World Baseball Classic

Eligibility - Rules of Play / 2013 WBC Umps
2009 WBC / 2006 WBC

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament, first held in March 2006. It is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and created by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. The 2009 WBC, the second edition of the event, was won by Japan for the second tournament in a row.
The WBC is the first international baseball tournament for national teams to feature professional players from the major leagues around the world including Major League Baseball; the Summer Olympics have regularly featured college and minor-league players because the Games conflict with the major league seasons in both regions, and the Baseball World Cup historically has not had major leaguers participate. In addition to providing a format for the best baseball players in the world to compete against one another while representing their home countries, the World Baseball Classic was created in order to further promote the game around the globe.  Plans call for the World Baseball Classic to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event, with the third installment of the Classic to occur in 2013.
The 2013 event will introduce a new Qualifying Round for the 2013 WBC which will expand the competitive field from 16 to 28 countries. The new round will feature 16 teams divided into four pools of four teams each. The teams invited to participate will include the four World Baseball Classic teams from 2009 that did not win a game.

2013 World Baseball Classic

The 2013 World Baseball Classic will be the third, the first to be held after a planned four-year break following the 2009 World Baseball Classic.

The top 4 teams from the qualification round, along with the top 12 teams at the 2009 World Baseball Classic (Australia, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, the United States and Venezuela), will qualify for the tournament.

Pool A, which will be played at the Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome from Saturday, March 2^nd-Wednesday, March 6^th, will include the countries of Brazil, China, Cuba and Japan.  The opening game at the venue on March 2^nd will feature two-time defending champion Japan vs. newcomer and Qualifier victor Brazil, managed by Hall of Famer Barry Larkin, at 7:00 p.m. (all times local).

Pool B will feature the countries of Australia, Chinese Taipei, Korea and the Kingdom of the Netherlands at Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan from Saturday, March 2^nd-Tuesday, March 5^th.  The opening game on March 2^nd will be played at 12:30 p.m. between 2009 finalist Korea and the Netherlands.

Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico will host the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain and Venezuela for Pool C contests from Thursday, March 7^th-Sunday, March 10^th.  Venezuela and the Dominican Republic will square off in the first game in San Juan on March 7^th at 7:30 p.m.

Chase Field and Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Arizona will host games in Pool D, featuring Canada, Italy, Mexico and the United States from Thursday, March 7^th-Sunday, March 10^th.  Salt River Fields will host the opening game on March 7^th at 1:00 p.m. between Mexico and Italy.  Team USA, managed by Joe Torre, will debut on the night of Friday, March 8^th vs. Team Mexico at 7:00 p.m. at Chase Field in Phoenix.

2013 World Baseball Classic Umpires

WBC Qualifying Round Umpires

The following is a list of umpires, many taken from the minor league ranks, who have/are making an appearance during the 2012 WBC qualifying stage, along with their country of representation

Qualifier 1 & 2

9/19/12: Israel vs. South Africa (Florida, USA; 7-3 ISR); HP: Chris Segal (USA, IL). 1B: Sean Barber (USA, IL). 2B: Trevor Grieve (Canada, SAr). 3B: Jens Waider (Germany)
9/20/12: Canada vs. Great Britain (Regensburg, Germany; 11-1 CAN); HP: Stephen Barga (USA, PCL). 1B: Will Little (USA, IL). 2B: Liang-Kuei Hsieh (Chinese Taipei). 3B: Marco Screti (Italy)
9/20/12: Spain vs. France (Jupiter, Florida, USA; 8-0 ESP); HP: Quinn Wolcott (USA, PCL). 1B: Jairo Mendoza (Nicaragua). 2B: Sean Barber (USA). 3B: Trevor Grieve (CAN)
9/21/12: Germany vs. Czech Republic (Regensburg, Germany; 11-1 GER); HP: Ben May (USA, IL). 1B: Michael Ulloa (Spain). 2B: Marco Screti (ITA). 3B: Will Little: (USA)
9/21/12: Israel vs. Spain (Jupiter, Florida, USA; 4-2 ISR); HP: Sean Barber (USA). 1B: Chris Segal (USA). 2B: Jens Waider (GER). 3B: Jairo Mendoza (NIC).
9/21/12: South Africa vs. France (Jupiter, Florida, USA; 5-2 RSA); HP: Trevor Grieve (CAN). 1B: Jairo Mendoza (NIC). 2B: Quinn Wolcott (USA). 3B: Chris Segal (USA)
9/22/12: Great Britain vs. Czech Republic (Regensburg, Germany; 12-5 GBR); HP: Marco Screti (ITA). 1B: Stephen Barga (USA). 2B: Liang-Kuei Hsieh (TPE). 3B: Ben May (USA)
9/22/12: Canada vs. Germany (Regensburg, Germany; 16-7 CAN);   HP: Will Little (USA). 1B: Ben May (USA). 2B: Michael Ulloa (ESP). 3B: Liang-Kuei Hsieh (TPE)
9/22/12: Spain vs. South Africa (Jupiter, Florida, USA; 13-3 ESP); HP: Quinn Wolcott (USA). 1B: Sean Barber (USA). 2B: Jairo Mendoza (NIC). 3B: Jens Waider (GER)
9/23/12: Germany vs. Great Britain (Regensburg, Germany; 16-1 GER); HP: Stephen Barga (USA). 1B: Ben May (USA). 2B: Michael Ulloa (ESP). 3B: Liang-Kuei Hsieh (TPE).
9/23/12: Spain vs. Israel (Jupiter, Florida, USA)

