Source: MLB.com:

 

Dodger Stadium to host Classic finals

World to gather in LA for end of 2009 international tournament

By Barry M. Bloom / MLB.com

 

Dodger Stadium will host the semifinals and finals of next year's second World Baseball Classic on March 21 and 23. And the second round has been awarded to San Diego's PETCO Park and Dolphin Stadium in Miami, with the games being played in those two venues on March 14-19.

The Dodgers haven't hosted a World Series since 1988 -- when they defeated the A's -- and an All-Star Game since 1980. Earlier this season, Major League Baseball announced that the 2010 All-Star Game will be staged at Angel Stadium in Anaheim.

 

"It is fitting that Dodger Stadium, the site of many celebrated events, has been selected to host the semi-finals and finals of the 2009 World Baseball Classic," Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball's president and chief operating officer, said in a statement. "Los Angeles is one of the most international cities in the world and the Dodgers have always been on the forefront of baseball's development as a global game.

 

"In addition, PETCO Park and Dolphin Stadium will provide strong international venues for Round 2 of the tournament. Baseball fans across the globe will have the exciting opportunity to experience these three exceptional settings during the world's premier international baseball tournament."

 

PETCO, which is the home of the Padres, was the site of the inaugural semifinals and finals in 2006.

 

Playing in front of sellout crowds in the 45,000-seat venue, Japan vanquished Cuba, 10-6, in the finals after defeating rival Korea. Cuba, the perennial world baseball power on the international scene, beat the Dominican Republic to move on to the finals.

 

Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, who now toils for the Red Sox, was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.

 

Dolphin Stadium, home of the Marlins, was not a site for games during the inaugural tournament.

 

"The Marlins are extremely proud to host this world-class event and we look forward to becoming a regular World Baseball Classic destination once we move into our new ballpark in Miami," Claude Delorme, senior vice president of stadium development for the Marlins, said. "We are known as the 'Gateway to the Americas' and we appreciate the opportunity to welcome baseball fans from throughout the region and around the world."

 

The first-round venues were set several months ago with the Classic beginning this coming March 5 in Japan. It will be played in five countries, include 16 participating national teams and feature 480 of the world's best baseball players.

 

"Just think about the potential match-ups, both in San Diego and Miami, and then in Los Angeles, and you'll get some sense of just how excited about the 2009 Classic all of us who are involved in it are right now," Gene Orza, chief operating officer of the Players Association, said.

 

"Fans should be, too. With an even broader array of great players competing, a level of intensity that memory of the inaugural World Baseball Classic is bound to heighten, and now the announcement of the final venues, the upcoming 2009 Classic promises to give them the baseball thrill of a lifetime."

 

As in 2006, Tokyo Dome and Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, will again host first-round games. In 2009, those venues will be joined for the first time by the Rogers Centre in Toronto and Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City.

 

Rogers Centre is the home of the Blue Jays. Major League Spring Training exhibition games have been played at the 27,940-seat facility in Mexico City.

 

The 16-team field is the same as in 2006, though an expansion of the field to 24 countries and territories with qualifying rounds as a preface to reach the main competition is under consideration for 2013.

 

Next year's brackets are as follows:

 

Pool A: China, Chinese Taipei, Japan and Korea, beginning on March 5 in Tokyo Dome, where the A's and Red Sox opened the regular season in the spring.

 

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, Netherlands, Panama and Puerto Rico March 7-11 in Puerto Rico.

 

Attendance for the '06 tournament at its seven venues was 737,112 tickets sold, a major coup considering the fact that the Asian bracket didn't reach the 80 percent capacity in Tokyo Dome that was originally projected.

 

It was the first time that all Major League players were allowed to represent their native lands in an international baseball tournament. The baseball competition in the Summer Olympics, which is slated for Beijing next month, includes non-25-man roster MLB players only.

 

In another new wrinkle for next year's game, a rules change has been made in the qualifying portion of the tournament, which will now be a double-elimination format in the first two rounds.

 

In '06, there was round-robin play as teams with the top two records in each bracket ascended to the second round and the semifinals with a complicated formula of runs scored used as the first tie breaker.

 

The semifinals remain as a single elimination competition to qualify for the finals.

 

Also unlike '06, there will be a cross over of brackets in the semifinals rather than teams from the same bracket playing each other to qualify for the finals.

 

"We are humbled and honored to be hosting the championships of the 2009 World Baseball Classic," Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said. "The Dodger organization has a long and storied history of spreading the game of baseball internationally and it's only fitting that we open the gates of Dodger Stadium to fans from around the world and welcome them to the city of Los Angeles with open arms."

I was hoping for some games in phoenix again - i enjoyed going to them, was a neat vibe - are they going to lean on secondary venues as well or was that just for pool play?

 

I know they used scottsdale stadium out here for a lot of the games as well

awesome news for DS.

So who do you think will make the quarterfinals? I might be going to one of the games, depending on who plays.