(Story by Marco Stoovelaar; Photo by Henk Seppen)
 Playing sites announced for 2021 World Baseball Classic
Nederlands
 MIAMI, Florida (USA) -
Major League Baseball unveiled the sites for the 2021 World Baseball Classic on Tuesday (February 25).
At a press-conference in Marlins Park, the home of Major League-club Miami Marlins, it was announced that games of the fifth global event will be played in Miami, Phoenix (Arizona), Tokyo (Japan) and Taichung (Taiwan).
In the First Round of the World Baseball Classic (March 9-23, 2021), there will be four Pools.
The games of these Pools will be played at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Marlins Park in Miami and Chase Field in Phoenix.
For the first time in the history of the Classic, one site will be the host of three different rounds, including the finals.
That will be Marlins Park, where Pool D will be played March 14-18, to be followed by the Quarter Finals on March 19-20 to be played by the best two teams from Pool C and from Pool D.
Hereafter, the Semi-Finals and Final will be played on March 21-23.
The home of the Marlins also was one of the playing sites during the Classic in 2013 and 2017.
Miami also hosted the Second Round in 2009 in the former home of the then-Florida Marlins, Dolphin Stadium.
Chase Field was one of the First Round-locations during the first edition in 2006, then again in 2013.
This time, the home of Arizona Diamondbacks will be the host of Pool C (March 13-17).
Pool A will be played in Taichung (March 9-13).
It will be the second time that games will be played in Taiwan.
The first time was in 2013.
The famous Tokyo Dome has been a playing-site during all four previous World Baseball Classics.
This time, the games in Pool B will be played there (March 9-13).
The Tokyo Dome also will be the site for the Quarter Finals (March 16-17) which includes the four teams from Pool A and B.
The winners of the Quarter Finals then will advance to the Final Round in Miami.
...The Tokyo Dome during batting practice in 2013...
...The stadium will be a playing site again in 2021...
(© Photo: Henk Seppen) |
For the fifth edition, the field of participants has been expanded to 20 from 16.
The sixteen countries that participated in the final tournament in 2017 all have qualified for the 2021 edition.
They will be joined by four coutries, who will advance from the two Qualifying Tournaments, that both will be played in Tucson, Arizona (USA), coming March 12-25.
The countries that already have secured their qualification for the 2021 edition are Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Israel, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Puerto Rico, South Korea, USA and Venezuela.
In the upcoming Qualifying Round, twelve countries will participate, divided into two six-team tournaments.
The two best countries of each tournament will advance to the Classic in 2021.
All games will be played at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium in Tucson, which had been used for Spring Training by Arizona Diamondbacks and Chicago White Sox through 2010.
The stadium has been the home-site of Tucson Sidewinder (Triple-A, Arizona Diamondbacks, 1998-2008) and Tucson Padres (Triple-A, San Diego Padres, 2011-2013).
In the first Qualifier, to be played March 12-17, Brazil, France, Germany, Nicaragua, Pakistan and South Africa will participate.
The second Qualifier is scheduled March 20-25 with the participation of the Czech Republic, Great Britain, New Zealand, Panama, the Philippines and Spain.
The pool-alignments for 2021 have not yet been announced.
The Netherlands participated in all four Classics played so far.
In 2006, the Orange Team played in Pool C in Puerto Rico and then was eliminated.
In 2009, again in Puerto Rico, the Netherlands opened in Pool D and then advanced to the Second Round.
In Dolphin Stadium, then the home of the Florida Marlins, the Netherlands was eliminated.
In both 2013 and 2017, the Netherlands played the First Round in Asia, but this time, the team advanced to the Semi-Final.
In 2013, the team opened in Taiwan (Pool B) to advance to the Second Round in Japan.
There, the team qualified with Japan for the Semi-Final.
In AT&T Park in San Francisco (USA), the Netherlands then lost 4-1 to the Dominican Republic, which then won the title by winning 3-0 in the Final against Puerto Rico.
In 2017, the Netherlands played the First Round in South Korea and advanced with Israel to the Second Round.
In the Second Round in Tokyo, the Netherlands and Japan again proved to be the best and advanced to the Semi-Final.
In Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles (USA), the Netherlands again was eliminated after losing the Semi-Final against Puerto Rico with a 4-3 score in eleven innings.
In the Final, the USA won the Classic for the first time, thanks to an 8-0 shutout-win against Puerto Rico.
The first two editons of the World Baseball Classic were won by Japan.
(February 25)
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