Qualifier 3, Rod Carew National Stadium, Panama City, Panama

Toby Basner (USA; International League [IL])
Angel Campos (USA; Pacific Coast League [PCL])
Clint Fagan (USA; PCL)
Jair Fernandez (Mexico; Mexican League [LMB])
Domingo Polanco (Dominican Republic; Dominican League [LD])
Cesar Valdes (Cuba)

Qualifier 4, XinZhuang Stadium, New Taipei City, Taiwan

Su Won Choi (Taiwan; Chinese Professional Baseball League [CPBL]/Taiwan)
David Kulhanek (Czech Republic; Confederation of European Baseball [CEB])
D.J. Reyburn (USA; PCL)
Mark Ripperger (USA; PCL)
Kouichi Tanba (Japan; Nippon Professional Baseball [NPB])
John Tumpane (USA; PCL)

AL: Appalachian League (Rookie Advanced), AZ: Arizona League (Rookie), CL: Carolina League (A Advanced), EL: Eastern League (AA), FSL: Florida State League (A Advanced), GCL: Gulf Coast League (Rookie), IL: International League (AAA), MW: Midwest League (A), NW: Northwest League (Short A), NY: New York-Penn League (Short A), PCL: Pacific Coast League (AAA), PL: Pioneer League (Rookie Advanced), SA: South Atlantic League (A), SL: Southern League (AA), TL: Texas League (AA)

WBCI shall engage a staff of umpires to officiate Qualifying Round games. Each such Umpire shall sign and submit to WBCI an Umpire Participation Agreement. WBCI shall provide each umpire with a uniform, all parts of which the umpires shall wear while officiating as umpires. Each ballpark shall provide a separate dressing room for the umpires. No visitors except WBCI personnel or the immediate family of an umpire are permitted in the umpires' dressing room. Any immediate family not of the same sex as the umpire or umpires using the umpires' dressing room shall leave the room at the request of any umpire if any umpire is dressing or undressing. All persons except official personnel shall leave the umpires' dressing room no later than 15 minutes before the scheduled starting time of a game. At the completion of a game, the umpire crew chief may impose, in the discretion of the crew chief, a 15-minute period during which no visitors except official WBCI personnel are to be allowed in the umpires' dressing room. All umpires shall adhere to any WBCI policies in regard to security. "Immediate family" is defined as spouses, grandparents, parents, siblings and children.

No umpire may, directly or indirectly, ask any player, manager, coach, locker room attendant or other Federation Team personnel for any autographs. Similarly, Federation Team personnel, including any player, manager, coach or other field personnel (including locker room attendants), are prohibited from providing umpires with autographs except as may be approved by WBCI. No umpire may ask for, take, sell or participate in or otherwise traffic in Team or WBCI property, such as baseballs, bats, uniforms, lineup cards and the like. No umpire may, directly or indirectly, validate or certify any baseball, bat, uniform or other object as genuine or as actually used in a game.

