2006 World Baseball Classic
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| 2006 World Baseball Classic | |||||||||||||||||
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| Dates | March 3 to 20, 2006 | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| Finals | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finals host(s) | PETCO Park, San Diego, California | ||||||||||||||||
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| Semifinalists | |||||||||||||||||
| 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 |
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| 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 | |||||||||||||||||
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 Tokyo, Japan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Phoenix, Arizona, Scottsdale, Arizona, Anaheim, California and San Diego, California). Japan, led by Sadaharu Oh, became the first champions.
Contents |
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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.
[edit] Venues
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 |
| No Image Available | |||
| 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 |
[edit] Teams and Pools
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
[edit] Round 1
[edit] Pool A
| Rk | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 0 | - | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | - | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | - | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | - |
| March 3, 2006 | South Korea |
2 – 0 Boxscore |
Tokyo Dome, Japan Attendance: 5,193 |
| March 3, 2006 | Japan |
18 – 2 (F/8) Boxscore |
Tokyo Dome, Japan Attendance: 15,869 |
| March 4, 2006 | China |
1 – 10 Boxscore |
Tokyo Dome, Japan Attendance: 3,925 |
| March 4, 2006 | Japan |
14 – 3 (F/7) Boxscore |
Tokyo Dome, Japan Attendance: 31,047 |
| March 5, 2006 | Chinese Taipei |
12 – 3 Boxscore |
Tokyo Dome, Japan Attendance: 4,577 |
| March 5, 2006 | South Korea |
3 – 2 Boxscore |
Tokyo Dome, Japan Attendance: 40,353 |
[edit] Pool B
| Rk | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1-1, 1.59 RA/9 | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 1-1, 4.00 RA/9 | |
| 3 | 2 | 1 | 1-1, 7.50 RA/9 | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | - |
| March 7, 2006 | Mexico |
0 – 2 Boxscore |
Chase Field, Arizona Attendance: 32,727 |
| March 7, 2006 | Canada |
11 – 8 Boxscore |
Scottsdale Stadium, Arizona Attendance: 5,829 |
| March 8, 2006 | Canada |
8 – 6 Boxscore |
Chase Field, Arizona Attendance: 16,993 |
| March 8, 2006 | South Africa |
4 – 10 Boxscore |
Scottsdale Stadium, Arizona Attendance: 7,937 |
| March 9, 2006 | Mexico |
9 – 1 Boxscore |
Chase Field, Arizona Attendance: 15,744 |
| March 10, 2006 | United States |
17 – 0 (F/5) Boxscore |
Scottsdale Stadium, Arizona Attendance: 11,975 |
[edit] Pool C
| Rk | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 0 | - | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | - | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | - | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | - |
| March 7, 2006 | Panama |
1 – 2 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 19,043 |
| March 8, 2006 | Cuba |
8 – 6 (F/11) Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 6,129 |
| March 8, 2006 | Puerto Rico |
8 – 3 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 15,570 |
| March 9, 2006 | Cuba |
11 – 2 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 7,657 |
| March 10, 2006 | Netherlands |
