2013 World Baseball Classic

The 2013 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, held from March 2 to March 19, 2013. This was the third iteration of the WBC, following the two previous tournaments, held in 2006 and 2009.

2013 World Baseball Classic
Tournament details
Host countries Japan
 Puerto Rico
 Taiwan
 United States
Dates March 2–19
Teams16
Defending champions Japan (2009)
Final positions
Champions
 Dominican Republic (1st title)
Runner-up
 Puerto Rico
Third place
 Japan
Fourth place Netherlands
Tournament statistics
Games played39
Attendance781,438 (20,037 per game)
Most Valuable Player Robinson Canó
← 2009
2017 →

Unlike the two previous WBCs, which consisted of the same sixteen countries, only the twelve countries that won at least one game in the 2009 WBC were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament.[1] The automatic qualifiers were Australia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the United States, and Venezuela. Four qualification brackets were held in late 2012 and respectively won by Canada, Taiwan, Spain, and Brazil, who joined the WBC as the final four teams (the latter two making their Classic debuts).

As in the 2006 tournament, the first round had a round-robin format, which led to South Korea being eliminated on a run difference tiebreaker. Venezuela also failed to advance out of a tough group. The fourth-place teams in each group – Brazil, Australia, Spain, and Mexico – will have to participate in the qualifying round in order to return for the 2017 tournament.

The second round was a modified double-elimination format, as in the 2009 tournament, where the modification was that the final game of each bracket was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket, although that game only affected seeding as two teams advanced from each bracket. The Netherlands improved on its surprising 2009 run by advancing to the semifinal game, as did two-time defending champion Japan. However, the two-time defending champions Japan were eliminated in the semi-finals game against stunning Puerto Rico. In the final game, the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico to become the first WBC champion from the Western Hemisphere, as well as the first team to complete the WBC with an undefeated record. Robinson Canó was named the Most Valuable Player of the Classic.[2]

Revenue-sharing dispute

The preparations for the third World Baseball Classic were complicated by a dispute between the Japanese Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA), the union for all Nippon Professional Baseball players, and MLB over revenue sharing. JPBPA demanded a larger share of advertising and merchandise sponsorship revenue for the tournament, a large chunk of which came from Japanese companies. MLB resisted the move in part due to the fact that the World Baseball Classic is a joint production of MLB and the MLB Player's Association, meaning that those two organizations bore the cost of the tournament.

In July 2012 the JPBPA voted unanimously to boycott the 2013 World Baseball Classic.[3][4] The move was interpreted by some news outlets as a non-final decision, aimed at raising the pressure on MLB.[5][6] In September 2012, Japanese players agreed to take part after reaching a compromise with tournament organizers on sharing sponsorship and licensing revenue.[7]

Qualification
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualification

The top three teams from each pool of the first round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified.

Team Method of qualification Classic appearance Previous best position
 Australia 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Round 1
 China 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Round 1
 Cuba 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Runners-up (2006)
 Dominican Republic 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Fourth place (2006)
 Italy 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Round 1
 Japan 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Champions (2006, 2009)
 Mexico 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Round 2 (2006, 2009)
 Netherlands 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Round 2 (2009)
 Puerto Rico 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Round 2 (2006, 2009)
 South Korea 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Runners-up (2009)
 United States 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Fourth place (2009)
 Venezuela 2009 World Baseball Classic 3rd Third place (2009)
 Spain Qualifier 1 1st —
 Canada Qualifier 2 3rd Round 1
 Brazil Qualifier 3 1st —
 Chinese Taipei Qualifier 4 3rd Round 1

Format

In the first round, each team played the other three teams in its pool once. Teams were ranked by winning percentage in the first round, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the second round. There, the teams from Pools A and B (in Pool 1) and the teams from Pools C and D (in Pool 2) competed in a double-elimination format.

The top two teams in each pool in the second round entered the four-team single-elimination semifinals. The four qualifying teams crossed over for the semifinals, with the winner of each pool playing against the runner-up from the other pool.

In the final, the team with the higher winning percentage of games in the tournament were to be the home team. If the teams competing in the final had identical winning percentages in the tournament, then World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) would conduct a coin flip or draw to determine the home team.

In the first round, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority:[8]

  1. The winner of head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  2. The team with the highest Team's Quality Balance (TQB=(runs scored (RS)/innings batted (IPO))–(runs against (RA)/innings pitched (IPD))) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  3. The team with the highest Earned Runs Team's Quality Balance (ER–TQB=(earned runs scored (ERS)/IPO)–(earned runs against (ERA)/IPD)) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  4. The team with the highest batting average (AVG) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  5. Drawing of lots, conducted by World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI).

