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International professional baseball competition From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2017 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international professional baseball competition, composed of 16 competing nations, held from March 6 to 22, 2017. It was the fourth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. The first-round hosts were Seoul, Tokyo, Miami, and Zapopan. The second-round hosts were Tokyo and San Diego, and the championship round was played in Los Angeles.[1]
| |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Countries | Japan Mexico South Korea United States |
| Dates | March 6–22, 2017 |
| Teams | 16 |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  United States (1st title) |
| Runner-up |  Puerto Rico |
| Third place |  Japan |
| Fourth place |  Netherlands |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 40 |
| Attendance | 973,699 (24,342 per game) |
| MVP |  Marcus Stroman |
Twelve of the sixteen competing nations qualified based on their performance during the first round of the 2013 tournament; the remaining four nations were the winners of four qualification tournaments that took place in February, March, and September 2016.[2] Two of the four qualifiers, Colombia and Israel, made their first appearance in the WBC, and both have secured their positions for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
The Netherlands, Japan, Puerto Rico, and the United States advanced to the championship round. Defending champion Dominican Republic was eliminated in the second round. The United States defeated Puerto Rico to win the championship game, 8–0. Marcus Stroman was named tournament MVP. He made three starts for the U.S. and posted a 2.35 ERA in 151⁄3 total innings, including 6 shutout innings in the championship game.
The top three teams from each pool of the first round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic automatically qualified.
| Team | World ranking[3] | Method of qualification | Classic appearance | Previous best position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Canada |
8th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Round 1 |
 China |
18th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Round 1 |
 Chinese Taipei |
4th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Round 2 (2013) |
 Cuba |
5th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Runners-up (2006) |
 Dominican Republic |
13th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Champions (2013) |
 Italy |
10th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Round 2 (2013) |
| Japan |
1st | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Champions (2006, 2009) |
| Netherlands |
9th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Fourth place (2013) |
| Puerto Rico |
12th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Runners-up (2013) |
 South Korea |
3rd | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Runners-up (2009) |
| United States |
2nd | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Fourth place (2009) |
 Venezuela |
7th | 2013 World Baseball Classic | 4th | Third place (2009) |
 Australia |
11th | Qualifier 1 | 4th | Round 1 |
 Mexico |
6th | Qualifier 2 | 4th | Round 2 (2006, 2009) |
 Colombia |
19th | Qualifier 3 | 1st | — |
 Israel |
41st | Qualifier 4 | 1st | — |
The first and second rounds of the tournament were played in round-robin format, with each team playing each other team in their pool once, as was the case in 2006. However, in an effort to reduce the likelihood that a team would be eliminated on statistical tiebreakers, the tournament schedule allowed for a seventh game at each pool-play site.
In either of the latter cases, the statistics used to rank the tied teams were:
Six stadiums were used during the main tournament:
| Pool A | Pool B & E | Pool C |
|---|---|---|
| Seoul, South Korea |
Tokyo, Japan |
Miami, United States |
| Gocheok Sky Dome | Tokyo Dome | Marlins Park |
| Capacity: 16,813 | Capacity: 42,000 | Capacity: 36,742 |
 |
 |
.jpg) |
| Pool D | Pool F | Championship |
|---|---|---|
| Zapopan, Mexico |
San Diego, United States |
Los Angeles, United States |
| Estadio Charros de Jalisco | Petco Park | Dodger Stadium |
| Capacity: 16,000 | Capacity: 40,162 | Capacity: 56,000 |
 |
 |
 |
Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the WBSC World Rankings at the time of the tournament.[3]
| Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Korea (3) (hosts) |
Japan (1) (hosts) |
United States (2) (hosts) |
Mexico (6) (hosts) |
| Chinese Taipei (4) |
Australia (11) |
Canada (8) |
Italy (10) |
| Netherlands (9) |
China (18) |
Colombia (19) |
Puerto Rico (12) |
| Israel (41) |
Cuba (5) |
Dominican Republic (13) |
Venezuela (7) |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Israel |
3 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 10 | +11 | 1.000 | — | Advance to second round |
| 2 | Netherlands |
3 | 2 | 1 | 13 | 9 | +4 | .667 | 1 | |
| 3 | South Korea (H) |
3 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 15 | −3 | .333 | 2 | |
| 4 | Chinese Taipei |
3 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 32 | −12 | .000 | 3 |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 6, 2017 | 18:30 | Israel |
2–1 | South Korea |
10 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 4:11 | 15,470 | Boxscore |
| Mar 7, 2017 | 12:00 | Israel |
15–7 | Chinese Taipei |
Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:54 | 3,287 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 7, 2017 | 18:30 | South Korea |
0–5 | Netherlands |
Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:03 | 15,184 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 8, 2017 | 18:30 | Chinese Taipei |
5–6 | Netherlands |
Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:21 | 3,606 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 9, 2017 | 12:00 | Netherlands |
2–4 | Israel |
Gocheok Sky Dome | 3:12 | 2,739 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 9, 2017 | 18:30 | South Korea |
11–8 | Chinese Taipei |
10 | Gocheok Sky Dome | 4:40 | 12,000 | Boxscore |
Pool A of the First Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic was held at Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul, South Korea from March 6 to 10, 2017, between Team Israel, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Taiwan. Pool A was a round-robin tournament. Prior to the start of the tournament, ESPN considered Team Israel, ranked 41st in the world, to be the biggest underdog in the tournament, referring to them as the "Jamaican bobsled team of the WBC".[6][7]
Team Israel (3–0) and Team Netherlands (2–1) qualified for the second round, in Japan.[8] Israel became the first baseball team to go undefeated in the first round of the WBC's main draw after entering the main draw by winning in a qualifying round.[9][10] In what NBC reported was thought to be the tallest batter-pitcher matchup in baseball history, the Dutch team's 7-foot-1-inch (2.16 m) Loek van Mil walked Israel's 6-foot-8-inch (2.03 m) Nate Freiman.[11] Israel's catcher, Ryan Lavarnway, was named Pool A MVP, after going 5-for-9 (.556/.692/.889), with four walks, a home run, and three RBIs.[12][13]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 8 | +14 | 1.000 | — | Advance to second round |
| 2 | Cuba |
3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 14 | +2 | .667 | 1 | |
| 3 | Australia |
3 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 8 | +7 | .333 | 2 | |
| 4 | China |
3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 24 | −23 | .000 | 3 |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 7, 2017 | 19:00 | Cuba |
6–11 | Japan |
Tokyo Dome | 3:56 | 44,908 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 8, 2017 | 12:00 | China |
0–6 | Cuba |
Tokyo Dome | 3:14 | 39,102 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 8, 2017 | 19:00 | Japan |
4–1 | Australia |
Tokyo Dome | 3:18 | 41,408 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 9, 2017 | 19:00 | Australia |
11–0 | China |
8 | Tokyo Dome | 2:59 | 3,013 | Boxscore |
| Mar 10, 2017 | 12:00 | Australia |
3–4 | Cuba |
Tokyo Dome | 3:36 | 38,050 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 10, 2017 | 19:00 | China |
1–7 | Japan |
Tokyo Dome | 2:41 | 40,053 | Boxscore |
Two-time champion Japan concluded Pool B with a 3–0 record. Cuba defeated Australia to advance to the second round.[14] In the first round, after batting .364, Japanese outfielder Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh was named the Pool B MVP.[15]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dominican Republic |
3 | 3 | 0 | 26 | 10 | +16 | 1.000 | — | Advance to second round |
| 2 | United States (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 16 | 9 | +7 | .667 | 1 | |