10 – 0 (F/7) Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 6,337 |
| March 10, 2006 | Puerto Rico |
12 – 2 (F/7) Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 19,736 |
[edit] Pool D
| Rk | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 0 | - | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | - | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | - | |
| 4 | 0 | 3 | - |
| March 7, 2006 | Dominican Republic |
11 – 5 Boxscore |
Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida Attendance: 10,645 |
| March 7, 2006 | Australia |
0 – 10 (F/7) Boxscore |
Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida Attendance: 8,099 |
| March 8, 2006 | Italy |
0 – 6 Boxscore |
Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida Attendance: 10,101 |
| March 9, 2006 | Italy |
3 – 8 Boxscore |
Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida Attendance: 9,949 |
| March 9, 2006 | Venezuela |
2 – 0 Boxscore |
Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida Attendance: 10,111 |
| March 10, 2006 | Australia |
4 – 6 Boxscore |
Cracker Jack Stadium, Florida Attendance: 11,083 |
[edit] Round 2
[edit] Pool 1
| Rk | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | 0 | - | |
| 2 | 1 | 2 | 1-1, 2.55 RA/9 | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 1-1, 2.65 RA/9 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1-1, 3.50 RA/9 |
| March 12, 2006 | Japan |
3 – 4 Boxscore |
Angel Stadium, California Attendance: 32,896 |
| March 12, 2006 | Mexico |
1 – 2 Boxscore |
Angel Stadium, California Attendance: 42,979 |
| March 13, 2006 | United States |
3 – 7 Boxscore |
Angel Stadium, California Attendance: 21,288 |
| March 14, 2006 | Japan |
6 – 1 Boxscore |
Angel Stadium, California Attendance: 16,591 |
| March 15, 2006 | South Korea |
2 – 1 Boxscore |
Angel Stadium, California Attendance: 39,679 |
| March 16, 2006 | United States |
1 – 2 Boxscore |
Angel Stadium, California Attendance: 38,284 |
[edit] Pool 2
| Rk | Team | W | L | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 1 | 1-0 | |
| 2 | 2 | 1 | 0-1 | |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 1-0 | |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 0-1 |
| March 12, 2006 | Cuba |
7 – 2 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 13,697 |
| March 12, 2006 | Puerto Rico |
7 – 1 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 19,692 |
| March 13, 2006 | Dominican Republic |
7 – 3 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 6,594 |
| March 13, 2006 | Venezuela |
6 – 0 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 19,400 |
| March 14, 2006 | Venezuela |
1 – 2 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 13,007 |
| March 15, 2006 | Cuba |
4 – 3 Boxscore |
Hiram Bithorn Stadium, Puerto Rico Attendance: 19,773 |
[edit] Finals
| Semifinals | Final | |||||||
| 2R | |
3 | ||||||
| 2W | |
1 | ||||||
| SF2W | |
10 | ||||||
| SF1W | |
6 | ||||||
| 1R | |
6 | ||||||
| 1W | |
0 | ||||||
| March 18, 2006 | Cuba |
3 – 1 Boxscore |
PETCO Park, California Attendance: 41,268 |
| March 18, 2006 | Japan |
6 – 0 Boxscore |
PETCO Park, California Attendance: 42,639 |
| March 20, 2006 | Japan |
10 – 6 Boxscore |
PETCO Park, California Attendance: 42,696 |
[edit] Final Standings
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[edit] Attendance
737,112 (avg. 18,900; pct. 67.3%)
[edit] Round 1
326,629 (avg. 13,609; pct. 55.4%)
- Pool A - 100,964 (avg. 16,827; pct. 40.1%)
- Pool B - 91,205 (avg. 15,200; pct. 52.8%)
- Chase Field - 65,464 (avg. 21,821; pct. 44.5%)
- Scottsdale Stadium - 25,741 (avg. 8,580; pct. 100.9%)
