Pool 2 host(s) Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Round 1
Pool A host(s) Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan
Pool B host(s) Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale, Arizona
Pool C host(s) Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Pool D host(s) Cracker Jack Stadium, Lake Buena Vista, Florida
Tournament statistics
Games played 39
Total attendance 737,112 (avg. 18,900; pct. 67.3%)
Tournament MVP Japan Daisuke Matsuzaka
Countries that participated

The 2006 World Baseball Classic was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 – March 20 in stadiums that are in and around ; ; ; ; ; ; and . Japan, led by Sadaharu Oh, became the first champions.

Contents

Format

The first World Baseball Classic featured 16 teams in a round-robin. Each team played the other three teams in their pool once. Teams will be ranked by winning percentage in Round 1, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to Round 2, where the teams from Pools A and B (in Pool 1) and the teams from Pools C and D (in Pool 2) competed against each other in another round-robin.

Teams will be ranked by winning percentage in Round 2, without regard to the results of Round 1, with the top two teams from each pool entered a four-team single-elimination bracket, with the pool winners and runners-up from each pool facing each other in the Semifinals. The winners of the Semifinals then met to determine the World Baseball Classic Champions.

In the Final, the Team with the higher winning percentage of games in the Tournament shall be the home team. If the Teams competing in the Final have identical winning percentages in the tournament, then WBCI shall conduct a coin flip or draw to determine the home team.

In Round 1 and 2, ties shall be broken in the following order of priority:
1. The winner of head-to-head games between the tied teams;
2. The team allowing the fewest runs per nine innings (RA/9) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
3. The team allowing the fewest earned runs per nine innings (ERA) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
4. The team with the highest highest batting average (AVG) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
5. Drawing of lots, conducted by WBCI.

In Final Standings, ties shall be broken in the following order of priority:
1. The team allowing the fewest runs per nine innings (RA/9) in all games;
2. The team allowing the fewest earned runs per nine innings (ERA) in all games;
3. The team with the highest highest batting average (AVG) in all games;

Note: Standings and Tiebreaking Procedures are based on International Baseball Federation rules.

Rosters

Each participating national federation initially submitted a 45-man provisional roster. Final rosters of 28 players, which also must include a minimum of 13 pitchers and two catchers, were later submitted. If a player on the submitted roster was unable to play, usually due to injury, he could be substituted at any time before the start of the tournament.

Venues

A game on Mar. 13, 2006, Angel Stadium, Anaheim, USA

Eight stadia were used during the tournament:

Pool A – Tokyo Pool B – Phoenix Pool B – Scottsdale Pool C – San Juan
Tokyo Dome Chase Field Scottsdale Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium
Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 49,033 Capacity: 8,500 Capacity: 18,000
TokyoDome GiantsFighters.jpg We had great seats!.jpg No Image Available Hiram Bithorn Stadium 1.JPG
Pool D – Lake Buena Vista Pool 1 – Anaheim Pool 2 – San Juan Finals – San Diego
Cracker Jack Stadium Angel Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium PETCO Park
Capacity: 9,500 Capacity: 45,037 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 42,445
Home Of The Braves.jpg Angel Stadium of Anaheim.jpg Hiram Bithorn Stadium 1.JPG Petco Park Interior.JPG

Pools composition

The teams selected for the inaugural World Baseball Classic were chosen because they were judged to be the "best baseball-playing nations in the world and provide global representation for the event."[1] There was no official qualifying competition.

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
 China  Canada  Cuba  Australia
 Chinese Taipei  Mexico  Netherlands  Dominican Republic
 Japan  South Africa  Panama  Italy
 South Korea  United States  Puerto Rico  Venezuela

Round 1

Pool A

Rk Team W L Tiebreaker
1  South Korea 3 0 –
2  Japan 2 1 –
3  Chinese Taipei 1 2 –
4  China 0 3 –
March 3, 2006 South Korea  2 – 0  Chinese Taipei Tokyo Dome, Japan
Attendance: 5,193
Boxscore
March 3, 2006 Japan  18 – 2 (F/8)  China Tokyo Dome, Japan
Attendance: 15,869
Boxscore
March 4, 2006 China  1 – 10  South Korea Tokyo Dome, Japan
Attendance: 3,925
Boxscore
March 4, 2006 Japan  14 – 3 (F/7)  Chinese Taipei Tokyo Dome, Japan
Attendance: 31,047
Boxscore
March 5, 2006 Chinese Taipei  12 – 3  China Tokyo Dome, Japan
Attendance: 4,577
Boxscore
March 5, 2006 South Korea  3 – 2  Japan Tokyo Dome, Japan
Attendance: 40,353
Boxscore