| 3 | Colombia |
3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 14 | −5 | .333 | 2 | |
| 4 | Canada |
3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 21 | −18 | .000 | 3 |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 9, 2017 | 18:00 | Canada |
2–9 | Dominican Republic |
Marlins Park | 3:14 | 27,388 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 10, 2017 | 18:00 | Colombia |
2–3 | United States |
10 | Marlins Park | 3:25 | 22,580 | Boxscore |
| Mar 11, 2017 | 12:00 | Colombia |
4–1 | Canada |
Marlins Park | 2:54 | 17,209 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 11, 2017 | 18:30 | United States |
5–7 | Dominican Republic |
Marlins Park | 3:38 | 37,446 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 12, 2017 | 12:30 | Dominican Republic |
10–3 | Colombia |
11 | Marlins Park | 4:44 | 36,952 | Boxscore |
| Mar 12, 2017 | 19:00 | Canada |
0–8 | United States |
Marlins Park | 3:01 | 22,303 | Boxscore |
After falling behind 5–0 in the sixth inning, Dominican Republic rallied to defeat the U.S. 7–5 in their second game. On the last day of the pool, Colombia tied their game against Dominican Republic 3–3 in the eighth on a Jorge Alfaro home run, and had a chance to win in the ninth inning, but Oscar Mercado was called out at home trying to score on a sacrifice fly. The game continued into extra innings, where Dominican Republic scored 7 runs in the 11th to win and finish the pool undefeated. The U.S. then took an early lead on Canada, winning 8–0 to claim the second berth in San Diego. Manny Machado of the Dominican Republic was named MVP for the first-round Pool C bracket of the WBC, after batting .357.[16]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puerto Rico |
3 | 3 | 0 | 29 | 7 | +22 | 1.000 | — | Advance to second round |
| 2 | Venezuela |
4 | 2 | 2 | 24 | 35 | −11 | .500 | 1.5 | |
| 3 | Italy |
4 | 1 | 3 | 26 | 33 | −7 | .250 | 2.5 | |
| 4 | Mexico (H) |
3 | 1 | 2 | 24 | 28 | −4 | .333 | 2 |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 9, 2017 | 20:00 | Mexico |
9–10 | Italy |
Estadio Charros de Jalisco | 3:39 | 14,296 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 10, 2017 | 20:00 | Venezuela |
0–11 | Puerto Rico |
7 | Estadio Charros de Jalisco | 2:43 | 14,806 | Boxscore |
| Mar 11, 2017 | 14:00 | Venezuela |
11–10 | Italy |
10 | Estadio Charros de Jalisco | 4:43 | 12,187 | Boxscore |
| Mar 11, 2017 | 20:30 | Puerto Rico |
9–4 | Mexico |
Estadio Charros de Jalisco | 3:40 | 15,647 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 12, 2017 | 13:30 | Italy |
3–9 | Puerto Rico |
Estadio Charros de Jalisco | 2:42 | 11,924 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 12, 2017 | 20:00 | Mexico |
11–9 | Venezuela |
Estadio Charros de Jalisco | 4:44 | 15,489 | Boxscore |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 13, 2017 | 19:00 | Venezuela |
4–3 | Italy |
Estadio Charros de Jalisco | 3:26 | 1,783 | Boxscore |
While Puerto Rico cruised in all three of its games, the fight for the other three places was extremely tight. Italy scored 5 runs in the bottom of the 9th inning to shock Mexico in the first game, then lost an extra-inning slugfest against Venezuela. In the final game, Mexico defeated Venezuela in another slugfest and thought they had scored enough runs to advance on tiebreakers,[17] though this turned out not to be the case.
The first tiebreaker criterion is fewest runs allowed per defensive inning played (RA/IPD) in the games among the tied teams. Although Mexico allowed the fewest runs in those games (19, to Italy's 20, and Venezuela's 21), Mexico played fewer defensive innings (17, while the other two teams had 19) and thus had the highest average RA/IPD (1.117, to Italy's 1.053 and Venezuela's 1.105). This occurred for two reasons: the Italy-Venezuela game went 10 innings, and Mexico was the road team while losing to Italy. In fact, the Mexico-Italy game did go into the bottom of the 9th, in which Italy scored runs that were charged against Mexico but Mexico failed to record an out. There was confusion during and after the Mexico-Venezuela game, with an initial calculation showing that Mexico had advanced. Mexico filed a formal protest of its elimination, but the protest was denied.[17][18]
As specified in the rules, Mexico was eliminated by the tiebreaker calculation and a tiebreaker game was played between Italy and Venezuela, which Venezuela won with a 9th-inning rally.