- Pool C - 74,472 (avg. 12,412; pct. 69.0%)
- Pool D - 59,988 (avg. 9,998; pct. 105.2%)
[edit] Round 2
283,880 (avg. 23,656; pct. 75.1%)
- Pool 1 - 191,717 (avg. 31,952; pct. 70.9%)
- Pool 2 - 92,163 (avg. 15,360; pct. 85.3%)
[edit] Finals
126,603 (avg. 42,201; pct. 99.4%)
- Semifinal - 83,907 (avg. 41,953; pct. 98.8%)
- Final - 42,696 (avg. 42,696; pct. 100.6%)
[edit] All-WBC team
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| MVP | |
| C | |
| 1B | |
| 2B | |
| SS | |
| 3B | |
| OF | |
| DH | |
| P | |
[edit] Statistics
[edit] 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 270 | 60 | 84 | 9 | 3 | 10 | 57 | 129 | 32 | 39 | 13 | 2 | .390 | .478 | .311 | .868 | |
| 6 | 197 | 33 | 57 | 7 | 2 | 9 | 32 | 95 | 19 | 26 | 1 | 1 | .359 | .482 | .289 | .841 | |
| 6 | 203 | 32 | 58 | 9 | 0 | 8 | 31 | 91 | 24 | 34 | 7 | 3 | .365 | .448 | .286 | .813 | |
| 8 | 279 | 44 | 79 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 41 | 117 | 24 | 51 | 3 | 4 | .357 | .419 | .283 | .776 | |
| 3 | 104 | 20 | 29 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 17 | 53 | 23 | 24 | 2 | 2 | .419 | .510 | .279 | .928 | |
| 3 | 102 | 15 | 27 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 30 | 11 | 22 | 0 | 0 | .342 | .294 | .265 | .636 | |
| 3 | 102 | 15 | 27 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 39 | 7 | 21 | 3 | 1 | .342 | .382 | .265 | .724 | |
| 7 | 23 | 36 | 61 | 8 | 0 | 9 | 28 | 96 | 33 | 33 | 6 | 4 | .364 | .412 | .262 | .776 | |
| 3 | 87 | 12 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 27 | 7 | 34 | 0 | 2 | .330 | .310 | .253 | .640 | |
| 7 | 218 | 26 | 53 | 13 | 1 | 6 | 26 | 86 | 16 | 51 | 2 | 0 | .305 | .394 | .243 | .699 | |
| 6 | 189 | 23 | 44 | 11 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 72 | 15 | 36 | 2 | 0 | .292 | .381 | .233 | .673 | |
| 3 | 95 | 13 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 2 | 13 | 37 | 11 | 24 | 0 | 0 | .290 | .389 | .200 | .679 | |
| 6 | 188 | 22 | 35 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 | 62 | 35 | 40 | 2 | 1 | .323 | .330 | .186 | .653 | |
| 3 | 92 | 6 | 17 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 27 | 9 | 33 | 0 | 2 | .286 | .293 | .185 | .579 | |
| 3 | 91 | 7 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 21 | 10 | 16 | 0 | 1 | .276 | .231 | .165 | .507 | |
| 3 | 80 | 4 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 11 | 7 | 32 | 3 | 2 | .191 | .138 | .113 | .329 |
[edit] Batting Leaders
(minimum 2.7 plate appearances/game) [2]
Batting Average
Adam Stern - .667
Ken Griffey, Jr. - .524
Brett Willemburg - .500
Yoandy Garlobo - .480
Jason Bay - .455
Nicholas Dempsey - .455
Sidney de Jong - .458
Hits
Nobuhiko Matsunaka - 13
Yoandy Garlobo - 12
Ichiro Suzuki - 12
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 11
Tsuyoshi Nishioka - 11
Runs
Nobuhiko Matsunaka - 11
Yulieski Gourriel - 8
Seung-Yeop Lee - 8
Tsuyoshi Nishioka - 7
Ichiro Suzuki - 7
Doubles
Jong-Beom Lee - 6
Nobuhiko Matsunaka - 4
Frederich Cepeda - 3
Yung-Chi Chen - 3
Justin Morneau - 3
Miguel Tejada - 3
Triples
- 15 players tied with 1
Home Runs
Seung-Yeop Lee - 5
Adrián Beltré - 4
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 3
Derrek Lee - 3
David Ortiz - 3
Hitoshi Tamura - 3
Grand Slams
Jason Varitek - 1
Runs Batted In
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 10
Seung-Yeop Lee - 10
Adrián Beltré - 9
Hitoshi Tamura - 9
Jorge Cantu - 8
Frederich Cepeda - 8
Derrek Lee - 8
Tsuyoshi Nishioka - 8
Total Bases
Seung-Yeop Lee - 23
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 22