Pool B

Rk Team W L Tiebreaker
1  Mexico 2 1 1–1, 1.59 RA/9
2  United States 2 1 1–1, 4.00 RA/9
3  Canada 2 1 1–1, 7.50 RA/9
4  South Africa 0 3 –
March 7, 2006 Mexico  0 – 2  United States Chase Field, Arizona
Attendance: 32,727
Boxscore
March 7, 2006 Canada  11 – 8  South Africa Scottsdale Stadium, Arizona
Attendance: 5,829
Boxscore
March 8, 2006 Canada  8 – 6  United States Chase Field, Arizona
Attendance: 16,993
Boxscore
March 8, 2006 South Africa  4 – 10  Mexico Scottsdale Stadium, Arizona
Attendance: 7,937
Boxscore
March 9, 2006 Mexico  9 – 1  Canada Chase Field, Arizona
Attendance: 15,744
Boxscore
March 10, 2006 United States  17 – 0 (F/5)  South Africa Scottsdale Stadium, Arizona
Attendance: 11,975
Boxscore

Pool C

Rk Team W L Tiebreaker
1  Puerto Rico 3 0 –
2  Cuba 2 1 –
3  Netherlands 1 2 –
4  Panama 0 3 –
March 7, 2006 Panama  1 – 2  Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 19,043
Boxscore
March 8, 2006 Cuba  8 – 6 (F/11)  Panama Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 6,129
Boxscore
March 8, 2006 Puerto Rico  8 – 3  Netherlands Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 15,570
Boxscore
March 9, 2006 Cuba  11 – 2  Netherlands Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 7,657
Boxscore
March 10, 2006 Netherlands  10 – 0 (F/7)  Panama Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 6,337
Boxscore
March 10, 2006 Puerto Rico  12 – 2 (F/7)  Cuba Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 19,736
Boxscore

Pool D

Rk Team W L Tiebreaker
1  Dominican Republic 3 0 –
2  Venezuela 2 1 –
3  Italy 1 2 –
4  Australia 0 3 –
March 7, 2006 Dominican Republic  11 – 5  Venezuela Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida
Attendance: 10,645
Boxscore
March 7, 2006 Australia  0 – 10 (F/7)  Italy Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida
Attendance: 8,099
Boxscore
March 8, 2006 Italy  0 – 6  Venezuela Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida
Attendance: 10,101
Boxscore
March 9, 2006 Italy  3 – 8  Dominican Republic Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida
Attendance: 9,949
Boxscore
March 9, 2006 Venezuela  2 – 0  Australia Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida
Attendance: 10,111
Boxscore
March 10, 2006 Australia  4 – 6  Dominican Republic Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida
Attendance: 11,083
Boxscore

Round 2

Pool 1

Rk Team W L Tiebreaker
1  South Korea 3 0 –
2  Japan 1 2 1–1, 2.55 RA/9
3  United States 1 2 1–1, 2.65 RA/9
4  Mexico 1 2 1–1, 3.50 RA/9
March 12, 2006 Japan  3 – 4  United States Angel Stadium, California
Attendance: 32,896
Boxscore
March 12, 2006 Mexico  1 – 2  South Korea Angel Stadium, California
Attendance: 42,979
Boxscore
March 13, 2006 United States  3 – 7  South Korea Angel Stadium, California
Attendance: 21,288
Boxscore
March 14, 2006 Japan  6 – 1  Mexico Angel Stadium, California
Attendance: 16,591
Boxscore
March 15, 2006 South Korea  2 – 1  Japan Angel Stadium, California
Attendance: 39,679
Boxscore
March 16, 2006 United States  1 – 2  Mexico Angel Stadium, California
Attendance: 38,284
Boxscore

