New York, NY (Sports Network) - Japan, Puerto Rico and Taiwan were revealed as
international venues for the 2013 World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, with
World Baseball Classic, Inc. also announcing the dates and pool groups for the
event.
Those sites join San Francisco, Miami and Phoenix, which were all previously
declared as host cities by the tournament organizers. The semifinals and final
will be held at San Francisco's AT&T Park from March 17-19.
Japan, which has hosted a first-round pool at the Tokyo Dome in each of the
previous editions of the WBC, will hold the Pool A competition at the Fukuoka
Yahoo! Japan Dome in Fukuoka from March 2-6.
Joining Japan in Pool A will be China, Cuba (pending license approval) and a
yet-to-be-determined qualifying nation.
The Tokyo Dome will host second-round games from March 8-12, in which the top
two finishers of both Pool A and Pool B will advance to that part of the
bracket.
Pool B will take place at Intercontinental Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan --
which will be making its WBC debut as a host city -- between March 2-5, with
Australia, Korea, the Netherlands and a qualifier participating in that
segment.
San Juan will serve as a WBC host for the third consecutive time, with Pool C
to be held at Hiram Bithorn Stadium from March 7-10. Along with Puerto Rico,
that grouping will consist of the Dominican Republic and Venezuela as well as
a qualifying nation.
The United States will be part of Pool D and compete at Chase Field and Salt
River Fields at Talking Stick from March 7-10, with Italy, Mexico and
another qualifier also included in that division.
The top two teams out of both Pools C and D will move on to the second round,
which will be held at Miami's Marlins Park between March 12-16.
Spain and Canada have earned two of the four qualifying spots and will be
assigned to a pool at the conclusion of qualifying tournaments that will take
place in New Taipei City, Taiwan (Nov. 15-18) and Panama City (Nov. 15-19).
Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, the Philippines and Thailand will participate in
the Taiwan qualifier, with Panama hosting Brazil, Colombia and Nicaragua for
the other remaining berth.
The Sports Network