Rosters
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic rosters

The deadline for submitting provisional rosters was January 16, but teams had until February 20 to finalize their roster decisions. Many Major League Baseball (MLB) players participated. The United States provisional roster was made up entirely of players from MLB, and champions Dominican Republic provisional roster had only one player not signed to an MLB team in 2013. The Canadian team had 12 players who appeared in MLB in 2012. Japan had none and two prominent Japanese MLB players, Yu Darvish and Ichiro Suzuki, chose not to play. Though five members who competed for the Cuban national team in the 2009 WBC have since defected, the Cuban team was considered strong despite its 2nd-round sacking. Three members of MLB.com's Top 100 prospect participated: Xander Bogaerts, Eddie Rosario, and Jameson Taillon.

Venues

Eight stadiums were used during the main tournament:

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
Fukuoka, Japan Taichung, Taiwan San Juan, Puerto Rico Phoenix, United States
Fukuoka Dome Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium Hiram Bithorn Stadium Chase Field
Capacity: 38,561 Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 18,264 Capacity: 48,633
Pool D Pool 1 Pool 2 Championship
Scottsdale, United States Tokyo, Japan Miami, United States San Francisco, United States
Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Tokyo Dome Marlins Park AT&T Park
Capacity: 11,000 Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 36,742 Capacity: 41,915

Pools composition

The top 12 teams that participated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic were invited back for the 2013 tournament.[9] Spain, Canada, Brazil, and Chinese Taipei won their pools of qualification.[10]

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

First round

Pool A
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Pool A
Rk
Team
 W L HTH RS IPO RA IPD TQB
1  Cuba 30 −
2  Japan 21 −
3  China 12 −
4  Brazil 03 −

NOTE: Tiebreaker notes: HTH − Head-to-head. RS − Runs scored. IPO − Innings the team batted. RA − Runs against. IPD − Innings the team pitched. TQB − The index of (RS/IPO)−(RA/IPD).

Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 2, 2013 19:00 Japan  5–3  Brazil   Fukuoka Dome 3:20 28,181 Boxscore
Mar 3, 2013 12:30 Cuba  5–2  Brazil   Fukuoka Dome 3:22 4,003 Boxscore
Mar 3, 2013 19:00 China  2–5  Japan   Fukuoka Dome 2:57 13,891 Boxscore
Mar 4, 2013 16:30 China  0–12  Cuba 7 Fukuoka Dome 2:38 3,123 Boxscore
Mar 5, 2013 17:00 Brazil  2–5  China   Fukuoka Dome 3:12 3,110 Boxscore
Mar 6, 2013 19:00 Japan  3–6  Cuba   Fukuoka Dome 3:39 26,860 Boxscore

Pool B
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Pool B
Rk
Team
 W L HTH RS IPO RA IPD TQB
1  Chinese Taipei 211−11017.0617.00.235
2  Netherlands 211−1817.0817.00.000
3  South Korea 211−1317.0717.0−0.235
4  Australia 03 −

NOTE: Tiebreaker notes: HTH − Head-to-head. RS − Runs scored. IPO − Innings the team batted. RA − Runs against. IPD − Innings the team pitched. TQB − The index of (RS/IPO)−(RA/IPD).

Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 2, 2013 12:30 Australia  1–4  Chinese Taipei   Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 2:53 20,035 Boxscore
Mar 2, 2013 19:30 South Korea  0–5  Netherlands   Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 3:24 1,085 Boxscore
Mar 3, 2013 14:30 Netherlands  3–8  Chinese Taipei   Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 3:09 22,689 Boxscore
Mar 4, 2013 18:30 South Korea  6–0  Australia   Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 3:31 1,481 Boxscore
Mar 5, 2013 12:30 Australia  1–4  Netherlands   Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 2:50 1,113 Boxscore
Mar 5, 2013 19:30 Chinese Taipei  2–3  South Korea   Intercontinental Baseball Stadium 3:27 23,431 Boxscore

Pool C
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Pool C
Rk
Team
 W L HTH RS IPO RA IPD TQB
1  Dominican Republic 30 −
2  Puerto Rico 21 −
3  Venezuela 12 −
4  Spain 03 −

NOTE: Tiebreaker notes: HTH − Head-to-head. RS − Runs scored. IPO − Innings the team batted. RA − Runs against. IPD − Innings the team pitched. TQB − The index of (RS/IPO)−(RA/IPD).

Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 7, 2013 19:30 Venezuela  3–9  Dominican Republic   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:55 15,055 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2013 18:30 Spain  0–3  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:05 14,974 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2013 12:00 Dominican Republic  6–3  Spain   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:47 13,421 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2013 18:30 Puerto Rico  6–3  Venezuela   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:35 18,800 Boxscore
Mar 10, 2013 12:30 Spain  6–11  Venezuela   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:59 13,395 Boxscore
Mar 10, 2013 19:30 Dominican Republic  4–2  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:41 19,413 Boxscore

Pool D
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Pool D
Rk
Team
 W L HTH RS IPO RA IPD TQB
1  United States 211−0 −
2  Italy 210−1 −
3  Canada 121−0 −
4  Mexico 120−1 −

NOTE: Tiebreaker notes: HTH − Head-to-head. RS − Runs scored. IPO − Innings the team batted. RA − Runs against. IPD − Innings the team pitched. TQB − The index of (RS/IPO)−(RA/IPD).

Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 7, 2013 13:00 Italy  6–5  Mexico   Salt River Fields at Talking Stick 3:41 4,478 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2013 12:00 Canada  4–14  Italy 8 Chase Field[note 1] 3:27 5,140 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2013 19:00 Mexico  5–2  United States   Chase Field 3:29 44,256 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2013 12:30 Canada  10–3  Mexico   Chase Field 3:44 19,581 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2013 19:00 United States  6–2  Italy   Chase Field 3:21 19,303 Boxscore
Mar 10, 2013 13:00 United States  9–4  Canada   Chase Field 3:18 22,425 Boxscore

Second round

Pool 1
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Pool 1
  Preliminaries Qualifiers Seeding
                             
BR  Netherlands 6  
AW  Cuba 2  
  W1  Netherlands 4  
  W2  Japan 16  
AR  Japan 4
BW  Chinese Taipei 3  
  W4  Japan 10 1W
  W5  Netherlands 6 1R
L1  Cuba 14  
L2  Chinese Taipei 0  
  W3  Cuba 6
  L4  Netherlands 7  
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 8, 2013 12:00 Netherlands  6–2  Cuba   Tokyo Dome 3:38 38,588 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2013 19:00 Japan  4–3  Chinese Taipei 10 Tokyo Dome 4:47 43,527 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2013 19:00 Chinese Taipei  0–14  Cuba 7 Tokyo Dome 2:43 12,884 Boxscore
Mar 10, 2013 19:00 Japan  16–4  Netherlands 7 Tokyo Dome 2:53 37,745 Boxscore
Mar 11, 2013 19:00 Cuba  6–7  Netherlands   Tokyo Dome 3:52 7,613 Boxscore
Mar 12, 2013 19:00 Netherlands  6–10  Japan   Tokyo Dome 3:30 30,301 Boxscore

Pool 2
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Pool 2
  Preliminaries Qualifiers Seeding
                             
DR  Italy 4  
CW  Dominican Rep. 5  
  W1  Dominican Rep. 3  
  W2  United States 1  
CR  Puerto Rico 1
DW  United States 7  
  W4  Dominican Rep. 2 2W
  W5  Puerto Rico 0 2R
L1  Italy 3  
L2  Puerto Rico 4  
  W3  Puerto Rico 4
  L4  United States 3  
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 12, 2013 13:00 Italy  4–5  Dominican Republic   Marlins Park 3:17 14,482 Boxscore
Mar 12, 2013 20:00 Puerto Rico  1–7  United States   Marlins Park 3:22 32,872 Boxscore
Mar 13, 2013 19:00 Italy  3–4  Puerto Rico   Marlins Park 3:46 27,296 Boxscore
Mar 14, 2013 19:00 Dominican Republic  3–1  United States   Marlins Park 3:17 34,366 Boxscore
Mar 15, 2013 19:00 Puerto Rico  4–3  United States   Marlins Park 3:24 19,762 Boxscore
Mar 16, 2013 13:00 Puerto Rico  0–2  Dominican Republic   Marlins Park 2:58 25,846 Boxscore

Championship round
Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Championship
Semifinals Final
      
2R  Puerto Rico 3
1W  Japan 1
SF1W  Puerto Rico 0
SF2W  Dominican Republic 3
1R  Netherlands 1
2W  Dominican Republic 4

Semifinals
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 17, 2013 18:00 Puerto Rico  3–1  Japan   AT&T Park 3:27 33,683 Boxscore
Mar 18, 2013 18:00 Netherlands  1–4  Dominican Republic   AT&T Park 3:09 27,527 Boxscore

Final
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 19, 2013 17:00 Puerto Rico  0–3  Dominican Republic   AT&T Park 3:06 35,703 Boxscore

Final standings

Organizer WBCI has no interest in the final standings and did not compute. So, it was calculated by IBAF for the IBAF Men's Baseball World Rankings.

