2009 World Baseball Classic
Tournament details
CountriesCanada
Japan
Mexico
Puerto Rico
United States
DatesMarch 5–23, 2009
Teams16
Final positions
Champions Japan (2nd title)
Runner-up South Korea
Third place United States
Fourth place Venezuela
Tournament statistics
Games played39
Attendance801,408 (20,549 per game)
MVPJapan Daisuke Matsuzaka
Jumbotron ad for the 2009 WBC at Rogers Centre

The 2009 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was an international baseball competition. It began on March 5 and finished March 23.

Unlike in 2006, when the round-robin format of the first two rounds led to some eliminations being decided by run-difference tiebreakers, the first two rounds of the 2009 edition were modified double-elimination format. The modification was that the final game of each bracket was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket, although that game only affected seeding, as two teams always advanced from each bracket.

The biggest surprise in the first round was the Netherlands, which twice defeated the Dominican Republic in Pool D to advance. The second round saw the two Pool A teams (South Korea and Japan) defeat the two Pool B teams (Cuba and Mexico) while the two Pool C teams (Venezuela and the United States) defeated the two Pool D teams (Puerto Rico and the Netherlands). South Korea and Japan then advanced to the final game, playing each other for the fifth time in the tournament (split 2–2 up to that time), and Japan emerged victorious for the second straight Classic, winning the final game 5–3 in 10 innings.

For the second straight Classic, Daisuke Matsuzaka was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Format

As was the case for the 2006 tournament, the sixteen teams were split into four pools of four teams each.[1] Whereas previously the teams played in round-robin competition in the first two rounds, this time they took part in a double-elimination format, similar to the U.S. College World Series sponsored by the NCAA. Under the new format, teams were only guaranteed to play two games. This change was made to eliminate the complicated tiebreaking procedures,[2] which were required for one of the pools in each of the first two rounds in 2006.

After the first round, the tournament was held in the U.S. The top two teams from each of the four pools—seeded from the final game in their respective pools—went to the second round, with the teams from Pools A and B meeting at Petco Park in San Diego for Pool 1, and the teams in Pools C and D playing at Dolphin Stadium in Miami Gardens for Pool 2.[3] Again, both pools made use of double-elimination to determine the teams qualifying for the semifinals. In another change from 2006, the four qualifying teams crossed over for the semifinals, with the winner of each pool playing against the runner-up from the other pool.[2] The championship round process was otherwise unchanged, with each semifinal being a single elimination match, the victors meeting in the final to determine the tournament champion. All three championship round games were held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.[3]

In the final, the team with the higher winning percentage of games in the tournament were to be the home team. If the teams competing in the final had identical winning percentages in the tournament, then World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) would conduct a coin flip or draw to determine the home team.

Rosters

Each participating national federation had a deadline of January 19, 2009, to submit a 45-man provisional roster. Final rosters of 28 players, which was required to include a minimum of 13 pitchers and two catchers, were submitted on February 24. If a player on the submitted roster was unable to play, usually due to injury, he could be substituted at any time before the start of the tournament. While rosters could not be changed during a round of competition, a team that advanced to a later round could change its roster for the later round.

Venues

Seven stadiums were used during the tournament:

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
Japan Tokyo, Japan Mexico Mexico City, Mexico Canada Toronto, Canada Puerto Rico San Juan, Puerto Rico
Tokyo Dome Foro Sol Rogers Centre Hiram Bithorn Stadium
Capacity: 42,000 Capacity: 26,000 Capacity: 49,539 Capacity: 18,264
Pool 1 Pool 2 Championship
United States San Diego, United States United States Miami Gardens, United States United States Los Angeles, United States
Petco Park Dolphin Stadium Dodger Stadium
Capacity: 42,685 Capacity: 38,560 Capacity: 56,000

Pools composition

The 16 teams that participated in the 2006 World Baseball Classic were all invited back for the 2009 tournament. The World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) changed the members of each pool as compared with the 2006 Classic, however, except for Pool A. There was no official qualifying competition.