Pool 2

Rk Team W L Tiebreaker
1  Dominican Republic 2 1 1–0
2  Cuba 2 1 0–1
3  Venezuela 1 2 1–0
4  Puerto Rico 1 2 0–1
March 12, 2006 Cuba  7 – 2  Venezuela Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 13,697
Boxscore
March 12, 2006 Puerto Rico  7 – 1  Dominican Republic Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 19,692
Boxscore
March 13, 2006 Dominican Republic  7 – 3  Cuba Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 6,594
Boxscore
March 13, 2006 Venezuela  6 – 0  Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 19,400
Boxscore
March 14, 2006 Venezuela  1 – 2  Dominican Republic Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 13,007
Boxscore
March 15, 2006 Cuba  4 – 3  Puerto Rico Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico
Attendance: 19,773
Boxscore

Finals

  Semifinals Final
                 
2R   Cuba 3  
2W   Dominican Republic 1  
    SF1W   Cuba 6
  SF2W   Japan 10
1R   Japan 6
1W   South Korea 0  
March 18, 2006 Cuba  3 – 1  Dominican Republic PETCO Park, California
Attendance: 41,268
Boxscore
March 18, 2006 Japan  6 – 0  South Korea PETCO Park, California
Attendance: 42,639
Boxscore
March 20, 2006 Japan  10 – 6  Cuba PETCO Park, California
Attendance: 42,696
Boxscore

Final standings

Rk Team W L Tiebreaker
1  Japan 5 3 –
Lost in Final
2  Cuba 5 3 –
Lost in Semifinals
3  South Korea 6 1 –
4  Dominican Republic 5 2 –
Failed to qualify for Semifinals
5  Puerto Rico 4 2 –
6  Mexico 3 3 2.77 RA/9
7  Venezuela 3 3 3.40 RA/9
8  United States 3 3 3.75 RA/9
Failed to qualify for Round 2
9  Canada 2 1 –
10  Italy 1 2 5.48 RA/9
11  Netherlands 1 2 6.84 RA/9, 6.48 ERA
12  Chinese Taipei 1 2 6.84 RA/9, 6.84 ERA
13  Australia 0 3 6.85 RA/9
14  Panama 0 3 6.92 RA/9
15  China 0 3 14.40 RA/9
16  South Africa 0 3 15.55 RA/9
 2006 World Baseball Classic Champions 

Japan
First title
Championship Trophy

Attendance

737,112 (avg. 18,900; pct. 67.3%)

Round 1

326,629 (avg. 13,609; pct. 55.4%)

Round 2

283,880 (avg. 23,656; pct. 75.1%)

Finals

126,603 (avg. 42,201; pct. 99.4%)

All-WBC team

Position Player
C Japan Tomoya Satozaki
1B South Korea Seung-Yeop Lee
2B Cuba Yulieski Gourriel
SS United States Derek Jeter
3B Dominican Republic Adrián Beltré
OF United States Ken Griffey, Jr.
South Korea Jong-Beom Lee
Japan Ichiro Suzuki
DH Cuba Yoandy Garlobo
P Cuba Yadel Martí
Japan Daisuke Matsuzaka
South Korea Chan Ho Park

Statistics

Team Batting

Ordered by batting average [1]

Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI TB BB SO SB CS OBP SLG AVG OPS
 Japan 8 270 60 84 9 3 10 57 129 32 39 13 2 .390 .478 .311 .868
 United States 6 197 33 57 7 2 9 32 95 19 26 1 1 .359 .482 .289 .841
 Puerto Rico 6 203 32 58 9 0 8 31 91 24 34 7 3 .365 .448 .286 .813
 Cuba 8 279 44 79 12 1 8 41 117 24 51 3 4 .357 .419 .283 .776
 Canada 3 104 20 29 10 4 2 17 53 23 24 2 2 .419 .510 .279 .928
 Netherlands 3 102 15 27 3 0 0 11 30 11 22 0 0 .342 .294 .265 .636
 Chinese Taipei 3 102 15 27 9 0 1 11 39 7 21 3 1 .342 .382 .265 .724
 Dominican Republic 7 23 36 61 8 0 9 28 96 33 33 6 4 .364 .412 .262 .776
 South Africa 3 87 12 22 3 1 0 11 27 7 34 0 2 .330 .310 .253 .640
 South Korea 7 218 26 53 13 1 6 26 86 16 51 2 0 .305 .394 .243 .699
 Mexico 6 189 23 44 11 1 5 21 72 15 36 2 0 .292 .381 .233 .673
 Italy 3 95 13 19 8 2 2 13 37 11 24 0 0 .290 .389 .200 .679
 Venezuela 6 188 22 35 6 0 7 20 62 35 40 2 1 .323 .330 .186 .653
 China 3 92 6 17 4 0 2 5 27 9 33 0 2 .286 .293 .185 .579
 Panama 3 91 7 15 3 0 1 7 21 10 16 0 1 .276 .231 .165 .507
 Australia 3 80 4 9 2 0 0 3 11 7 32 3 2 .191 .138 .113 .329

