Hey guys! Today, we're gonna be talking about sports, and by sports I mean baseball... The 2013 World Baseball Classic is an international baseball competition. The main tournament is being held from March 2 to March 19. For the first time, a qualifying round was played during the second half of 2012. It expanded tournament participation from 16 to 28 teams. Japan entered as the defending champion. It had won the prior two World Baseball Classics, in 2006 and 2009. Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament. The automatic qualifiers were Australia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea, the United States, and Venezuela. The other four teams from the 2009 tournament (Canada, Taiwan, Panama, and South Africa) contested a qualifying round in late 2012, along with 12 additional teams invited by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF). The qualifying round was organized as four independent modified double-elimination tournaments. The modification was that the final game was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket. Although this modified double-elimination format was used in some rounds of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, in that tournament the final game was only for seeding and never for elimination. As practiced in the 2013 qualifiers, the team emerging from the winner's bracket might be eliminated from the tournament despite losing only one game (as, in fact, happened to Israel in Qualifier 1). The composition of the qualifying pools was determined based on geographical location, competitive balance, and regional rivalries. In Qualifier 1, South Africa took on France, Israel, and Spain, with the games taking place in Jupiter, Florida, United States. In Qualifier 2, Canada took on the Czech Republic, Germany, and Great Britain, with the games taking place in Regensburg, Germany. In Qualifier 3, Panama took on Brazil, Colombia, and Nicaragua, with the games taking place in Panama City, Panama. In Qualifier 4, Taiwan took on New Zealand, the Philippines, and Thailand, with the games taking place in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Canada and Taiwan dominated Qualifiers 2 and 4 (respectively) to advance easily. In Qualifier 1, South Africa was eliminated in the second round, and Spain narrowly defeated Israel to advance to the main tournament. In Qualifier 3, Brazil narrowly defeated Panama to earn the final berth in the main tournament. Pool A games were held in the Fukuoka Dome, in Japan. Pool B games were held in the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, in Taiwan. Pool C games were held in the Hiram Bithorn Stadium, in Puerto Rico. The Pool D games were held in Chase Field, and in Salt River Fields, both in Arizona. The Pool 1 games were held at the Tokyo Dome, in Japan. The Pool 2 games were held in the Marlins Park, in Miami. And the Finals will be held in the AT&T Park in San Francisco.
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
So far, the games to qualify for the finals have been:
Italy 4 - 5 Dominican Rep. (WINNER)
Puerto Rico 1 - 7 USA (WINNER)
Italy 3 - 4 Puerto Rico (WINNER)
Dominican Rep. (WINNER) 3 - 1 USA
Puerto Rico (WINNER) 4 - 3 USA
Puerto Rico - Dominican Rep.
It's gonna be a really, really, REALLY good game! Hope you guys liked this post! Go Puerto Rico!
Happy weekend!
Maria.
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