According to the rules as announced at the time, Mexico's last-place finish would have required it to participate in a qualifying tournament in order to re-qualify for the 2021 World Baseball Classic. However, MLB announced in 2020 that the field of teams for the 2021 WBC would be expanded, with all 2017 WBC participants qualifying automatically and four new teams coming from qualifying tournaments.[19]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan (H) |
3 | 3 | 0 | 24 | 14 | +10 | 1.000 | — | Advance to championship round |
| 2 | Netherlands |
3 | 2 | 1 | 32 | 11 | +21 | .667 | 1 | |
| 3 | Israel |
3 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 21 | −12 | .333 | 2 | |
| 4 | Cuba |
3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 26 | −19 | .000 | 3 |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 12, 2017 | 12:00 | Cuba |
1–4 | Israel |
Tokyo Dome | 3:14 | 43,153 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 12, 2017 | 19:00 | Japan |
8–6 | Netherlands |
11 | Tokyo Dome | 4:46 | 44,326 | Boxscore |
| Mar 13, 2017 | 19:00 | Netherlands |
12–2 | Israel |
8 | Tokyo Dome | 3:04 | 5,017 | Boxscore |
| Mar 14, 2017 | 19:00 | Cuba |
5–8 | Japan |
Tokyo Dome | 3:25 | 32,717 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 15, 2017 | 12:00 | Netherlands |
14–1 | Cuba |
7 | Tokyo Dome | 2:19 | 40,680 | Boxscore |
| Mar 15, 2017 | 19:00 | Israel |
3–8 | Japan |
Tokyo Dome | 3:28 | 43,179 | Boxscore |
Undefeated Japan (3–0) and the Netherlands (2–1) advanced to the semi-final round, as Israel (1–2) came in third, and Cuba (0–3) fourth.[20]
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Puerto Rico |
3 | 3 | 0 | 22 | 8 | +14 | 1.000 | — | Advance to championship round |
| 2 | United States (H) |
3 | 2 | 1 | 15 | 11 | +4 | .667 | 1 | |
| 3 | Dominican Republic |
3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 9 | −2 | .333 | 2 | |
| 4 | Venezuela |
3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 20 | −16 | .000 | 3 |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 14, 2017 | 18:00 | Dominican Republic |
1−3 | Puerto Rico |
Petco Park | 3:16 | 16,637 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 15, 2017 | 18:00 | Venezuela |
2−4 | United States |
Petco Park | 3:13 | 16,635 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 16, 2017 | 19:00 | Venezuela |
0−3 | Dominican Republic |
Petco Park | 4:05 | 16,390 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 17, 2017 | 19:00 | United States |
5−6 | Puerto Rico |
Petco Park | 3:09 | 32,463 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 18, 2017 | 12:30 | Puerto Rico |
13−2 | Venezuela |
Petco Park | 3:24 | 20,778 | Boxscore | |
| Mar 18, 2017 | 19:00 | United States |
6−3 | Dominican Republic |
Petco Park | 3:40 | 43,002 | Boxscore |
Pool F started with Puerto Rico handing the Dominican Republic its first loss since the 2009 World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rico ended Pool F still undefeated and Venezuela was eliminated, going 0–3. The final game of the pool was a rematch between the United States and Dominican Republic to advance to the championship round. The DR took an early 2–0 lead in the first inning, but the United States came back to win 6–3 to eliminate the defending champions.