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the IBAF World Rankings at the time of the tournament.[4][5]

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
 China (14)  Australia (10)  Canada (7)  Dominican Republic (17)
 Chinese Taipei (5)  Cuba (1)  Italy (13)  Netherlands (6)
 Japan (4)  Mexico (8)  United States (2)  Panama (9)
 South Korea (3)  South Africa (20)  Venezuela (15)  Puerto Rico (11)

First round

Pool A

PreliminariesQualifiersSeeding
– China0
– Japan4
W1 Japan14
W2 South Korea2
– Chinese Taipei0
– South Korea9
W4 Japan0
W5 South Korea1
Lower round 1Lower final
W3 China0
L1 China4L4 South Korea14
L2 Chinese Taipei1
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 5, 2009 18:30 China  0–4  Japan   Tokyo Dome 2:55 43,428 Boxscore
Mar 6, 2009 18:30 Chinese Taipei  0–9  South Korea   Tokyo Dome 2:48 12,704 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2009 12:30 Chinese Taipei  1–4  China   Tokyo Dome 2:51 12,890 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2009 19:00 Japan  14–2  South Korea 7 Tokyo Dome 2:48 45,640 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2009 18:30 China  0–14  South Korea 7 Tokyo Dome 2:13 12,571 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2009 18:30 South Korea  1–0  Japan   Tokyo Dome 3:02 42,879 Boxscore

Pool B

PreliminariesQualifiersSeeding
– South Africa1
– Cuba8
W1 Cuba5
W2 Australia4
– Australia17
– Mexico7
W4 Cuba16
W5 Mexico4
Lower round 1Lower final
W3 Mexico16
L1 South Africa3L4 Australia1
L2 Mexico14
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 8, 2009 12:00 South Africa  1–8  Cuba   Foro Sol 2:37 11,270 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2009 19:00 Australia  17–7  Mexico 8 Foro Sol 3:43 20,821 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2009 20:00 Mexico  14–3  South Africa   Foro Sol 3:33 10,311 Boxscore
Mar 10, 2009 20:00 Cuba  5–4  Australia   Foro Sol 3:29 13,396 Boxscore
Mar 11, 2009 20:00 Mexico  16–1  Australia 6 Foro Sol 2:31 16,718 Boxscore
Mar 12, 2009 19:00 Mexico  4–16  Cuba 7 Foro Sol 3:33 20,149 Boxscore

Pool C

PreliminariesQualifiersSeeding
– Canada5
– United States6
W1 United States15
W2 Venezuela6
– Italy0
– Venezuela7
W3 United States3
W5 Venezuela5
Lower round 1Lower final
W4 Italy1
L1 Canada2L3 Venezuela10
L2 Italy6
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 7, 2009 14:00 Canada  5–6  United States   Rogers Centre 2:55 42,314 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2009 20:00 Italy  0–7  Venezuela   Rogers Centre 3:00 13,272 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2009 20:00 United States  15–6  Venezuela   Rogers Centre 3:39 13,094 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2009 18:30 Italy  6–2  Canada   Rogers Centre 3:36 12,411 Boxscore
Mar 10, 2009 17:00 Italy  1–10  Venezuela   Rogers Centre 3:04 10,450 Boxscore
Mar 11, 2009 18:30 Venezuela  5–3  United States   Rogers Centre 3:08 12,358 Boxscore

Pool D

PreliminariesQualifiersSeeding
– Netherlands3
– Dominican Rep.2
W1 Netherlands1
W2 Puerto Rico3
– Panama0
– Puerto Rico7
W4 Puerto Rico5
W5 Netherlands0
Lower round 1Lower final
W3 Dominican Rep.1
L1 Dominican Rep.9L4 Netherlands2
L2 Panama0
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 7, 2009 12:00 Netherlands  3–2  Dominican Republic   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:01 9,335 Boxscore
Mar 7, 2009 18:00 Panama  0–7  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 2:57 17,348 Boxscore
Mar 8, 2009 16:30 Panama  0–9  Dominican Republic   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 2:46 9,221 Boxscore
Mar 9, 2009 18:30 Netherlands  1–3  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:11 19,479 Boxscore
Mar 10, 2009 18:30 Dominican Republic  1–2  Netherlands 11 Hiram Bithorn Stadium 3:38 11,814 Boxscore
Mar 11, 2009 17:30 Netherlands  0–5  Puerto Rico   Hiram Bithorn Stadium 2:55 19,501 Boxscore

Second round

Pool 1

PreliminariesQualifiersSeeding
AR Japan6
BW Cuba0
W1 Japan1
W2 South Korea4
BR Mexico2
AW South Korea8
W4 South Korea2
W5 Japan6
Lower round 1Lower final
W3 Cuba0
L1 Cuba7L4 Japan5
L2 Mexico4
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 15, 2009 13:00 Japan  6–0  Cuba   Petco Park 3:33 20,179 Boxscore
Mar 15, 2009 20:00 Mexico  2–8  South Korea   Petco Park 3:43 22,337 Boxscore
Mar 16, 2009 20:00 Cuba  7–4  Mexico   Petco Park 3:09 9,329 Boxscore
Mar 17, 2009 20:00 Japan  1–4  South Korea   Petco Park 3:21 15,332 Boxscore
Mar 18, 2009 20:00 Japan  5–0  Cuba   Petco Park 3:26 9,774 Boxscore
Mar 19, 2009 18:00 Japan  6–2  South Korea   Petco Park 3:42 14,832 Boxscore