Qualification Rounds

September 19-23, 2012
WBC Qualifier 1 in Jupiter, Fla. (France, Israel, South Africa, Spain)
Spain Advances

September 20-24, 2012
2013 WBC Qualifier 2 in Regensburg, Germany (Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Great Britain)
Canada Advances

November 15-19, 2012
WBC Qualifier 3 in Panama City, Panama (Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, Panama)
Brazil Advances

November 15-18, 2012
WBC Qualifier 4 in Taipei, Taiwan (Chinese Taipei, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand)
Chinese Taipei Advances

Main Tournament
March, 2013

Semifinals					Final
2R	Puerto Rico	3
1W	Japan	1
					SF1W	Puerto Rico	0
					SF2W	Dominican Republic	3
1R	Netherlands	1
2W	Dominican Republic	4

2009 World Baseball Classic

The first-round venues for the second running of the World Baseball Classic, which began on March 5, 2009 in Japan. 
The brackets were as follows:

Pool A -- China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea on March 5 in Tokyo Dome.
Pool B -- Australia, Cuba, Mexico and South Africa, from March 8-12 in Mexico City.
Pool C -- Canada, Italy, the U.S. and Venezuela, from March 8-12 in Toronto.
Pool D -- Dominican Republic, the Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico, from March 7-11 in Puerto Rico.

Umpires

Results

Semifinals Final     1R   South Korea 10   2W   Venezuela 2       SF1W   South Korea 3   SF2W   Japan (F/10) 5 2R   United States 4 1W   Japan 9

2006 World Baseball Classic

February 24, 2006

Umpires

In the First Round Assignment column the locations are where the umpires are assigned.  Please note that the umpires are typically from foreign nations or traveling to foreign nations and spend time in hotels or any accomodations they can find.  Umpires asdsigned yo Orlando, Fl (Disney) will likely be staying in downtown Disney hotels.

Last Name	First Name	Native Country	First Round Assignment
Armendariz	Ramon	USA	Tokyo, Japan
Barksdale	Lance	USA	Orlando, FL (Disney)
Barry	Scott	USA	Orlando, FL (Disney)
Campos	Angel	USA	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Causey	Kevin	USA	San Juan, PR
Davidson	Bob	USA	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Dellinger	Dusty	USA	Orlando, FL (Disney)
Diaz	Nelson	Cuba	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Dowdy	Adam	USA	San Juan, PR
Drake	Rob	USA	San Juan, PR
Durfee	Peter	USA	Tokyo, Japan
Fairchild	Chad	USA	San Juan, PR
Fullwood	Troy	USA	Orlando, FL (Disney)
Griffith	Chris	USA	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Guccione	Chris	USA	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Hallion	Tom	USA	San Juan, PR
Heo	Un	Korea	Tokyo, Japan
Hickox	Ed	USA	Orlando, FL (Disney)
Hoye	James	USA	San Juan, PR
Johnson	Adrian	USA	Tokyo, Japan
Knight	Brian	USA	Tokyo, Japan
McCabe	Ian	South Africa	San Juan, PR
Chen	Minggao	China	Tokyo, Japan
Moser	Casey	USA	Orlando, FL (Disney)
Muchlinski	Mike	USA	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Pierfranco	Leone	Italy	San Juan, PR
Poulton	Neil	Australia	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Reininger	Travis	USA	Phoenix/Scottsdale, AZ
Rey	Carlos	Puerto Rico	Orlando, FL (Disney)
Shieh	Liang-Kuei	Chinese Taipei	Tokyo, Japan
van Groningen	Fred	Netherlands	Orlando, FL (Disney)

ALTERNATES

Last Name	First Name	Native Country
Colon	Delfin	Puerto Rico
Hernandez	Edwin	Puerto Rico
Peralta	Roberto	Panama
Provincher	Rene	Canada
van den Berk	Edwin	Netherlands

* NOTE: An umpire from Japan will work the World Baseball Classic but will be announced at a later time.

Results

Semifinals Final     2R   Cuba 3   2W   Dominican Republic 1       SF2W   Japan 10   SF1W   Cuba 6 1R   Japan 6 1W   South Korea 0

Eligibility Rules

A player is eligible to participate on a World Baseball Classic team if:

• The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents.
• The player is qualified for citizenship or to hold a passport under the laws of a nation represented by a team, but has not been granted citizenship or been issued a passport, then the player may be made eligible by WBCI upon petition by the player or team.
• The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the nation the team represents.
• The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents.

Rules of Play

• a minimum of three days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched
• a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched
• a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched

A pitcher cannot pitch more than:

• 70 pitches per game in Round One of the tournament
• 85 pitches per game in Round Two of the tournament
• 100 pitches per game in the Semifinals and Final of the tournament

A pitcher can still finish a batter's plate appearance even if the limit is reached, but must come out after completing the plate appearance

A game will be a called game if the leading team is ahead by:

• 10 or more runs when the opposing team has batted in at least seven innings
• 15 or more runs when the opposing team has batted in at least five innings

Mercy rules do not apply during the semi-finals and finals.  The Designated Hitter rule applies for all games.