Batting Leaders

(minimum 2.7 plate appearances/game) [2]

Batting Average

Hits

Runs

Doubles

Triples

Home Runs

Grand Slams

Runs Batted In

Total Bases

Walks

Strikeouts

Stolen Bases

On-Base Percentage

Slugging Percentage

OPS

Team Pitching

Ordered by ERA [3]

Team W L ERA G CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR HB BB SO WHIP HLD GF
 South Korea 6 1 2.00 7 0 1 4 63.0 45 14 14 7 4 18 50 1.00 8 7
 Puerto Rico 4 2 2.08 6 0 0 1 52.0 33 17 12 3 5 22 28 1.06 5 6
 Japan 5 3 2.49 8 0 1 2 68.2 52 21 19 7 8 11 62 0.92 3 8
 Dominican Republic 5 2 2.57 7 0 0 3 63.0 56 26 18 3 4 23 53 1.25 6 7
 Mexico 3 3 2.77 6 0 0 1 52.0 41 16 16 4 3 17 37 1.12 4 6
 Venezuela 3 3 3.06 6 0 3 1 53.0 39 20 18 6 0 20 55 1.11 7 6
 United States 3 3 3.75 6 0 2 1 48.0 43 20 20 4 3 17 48 1.25 4 6
 Cuba 5 3 4.13 8 0 0 4 72.0 66 43 33 7 6 41 51 1.49 2 8
 Italy 1 2 4.30 3 0 1 0 23.0 21 14 11 4 2 8 16 1.26 0 3
 Panama 0 3 5.19 3 0 0 0 26.0 33 20 15 2 5 13 17 1.77 0 3
 Netherlands 1 2 6.48 3 1 1 0 25.0 30 19 18 5 3 8 14 1.52 0 2
 Chinese Taipei 1 2 6.84 3 0 0 0 25.0 31 19 19 1 2 14 22 1.80 0 3
 Australia 0 3 6.85 3 0 0 0 23.2 24 18 18 3 2 26 16 2.11 0 3
 Canada 2 1 7.33 3 0 0 2 27.0 32 23 22 3 3 13 18 1.67 2 3
 China 0 3 9.72 3 0 0 0 25.0 48 40 27 6 4 10 16 2.32 0 3
 South Africa 0 3 13.50 3 0 0 0 22.0 42 38 33 5 2 22 13 2.91 0 3

Pitching Leaders

(minimum 0.8 innings pitched/game) [4]

Wins

Losses

Saves

Innings Pitched

Hits Allowed

Runs Allowed

Earned Runs Allowed

ERA

Walks

Strikeouts

WHIP

No-hitter

Additional rules

There were several rule changes from normal major league play. Pitchers were held to a pitch count of 65 pitches in the first round, 80 pitches in the second round, and 95 in the semifinals and championship rounds. (Netherlands pitcher Shairon Martis used exactly 65 pitches to throw the only no-hitter of the tournament, a 10-0 win over Panama that was stopped by the mercy rule [see below].) If a pitcher reached his maximum pitch count in the middle of an at-bat, he could continue to pitch to that batter, but was required to be replaced once that at-bat ended. A 30-pitch outing needed to be followed by one day off, and a 50-pitch outing by four days off. No one would be allowed to pitch on three consecutive days.

The 2006 champions gold medal.

A mercy rule came into effect when one team lead by either fifteen runs after five innings, or ten runs after seven innings in the first two rounds. In addition, ties could be called after fourteen innings of play.

The designated hitter rule was in place for all games.

Controversies

Format

South Korea completed the first two rounds undefeated (6-0) but was still forced to play Japan, a team it had already beaten twice, in the semifinal round. South Korea lost the match and subsequently was placed 3rd, despite the fact that South Korea's final standings were 6-1, with the most wins. Other international sporting competitions, such as the FIFA World Cup, are formatted so as to make it impossible that teams play each other three times. They can only face twice at most - in round robin group play and then again for the championship or 3rd-place match. In addition, the regional grouping of teams was called into question, for the groups were perceived to be unevenly distributed, and the four-team pool system and subsequent three-way tiebreakers were widely seen as awkward.