Frederich Cepeda - 19
Tsuyoshi Nishioka - 19
Adrián Beltré - 18
Walks
David Ortiz - 8
Albert Pujols - 7
Bobby Abreu - 6
Frederich Cepeda - 6
Tsuyoshi Nishioka - 6
Hitoshi Tamura - 6
Strikeouts
Hitoshi Tamura - 9
Ariel Prestano - 8
Yufeng Zhang - 8
Bobby Abreu - 7
Frederich Cepeda - 7
Jin-Man Park - 7
Alex Rodriguez - 7
Stolen Bases
Tsuyoshi Nishioka - 5
Ichiro Suzuki - 4
Trent Durrington - 3
Eduardo Paret - 3- 8 players tied with 2
On-Base Percentage
Adam Stern - .727
Ken Griffey, Jr. - .583
Jason Bay - .571
Yi Feng - .556
Yoandy Garlobo - .536
Slugging Percentage
Adam Stern - 1.333
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 1.048
Seung-Yeop Lee - .958
Adrián Beltré - .900
Yung-Chi Chen - .786
Adam Stern - 2.061
Ken Griffey, Jr. - 1.631
Seung-Yeop Lee - 1.372
Adrián Beltré - 1.291
Chipper Jones - 1.241
[edit] 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 2.00 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 63.0 | 45 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 18 | 50 | 1.00 | 8 | 7 | |
| 4 | 2 | 2.08 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 52.0 | 33 | 17 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 22 | 28 | 1.06 | 5 | 6 | |
| 5 | 3 | 2.49 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 68.2 | 52 | 21 | 19 | 7 | 8 | 11 | 62 | 0.92 | 3 | 8 | |
| 5 | 2 | 2.57 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 63.0 | 56 | 26 | 18 | 3 | 4 | 23 | 53 | 1.25 | 6 | 7 | |
| 3 | 3 | 2.77 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 52.0 | 41 | 16 | 16 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 37 | 1.12 | 4 | 6 | |
| 3 | 3 | 3.06 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 53.0 | 39 | 20 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 20 | 55 | 1.11 | 7 | 6 | |
| 3 | 3 | 3.75 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 48.0 | 43 | 20 | 20 | 4 | 3 | 17 | 48 | 1.25 | 4 | 6 | |
| 5 | 3 | 4.13 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 72.0 | 66 | 43 | 33 | 7 | 6 | 41 | 51 | 1.49 | 2 | 8 | |
| 1 | 2 | 4.30 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 23.0 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 16 | 1.26 | 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 3 | 5.19 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26.0 | 33 | 20 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 13 | 17 | 1.77 | 0 | 3 | |
| 1 | 2 | 6.48 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 25.0 | 30 | 19 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 14 | 1.52 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1 | 2 | 6.84 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 31 | 19 | 19 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 22 | 1.80 | 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 3 | 6.85 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 23.2 | 24 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 16 | 2.11 | 0 | 3 | |
| 2 | 1 | 7.33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 27.0 | 32 | 23 | 22 | 3 | 3 | 13 | 18 | 1.67 | 2 | 3 | |
| 0 | 3 | 9.72 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 | 48 | 40 | 27 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 16 | 2.32 | 0 | 3 | |
| 0 | 3 | 13.50 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22.0 | 42 | 38 | 33 | 5 | 2 | 22 | 13 | 2.91 | 0 | 3 |
[edit] Pitching Leaders
(minimum 0.8 innings pitched/game) [4]
Wins
Daisuke Matsuzaka - 3
Odalis Perez - 2
Ormari Romero - 2
Jae Weong Seo - 2
Min-Han Son - 2
Koji Uehara - 2
Losses
Rodrigo López - 2
Johan Santana - 2