Pool 2

PreliminariesQualifiersSeeding
DR Netherlands1
CW Venezuela3
W1 Venezuela2
W2 Puerto Rico0
CR United States1
DW Puerto Rico11
W4 Venezuela10
W5 United States6
Lower round 1Lower final
W3 United States6
L1 Netherlands3L4 Puerto Rico5
L2 United States9
Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 14, 2009 13:00 Netherlands  1–3  Venezuela   Dolphin Stadium 2:22 17,345 Boxscore
Mar 14, 2009 20:00 United States  1–11  Puerto Rico 7 Dolphin Stadium 2:15 30,595 Boxscore
Mar 15, 2009 19:30 Netherlands  3–9  United States   Dolphin Stadium 3:14 11,059 Boxscore
Mar 16, 2009 20:00 Venezuela  2–0  Puerto Rico   Dolphin Stadium 3:23 25,599 Boxscore
Mar 17, 2009 19:00 Puerto Rico  5–6  United States   Dolphin Stadium 3:54 13,224 Boxscore
Mar 18, 2009 19:00 United States  6–10  Venezuela   Dolphin Stadium 3:32 16,575 Boxscore

Championship round

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

Semifinals

Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 21, 2009 18:00 South Korea  10–2  Venezuela   Dodger Stadium 3:22 43,378 Boxscore
Mar 22, 2009 17:00 United States  4–9  Japan   Dodger Stadium 3:15 43,630 Boxscore

Final

Date Local time Road team Score Home team Inn. Venue Game duration Attendance Boxscore
Mar 23, 2009 18:00 Japan  5–3  South Korea 10 Dodger Stadium 4:00 54,846 Boxscore

Final standings

Organizer WBCI has no interest in the final standings and did not compute. So, it was calculated by IBAF for the IBAF Men's Baseball World Rankings.

In the final standings, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority:

  1. The team allowing the fewest runs per nine innings (RA/9) in all games;
  2. The team allowing the fewest earned runs per nine innings (ERA) in all games;
  3. The team with the highest batting average (AVG) in all games;

Attendance

801,408 (avg. 20,549; pct. 54.5%)

First round

453,374 (avg. 18,891; pct. 55.6%)

  • Pool A – 170,112 (avg. 28,352; pct. 67.5%)
  • Pool B – 92,665 (avg. 15,444; pct. 59.4%)
  • Pool C – 103,899 (avg. 17,317; pct. 35.0%)
  • Pool D – 86,698 (avg. 14,450; pct. 79.1%)

Second round

206,180 (avg. 17,182; pct. 42.3%)

  • Pool 1 – 91,783 (avg. 15,297; pct. 35.8%)
  • Pool 2 – 114,397 (avg. 19,066; pct. 49.4%)

Championship round

141,854 (avg. 47,285; pct. 84.4%)

  • Semifinals – 87,008 (avg. 43,504; pct. 77.7%)
  • Final – 54,846 (avg. 54,846; pct. 97.9%)

2009 All-World Baseball Classic team

Players named to the All-WBC Team (from left to right);
Catcher – Iván Rodríguez of Puerto Rico
Second baseman – José López of Venezuela
Shortstop – Jimmy Rollins of the United States
Outfielder – Norichika Aoki of Japan
Outfielder – Yoenis Céspedes of Cuba
Pitcher – Hisashi Iwakuma of Japan
Note: The tournament Most Valuable Player was Daisuke Matsuzaka.[6]
PositionPlayer
C Puerto Rico Iván Rodríguez
1B South Korea Tae-kyun Kim
2B Venezuela José López
3B South Korea Bum-ho Lee
SS United States Jimmy Rollins
OF Japan Norichika Aoki
Cuba Frederich Cepeda
Cuba Yoenis Céspedes
DH South Korea Hyun-soo Kim
P South Korea Jung-keun Bong
Japan Hisashi Iwakuma
Japan Daisuke Matsuzaka

Statistics leaders

Additional rules

As was the case for the 2006 Classic, several rules were announced for the 2009 tournament that modified the existing rules for international baseball set out by the IBAF.[7][8]

Once again there were limits on the number of pitches thrown in a game, though the limits themselves were changed from the previous tournament:

  • 70 pitches in First Round (up from 65 in 2006)
  • 85 pitches in Second Round (up from 80 in 2006)
  • 100 pitches in Championship Round (up from 95 in 2006)

If a pitcher reached his limit during an at bat, he was allowed to finish pitching to the batter, but was removed from the game at the end of the at bat.