Umpires

Tournament organizers were unable to reach an agreement with the MLB umpires' union and so the Classic was overseen by umpires from the minor leagues. American umpire Bob Davidson made controversial calls at critical moments in two different games that benefited the American team.

Republic of China (Taiwan)

The Republic of China baseball team was originally listed as "Taiwan" and bearing the ROC national flag, but following pressure from the People's Republic of China the listing was later changed to Chinese Taipei with the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag.

Drug Testing

The World Anti-Doping Agency criticized IBAF's drug testing program and threatened to withdraw sanction of the event.[5] South Korean pitcher Myung-Hwan Park tested positive for a banned substance during the event, and he was subsequently kicked out of the WBC.[6]. Venezuelan pitcher Freddy Garcia tested positive for marijuana.

Team Cuba

In an effort to enforce the United States government's embargo on Cuba, the Cuban team was initially denied a license to play in the United States.[2] Puerto Rico threatened to pull out as hosts,[3] IBAF said they would rescind its sanctioning of the tournament,[4] and the IOC suggested that such a development would influence the ability of American cities to successfully bid to host future Olympic Games.[5] As a result, financing was restructured and the U.S. government withdrew their opposition.[6]

Player participation

A number of Major League baseball players chose not to participate, some backing out at the last minute. Without players such as Barry Bonds, Vladimir Guerrero (who pulled out because 3 cousins died in a car accident right before World Baseball Classic), Manny Ramírez, Hideki Matsui, and José Vidro, some questioned whether the event would be credible. Cuba barred players such as Orlando Hernández, his half-brother Liván Hernández, and José Contreras, from its team, Cubans who had previously defected. Italy was criticized for a roster made up almost entirely of second-generation Italian Americans such as Mike Piazza.

Success of tournament

Many members of the United States press were skeptical of the Classic since its inception. The event proved to be quite popular, however, providing many memorable moments including a first round game between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Attendance was higher than expected at several sites, including the 18,000-seat Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, which was sold out for every Puerto Rico game in the first two rounds. Though international ratings figures are not yet available, viewership is expected to be high, ESPN spokeswoman Diane Lamb said. In addition, there were 4,000 media credentials issued — more than the World Series — which bodes well for the stated goal of internationalizing the sport. Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci reported that "more merchandise was sold in the first round than organizers projected for the entire 17-day event." [7] He also reported that, at one point, jerseys for the Venezuelan team were selling at the rate of one every six seconds.

The U.S. television ratings on ESPN were stronger than initially expected, drawing in more than one million television sets for some games, more than almost any other ESPN program in the month of March. This occurred despite less than stellar airing times for the games. Most were not aired live but taped, and sometimes with innings cut, as the WBC was organized well after ESPN had committed to much of its programming. These ratings all but assure the next WBC, in 2009, will be awarded more live broadcasts during prime time.

Outside the U.S. the tournament was very successful. In Latin America, a first round game between the United States and Mexico, was the third most watched game in the history of ESPN Dos, one of the three Spanish-language channels of ESPN in Latin America.

The allocation of earnings

The total earnings of the World Baseball Classic is divided into net profit (53%) and prize money (47%).[8]

Net profit (53%)

Prize money (47%)

See also

References

  1. ↑ "World Baseball Classic:". Archived from the original on 2009-05-16. http://www.webcitation.org/5gpOef5Yj. Retrieved 2009-03-13. 
  2. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2259278
  3. ↑ http://www.primerahora.com/noticia.asp?guid=869CC20D05F8467F93BC93B8D1FF81C4
  4. ↑ "If U.S. bans Cuba, event will no longer be sanctioned". CNN. January 6, 2006. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/john_donovan/01/06/cuba.wbc/. Retrieved April 22, 2010. 
  5. ↑ http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/9099373/2
  6. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclassic2006/news/story?id=2299485

External links

2006 World Baseball Classic
Format
Round 1: Pool A • Pool B • Pool C • Pool D
Round 2: Pool 1 • Pool 2
Finals: Finals
Other
Controversies • Rosters
World Baseball Classic
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