In the final standings, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority:

  1. The team with the highest Team's Quality Balance (TQB=(RS/IPO)–(RA/IPD)) in all games;
  2. The team with the highest Earned Runs Team's Quality Balance (ER–TQB=(ERS/IPO)–(ERA/IPD)) in all games;
  3. The team with the highest batting average (AVG) in all games;

Attendance

781,438 (avg. 20,037; pct. 59.5%)

First round

359,243 (avg. 14,968; pct. 50.2%)

  • Pool A – 79,168 (avg. 13,195; pct. 34.2%)
  • Pool B – 69,834 (avg. 11,639; pct. 58.2%)
  • Pool C – 95,058 (avg. 15,843; pct. 86.7%)
  • Pool D – 115,183 (avg. 19,197; pct. 45.3%)
    • Chase Field – 110,705 (avg. 22,141; pct. 45.5%)
    • Salt River Fields at Talking Stick – 4,478 (avg. 4,478; pct. 40.7%)

Second round

325,282 (avg. 27,107; pct. 68.8%)

  • Pool 1 – 170,658 (avg. 28,443; pct. 67.7%)
  • Pool 2 – 154,624 (avg. 25,771; pct. 70.1%)

Championship round

96,913 (avg. 32,304; pct. 77.1%)

  • Semifinals – 61,210 (avg. 30,605; pct. 73.0%)
  • Final – 35,703 (avg. 35,703; pct. 85.2%)

2013 All-World Baseball Classic team
Note: The tournament Most Valuable Player was Robinson Canó.[11]
PositionPlayer
C Yadier Molina
1B Edwin Encarnación
2B Robinson Canó
3B David Wright
SS José Reyes
OF Nelson Cruz
Ángel Pagán
Michael Saunders
DH Hirokazu Ibata
P Nelson Figueroa
Kenta Maeda
Fernando Rodney

Statistics leaders

Additional rules

Once again there were limits on the number of pitches thrown in a game, though the limits themselves were changed from the previous tournament:

  • 65 pitches in First Round (down from 70 in 2009)
  • 80 pitches in Second Round (down from 85 in 2009)
  • 95 pitches in Championship Round (down from 100 in 2009)

If a pitcher reached his limit during an at bat, he was allowed to finish pitching to the batter, but was removed from the game at the end of the at bat.

A pitcher must:

  • Not pitch until a minimum of four days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched;
  • Not pitch until a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched;
  • Not pitch until a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched;

For purposes of the pitcher use limitation rules, both semifinal games were to be deemed to have been played on the day of the latest semifinal game.

A mercy rule came into effect when one team led by either fifteen runs after five innings, or ten runs after seven innings in the first two rounds.

Instant replay was also available to umpires during the tournament. As was introduced in Major League Baseball during the 2008 season, replays were only used to adjudicate on home run decisions, to determine whether the ball was fair or foul, over the fence or not, and the impact of fan interference.

An alternative version of the IBAF's extra inning rule was also used. If after 12 innings the score was still tied, each half inning thereafter would have started with runners on second and first base. The runners would have been the eighth and ninth hitters due in that inning respectively. For example, if the number five hitter was due to lead off the inning, the number three hitter would have been on second base, and the number four hitter on first base. However, this rule was never actually employed in this year's Classic, as the only extra-inning game in the tournament ended prior to a 13th inning.

Media coverage

MLB Network has been announced as the English-language broadcaster of the 2013 and 2017 tournaments.[12] ESPN Deportes provided Spanish-language coverage, and ESPN Radio had audio rights.[13]

Sportsnet was the broadcaster in Canada and ESPN America in United Kingdom, Ireland and other parts of Europe.

Notes
  1. The game was originally scheduled to be played at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, but was moved due to potential inclement weather.
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gollark: Well, Keanu decided to *un*trust me. This is clearly RACISM.
gollark: And I wasn't stealing, just looking into the box.
gollark: It is very mean to kill trusted people.

References
  1. Belson, Ken (June 1, 2011). "Israel to Participate in 2013 World Baseball Classic". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
  2. Schlegel, John (March 20, 2013). "Torrid stretch earns Cano Classic MVP". MLB.com.
  3. Coskrey, Jason (July 21, 2012). "JPBPA unanimously votes to boycott WBC". The Japan Times. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  4. "NPB players decide to sit out upcoming WBC". Daily Yomiuri Online. July 21, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  5. Martin, Alexander (July 20, 2012). "Japanese Pros Threaten to Boycott World Baseball Classic". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  6. "Japan threatens to boycott World Baseball Classic". Sports Illustrated. July 20, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2012.
  7. "Japan agrees to play in 2013 WBC". ESPN. Associated Press. September 4, 2012.
  8. "World Baseball Classic Tournament Rules and Regulations". Secure.worldbaseballclassic.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
  9. "International venues set for 2013 Classic". Retrieved September 25, 2012.
  10. "The 2013 World Baseball Classic is ready to go". Retrieved December 2, 2012.
  11. See: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Championship#Final – Dominican Republic 3, Puerto Rico 0.
  12. Dittmeier, Bobbie (October 23, 2012). "MLB Network to air all Classic games in '13, '17". MLB.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2012. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
  13. gabriela nunez on January 13, 2013 (January 13, 2013). "ESPN Selected to Present Spanish-Language Multimedia Coverage of 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic « ESPN MediaZone". Espnmediazone.com. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
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