A 30–pitch outing needed to be followed by one day off, and a 50–pitch outing by four days off. No one would be allowed to pitch on three consecutive days. As the championship round was played over three consecutive days, a so-called "pitcher rest equalization" rule was added: a pitcher making 30 or more pitches in a semifinal was ineligible to pitch in the final. This negated an advantage the winners of the first semifinal would have had in the final.

A mercy rule came into effect when one team led by either fifteen runs after five innings, or ten runs after seven innings in the first two rounds.

Instant replay was also available to umpires during the tournament. As was introduced in Major League Baseball during the 2008 season, replays were only used to adjudicate on home run decisions, to determine whether the ball was fair or foul, over the fence or not, and the impact of fan interference.

An alternative version of the IBAF's extra inning rule was also introduced. If after 12 innings the score was still tied, each half inning thereafter would have started with runners on second and first base. The runners would have been the eighth and ninth hitters due in that inning respectively. For example, if the number five hitter was due to lead off the inning, the number three hitter would have been on second base, and the number four hitter on first base. However, this rule was never actually employed in this year's Classic, as the two extra-inning games in the tournament ended prior to a 13th inning.

All base coaches were required to wear protective helmets, in the aftermath of the death of Mike Coolbaugh and participating teams were required to announce the next day's starting pitcher. Additionally, a modified early termination rule was in effect for the first two rounds; had a team been ahead by 15 or more runs after five innings or ten or more runs after seven or eight innings, the game ended at that point.

Prize money

USD 14,000,000

By final standings

  • Champions – USD 2,700,000
  • Runners-up – USD 1,700,000
  • Semifinalists – USD 1,200,000 (x 2 teams)
  • Eliminated in Second Round – USD 700,000 (x 4 teams)
  • Eliminated in First Round – USD 300,000 (x 8 teams)

Bonus for pool winners

  • First Round – USD 300,000 (x 4 teams)
  • Second Round – USD 400,000 (x 2 teams)

Media coverage

In the United States, ESPN and the MLB Network shared the rights, with ESPN broadcasting 23 of the games, including the Finals, while MLB Network showed the remaining 16.[9] Spanish language telecasts in the U.S. were handled by ESPN Deportes telecasting all games. Internationally, it was broadcast to 167 countries by ESPN International.

In Canada, Rogers Sportsnet aired all 39 games.[10]

In the Dominican Republic, CDN (Cadena de Noticias) and CDN2 broadcast all games live (except for games played in Tokyo, shown on tape delay)

In Japan, J Sports broadcast all 39 games. TV Asahi (Round 1) and TBS (Round 2 and Finals) broadcast all games featuring Japan. For all games featuring Japan, they gained viewing ratings of at least 20%. The final game gained ratings in the range 30-45%.[11]

Video games

World Baseball Classic 2009 has licensed three video games, all only released in Japan: Pro Yakyuu Spirits 6,[12] Baseball Heroes 2009[13] and Jikkyou Pawafuru Major League 2009[14]

References

  1. ↑ "WBC 2009 Brackets". Major League Baseball. July 31, 2008. Archived from the original on October 6, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "Classic changes advancement rules". Major League Baseball. March 23, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  3. 1 2 "Dodger Stadium to host Classic finals". Major League Baseball. July 31, 2008. Archived from the original on September 9, 2008. Retrieved September 27, 2008.
  4. ↑ "Inaugural IBAF World Ranking Released". MyGameday. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  5. ↑ "14 European Teams listed in IBAF World Ranking". Mister Baseball. Retrieved August 20, 2022.
  6. ↑ See: 2009 World Baseball Classic – Championship § Final – Japan 5, South Korea 3.
  7. ↑ "Several rules changes adopted for 2009 World Baseball Classic" (Press release). Major League Baseball. January 29, 2009. Archived from the original on November 5, 2012. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  8. ↑ Miller, Doug; MLB.com (January 30, 2009). "Rules changes approved for Classic". WorldBaseballClassic.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on February 16, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2009.
  9. ↑ Ibarra, Sergio (October 7, 2008). "ESPN, MLB Net Map Plans for World Baseball Classic". TelevisionWeek. Archived from the original on March 23, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  10. ↑ "Notebook: Happy fans would pay Junior well". Toronto Star. February 25, 2009. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved March 20, 2009.
  11. ↑ "WBC決勝戦視聴率、36.4％【WBC】" (in Japanese). Jiji Press. March 25, 2009. Archived from the original on September 8, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Pro Yakyuu Spirits 6". Archived from the original on March 24, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Baseball Heroes 2009". Archived from the original on February 5, 2010. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Jikkyou Pawafuru Major League 2009". Archived from the original on April 15, 2010. Retrieved March 5, 2010.
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