Baseball's long wait for a World Cup-style international tournament, with the game's best players representing their countries, is over. Called the "World Baseball Classic," the tournament will be staged across three weeks next March and will be the first full-scale event involving major league players representing their home countries. Olympic tournaments included only amateur players from 1984-1996, after which professionals have been eligible. Because of scheduling conflicts, however, international competition has generally involved minor leaguers.
Though player participation will be voluntary, the prospect of having stars-and-stripes-clad Roger Clemens facing Albert Pujols and Vladimir Guerrero of the Dominican Republic, with flags waving throughout the stands, has long intrigued baseball officials, players and fans.
Too bad the USA team will be comprised of displaced africans as well as the sons of those white people that carved our country out of the wilderness. Why can't they do a "European" and an "african" decended team? Now THAT would be exciting!!
The teams will start play in four four-team pools that will play round-robins in different countries.
Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China will play March 3-5, probably at Japan's Tokyo Dome. The three other pools will play March 8-11 and consist of: Puerto Rico, Cuba (for now), Panama and likely Italy; the United States, Canada, Mexico and likely South Africa; and the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Australia and the Netherlands. The first pool will play in Puerto Rico, perhaps at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, while the other two would play at Arizona and Florida spring-training sites to be determined.
The two teams in each pool with the best records would advance to the second round, another round-robin, on March 13-15 at different major league stadiums. Houston's Minute Maid Park, Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium and San Diego's Petco Park have long been considered strong candidates. The four outright winners of those pools would each advance to a single-game semifinal on March 18, again at a major league stadium. The winners of those games will meet for a winner-take-all final March 20--a Monday, presumably to avoid television conflicts with the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Team rosters, currently set at 27 players, will be chosen according to Olympic eligibility guidelines by tournament organizers. According to one union official, major league clubs will not be able to block any of their players from participating. Several teams, most vocally the Yankees, have expressed concerns both privately and publicly about their high-priced stars possibly getting injured before the season starts. The Yankees also have been reluctant to release their minor leaguers for USA Baseball's teams in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003.
Special guidelines, to be determined by a tournament committee, will limit how pitchers can be used, probably with rules on specific pitch limits and required rest for both starters and relievers. This is to placate both clubs and insurance companies: As one union official said last year, "We don't want (Angels closer) Frankie Rodriguez, out of national pride, to pitch two innings (for Venezuela) three days in a row."
Last year, players and owners agreed to a policy consistent with the guidelines set by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Olympic movement, which are generally considered stronger than the ones currently governing all major league players and the subject of considerable debate.
Though player participation will be voluntary, the prospect of having stars-and-stripes-clad Roger Clemens facing Albert Pujols and Vladimir Guerrero of the Dominican Republic, with flags waving throughout the stands, has long intrigued baseball officials, players and fans.
Too bad the USA team will be comprised of displaced africans as well as the sons of those white people that carved our country out of the wilderness. Why can't they do a "European" and an "african" decended team? Now THAT would be exciting!!
The teams will start play in four four-team pools that will play round-robins in different countries.
Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China will play March 3-5, probably at Japan's Tokyo Dome. The three other pools will play March 8-11 and consist of: Puerto Rico, Cuba (for now), Panama and likely Italy; the United States, Canada, Mexico and likely South Africa; and the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Australia and the Netherlands. The first pool will play in Puerto Rico, perhaps at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, while the other two would play at Arizona and Florida spring-training sites to be determined.
The two teams in each pool with the best records would advance to the second round, another round-robin, on March 13-15 at different major league stadiums. Houston's Minute Maid Park, Los Angeles' Dodger Stadium and San Diego's Petco Park have long been considered strong candidates. The four outright winners of those pools would each advance to a single-game semifinal on March 18, again at a major league stadium. The winners of those games will meet for a winner-take-all final March 20--a Monday, presumably to avoid television conflicts with the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Team rosters, currently set at 27 players, will be chosen according to Olympic eligibility guidelines by tournament organizers. According to one union official, major league clubs will not be able to block any of their players from participating. Several teams, most vocally the Yankees, have expressed concerns both privately and publicly about their high-priced stars possibly getting injured before the season starts. The Yankees also have been reluctant to release their minor leaguers for USA Baseball's teams in 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2003.
Special guidelines, to be determined by a tournament committee, will limit how pitchers can be used, probably with rules on specific pitch limits and required rest for both starters and relievers. This is to placate both clubs and insurance companies: As one union official said last year, "We don't want (Angels closer) Frankie Rodriguez, out of national pride, to pitch two innings (for Venezuela) three days in a row."
Last year, players and owners agreed to a policy consistent with the guidelines set by the World Anti-Doping Agency and the Olympic movement, which are generally considered stronger than the ones currently governing all major league players and the subject of considerable debate.