| Semifinals | Final | ||||||||
| ER | Netherlands
| 3 | |||||||
| FW | Puerto Rico
| 4 | |||||||
| SF1W | Puerto Rico
| 0 | |||||||
| SF2W | United States
| 8 | |||||||
| FR | United States
| 2 | |||||||
| EW | Japan
| 1 | |||||||
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 20, 2017 | 18:00 | Netherlands |
3–4 | Puerto Rico |
11 | Dodger Stadium | 4:19 | 24,865 | Boxscore |
| Mar 21, 2017 | 18:00 | United States |
2–1 | Japan |
Dodger Stadium | 3:12 | 33,462 | Boxscore |
| Date | Local time | Road team | Score | Home team | Inn. | Venue | Game duration | Attendance | Boxscore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 22, 2017 | 18:00 | United States |
8–0 | Puerto Rico |
Dodger Stadium | 3:30 | 51,565 | Boxscore |
The final standings were calculated by the WBSC for inclusion in the WBSC Men's Baseball World Rankings system.[21]
In the final standings, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority:
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When the 2017 WBC was played, it was assumed that the field for the following 2021 WBC would remain 16 teams. Under the qualification format in use at the time, the bottom four finishers from 2017 (Canada, China, Mexico, and Chinese Taipei) would've been forced to re-qualify for 2021.[22] However, in January 2020, MLB announced it was expanding the field for the 2021 WBC from 16 teams to 20 and that all 16 participants from 2017 would receive automatic bids for 2021, thus sparing the bottom four nations from relegation to the qualifiers.[19]
Ryan Lavarnway Yoshitomo Tsutsugo Manny Machado Francisco Lindor Wladimir Balentien Yadier Molina Marcus Stroman| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| C | Yadier Molina |
| 1B | Eric Hosmer |
| 2B | Javier Báez |
| 3B | Carlos Correa |
| SS | Francisco Lindor |
| OF | Wladimir Balentien |
| Gregory Polanco | |
| Christian Yelich | |
| DH | Carlos Beltrán |
| P | Kodai Senga |
| Marcus Stroman | |
| Josh Zeid |
Source: [23]
973,699 (avg. 24,342; pct. 72.3%)
508,830 (avg. 20,353; pct. 74.3%)
354,977 (avg. 29,581; pct. 72.0%)
109,892 (avg. 36,631; pct. 65.4%)
Batting
* Minimum 2.7 plate appearances per game |
Pitching* Minimum 0.8 innings pitched per game
|
| Territory | Rights holder |
|---|---|
| Australia |
ESPN Australia |
 New Zealand | |
 Brazil |
ESPN Brazil |
| Canada |
Sportsnet/RDS |
| Colombia |
Telecaribe/Win Sports[24] |
| Cuba |
Tele Rebelde, Digital Channels: HD 1 y HD 2. |
| Dominican Republic |
CDN Sports-Max[25] |
 Cyprus |
Fox Sports Greece |
 Greece | |
 Turkey |
Fox Sports Turkey |
| Italy |
Fox Sports Italy[26] |
 Malta | |
 San Marino | |
| Israel |
Fox Sports Israel |
| Japan |
J Sports, TBS, TV Asahi |
| Latin America | DirecTV Sports (es)[27] |
| Southeast Asia | Fox Sports Asia |
 Hong Kong | |
 Macau | |
 Taiwan | |
| Mexico |
Televisa Deportes |
| Netherlands |
Fox Sports Netherlands |
 Philippines |
Sports5 |
| Puerto Rico |
Wapa 2 Deportes[28] |
 Russia |
Viasat Sport (semifinals and final)[29] |
| South Korea |
JTBC, JTBC3 Fox Sports |
| Taiwan |
Eleven Sports/PTS |
| United States |
MLB Network/ESPN Deportes[30] |
| Venezuela |
Direct TV/IVC/TLT/TVes |
| Territory | Rights holder |
|---|---|
| United States |
ESPN Radio (semifinals and finals)/ESPN Deportes Radio |
| SiriusXM |
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