Baseball's World Classic

▪ 2007

 On March 20, 2006, baseball history was made in San Diego when Japan scored four runs in the first inning and defeated Cuba 10–6 in the championship game to win the inaugural World Baseball Classic (WBC). Japan, managed by the legendary Sadaharu Oh, was led at the plate by Ichiro Suzuki, a star with the Major League Baseball (MLB) Seattle Mariners. In the final against Cuba, Suzuki doubled, singled, drove in a run, and scored three runs for his native land before a crowd of 42,696. Meanwhile, Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of the Pacific League's Seibu Lions, finished the tournament with a 3–0 record, a 1.38 earned run average, and the Most Valuable Player trophy.

      The WBC was an ambitious project that required the cooperation of MLB, the Major League Players Association, and several other federations. Many players, including Suzuki, who would normally have been participating in spring training with their regular professional teams, participated in the global event, which was viewed by some as a precursor to a true “World Series.” The tournament was staged in Tokyo, San Juan, P.R., and various venues in the U.S. and featured 16 nations: China, Taiwan, Japan, and South Korea (in Pool A); Canada, Mexico, South Africa, and the United States (in Pool B); Cuba, The Netherlands, Panama, and Puerto Rico (in Pool C); and Australia, the Dominican Republic, Italy, and Venezuela (in Pool D). Two teams from each pool qualified for the quarterfinals. Japan earned a place in the final by defeating South Korea 6–0 in the semifinal, while Cuba beat the Dominican Republic 3–1 to reach the final.

      The tournament drew a total of 737,112 spectators, and television ratings were excellent, even though the U.S. team did not fare as well as predicted, despite its having on the roster such MLB luminaries as Ken Griffey, Jr., Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Vernon Wells, and Michael Young. The U.S., under manager Buck Martinez, finished with a 1–2 record during the quarterfinal round and was eliminated with a 2–1 loss to Mexico on March 16 in Anaheim, Calif. Mexico scored two runs off Roger Clemens of the Houston Astros, while the Americans collected only three hits. The Americans had defeated Japan 4–3 earlier in the tournament, with the aid of a controversial call by an umpire who deprived Japan of a potential tie-breaking run in the eighth inning and thus opened the way for the Americans to score the winning run in the ninth inning. Japan also finished the pool stage with a 1–2 record, but it advanced on a yield of fewer runs.

      The WBC created some trepidation among MLB executives, who feared that their players would be vulnerable to injuries after a winter without games, but there were few problems, as pitchers' activity was limited by pitch counts. The tournament's success made it almost certain that the next WBC would be played as scheduled in 2009.

Robert Verdi

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