Dontrelle Willis - 2- 31 players tied with 1
Saves
Chan Ho Park - 3
Yadel Martí - 2- 14 tied with 1
Innings Pitched
Koji Uehara - 17
Jae Weong Seo - 14
Bartolo Colón - 14
Shunsuke Watanabe - 13.2
Daisuke Matsuzaka - 13
Hits Allowed
Koji Uehara - 17
Bartolo Colón - 13
Pedro Luis Lazo - 12
Esteban Loaiza - 10
Carl Michaels - 10
Dontrelle Willis - 10
Runs Allowed
Carl Michaels - 10
Barry Armitage - 9
Adiel Palma - 8
Dontrelle Willis - 8
Tao Bu - 7
Vicyohandry Odelin - 7
Earned Runs Allowed
Carl Michaels - 10
Dontrelle Willis - 8
Barry Armitage - 7
Jeff Francis - 6
Calvin Maduro - 6
Vicyohandry Odelin - 6
Yadel Martí - 0.00 (in 12.2 innings)
Chan Ho Park - 0.00 (10.0)
Kelvim Escobar - 0.00 (7.2)
Shairon Martis - 0.00 (7.0)
Carlos Silva - 0.00 (5.2)
Jason Grilli - 0.00 (4.2)
Erik Bedard - 0.00 (4.0)
Wei-Lun Pan - 0.00 (4.0)
Adam Loewen - 0.00 (3.2)
Po-Hsuan Keng - 0.00 (3.0)
Walks
Dontrelle Willis - 6
Kelvim Escobar - 5
Yulieski Gonzalez - 5
Esteban Loaiza - 5
Peter Moylan - 5
Adiel Palma - 5
Carlos Zambrano - 5
Strikeouts
Koji Uehara - 16
Freddy Garcia - 11
Yadel Martí - 11
Roger Clemens - 10
Daisuke Matsuzaka - 10
Johan Santana - 10
Shairon Martis - 0.14
Jason Grilli - 0.20
José Santiago - 0.63
Po-Hsuan Keng - 0.67
Chenhao Li - 0.67
Shairon Martis - 1
[edit] 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.
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.
[edit] 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
WBC organizers were unable to reach an agreement with the MLB umpires' union and so the tournament 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]
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 from its team players such as Orlando Hernández, his half-brother Liván Hernández, and José Contreras, Cubans who had previously defected. Italy was criticized for a roster made up almost entirely of second-generation Italian Americans such as Mike Piazza.
[edit] 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.
[edit] The allocation of earnings
The total earnings of WBC is divided into net profit (53%) and prize money (47%).[8]
[edit] Net profit (53%)
- World Baseball Classic Inc.: 17.5%
- Baseball Players Union: 17.5%
- Japanese Baseball Organization: 7%
- Korean Baseball Organization: 5%
- International Baseball Federation: 5%
- Miscellaneous expenses: 1%
[edit] Prize money (47%)
- Japan (Champions): 10%
- Cuba (Runners-up): 7%
- South Korea and Dominican Republic (Semifinalists): 5% each
- The 4 teams that drop out of the Round 2: 3% each
- The 8 teams that drop out of the Round 1: 1% each
[edit] See also
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: 2006 World Baseball Classic |
[edit] References
- MLB.com: DuPuy reacts
- Yahoo!: Cuba allowed to play
- Unofficial chat forum of The World Baseball Classic
- ^ "World Baseball Classic:". Archived from the original on 2009-05-16. http://www.webcitation.org/5gpOef5Yj. Retrieved on 2009-03-13.
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2259278
- ^ http://www.primerahora.com/noticia.asp?guid=869CC20D05F8467F93BC93B8D1FF81C4
- ^ http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/john_donovan/01/06/cuba.wbc/
- ^ http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/9099373/2
- ^ http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/worldclassic2006/news/story?id=2299485
[edit] External links
- World Baseball Classic Official Site
- Video and Audio - 2006 World Baseball Classic
- ESPN Podcast Coverage of the WBC
- WEPN New York Live streaming radio coverage of the final
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