The World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy[1][2] created by Tiffany & Co.[3][4] the trophy is presented by The Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) (through the World Baseball Classic Inc.) for The winner team of the World Baseball Classic. The Classic is currently the most influential tournament in baseball.[5][6][7]

From 2006 to 2023, there were a total of five trophies and three countries shared them.

Design

The WBC Championship Trophy

The World Baseball Classic Trophy was produced by Tiffany & Co. craftsmen over 200 hours. It is originally made of sterling silver (with gold details added over time) by Tiffany & Co., a long-established silvery shop.

Height: 25 inches (approximately 63.5 cm),

Weight: 30 lbs (approximately 13.6 kg)

Material: Silver (sterling silver) and 24karat gold.

The design motif is Global Baseball with the World Baseball Classic logo and consists of a pedestal, four boards, and balls. The pedestal cut into four tiers represents the tournament in the fourth round (first round, second round, semi-finals, and final), and the four sloping boards extending upward from the pedestal and the feather-shaped boards facing the upper center represent the four pools (first round). Also, the central baseball, supported by four boards, symbolizes the earth (global).

History

2006

Japan wins inaugural World Baseball Classic
2006 World Baseball Classic Trophy, The trophy is in Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

The final was played on March 20, 2006, at Petco Park in San Diego. This was the third game played at the park in the tournament, after the semi-finals where Japan beat South Korea and Cuba beat the Dominican Republic.[8] The championship was played in front of nearly 43,000 people and began at 3:40 p.m. Pacific Time. Petco Park is widely known for being a pitcher's park, due to the high number of strikeouts and intentional walks likely coming from the marine layer and wind speed.[9][10] On this day, the temperature recorded as 58 °F (14 °C) with 10 mph in a windy setting. Umpires consisted of Americans Tom Hallion (HP), Bob Davidson (1B), Ed Hickox (2B), Chris Guiccione (RF), Australian Neil Poulton (LF), and Puerto Rican Carlos Rey (3B).

Japan changed their starting pitcher to Daisuke Matsuzaka–one of the pioneers of the Gyroball and owns a diverse arsenal–from Koji Uehara, who earned the win against South Korea. The park effects of Petco Park would prove to be favorable for Matsuzaka and would in turn make Cuba have a hard time batting due to their power batting style.[8] Within the first four innings, Matsuzaka recorded five strikeouts to give the opportunity for the Japanese offense to largen their lead. In the fifth, Ichiro Suzuki hit a double to add two more runs, finishing the first half of the game with a six to one lead. Matsuzaka would exit the game right after this moment, and Cuba would respond aggressively offensively.[11]

"After they changed Matsuzaka, the team came out more aggressive. We said on the bench that if a reliever comes in, we have to come out attacking to cut the lead in the middle of the game."

Yuli Gurriel, translated from Spanish[8]

A single by Yuli Gurriel initiated Cuba's comeback. Soon after, in the sixth inning, Ariel Borrero singled and Osmani Urrutia drove in both Gurriel and Borreo to cut Japan's lead to three. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Frederich Cepeda hit a two-run homer to cut the lead to one.[8]

Japan would plan a hitting sequence to outplay Cuba offensively, as Japan specialized on contact hitting.[8] The Japanese's performance of their fundamentals was shown most by Ichiro Suzuki, who drove in Munenori Kawasaki to make it seven to five. Japan added three more to make it ten to five.[8] Japan's offense overwhelmed the Cuban offense, as they were only able to score one more run in the bottom half of the ninth, and Japan won the championship by a score of ten to six. Matsuzaka was declared as the most valuable player of the tournament.[12]

2009

South Korea won the coin flip held after the second semi-final between Japan and the United States, designating them as the home team for the final.[13]

Japan drew first blood, scoring on a RBI single by Michihiro Ogasawara in the third inning. Shin-Soo Choo tied the score 1−all with a home run in the fifth inning. With runners on first and third, Hiroyuki Nakajima hit an RBI single to bring Seiichi Uchikawa home to give Japan the lead 2–1.[14] South Korea failed to take advantage of Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, who was visibly tired, when they failed to score in the seventh inning, when Iwakuma was relieved by Toshiya Sugiuchi after two outs. Uchikawa hit a single to start the eighth. Atsunori Inaba scored a double to put Uchikawa in scoring position, and Uchikawa scored on Akinori Iwamura's sacrifice fly. Hyun-wook Jong retired the remaining batters to close out the inning.[14]

Japan brought out their closer, Yu Darvish, for the bottom of the ninth with a 3–2 lead. Darvish struck out Keun-woo Jeong, but walked Hyun-soo Kim and Tae-kyun Kim to put South Koreans on first and second with one out. Darvish then struck out Choo and was one out away from saving the game. But Bum-ho Lee singled, driving in Jong-wook Lee for the game-tying run to make it 3–all and send the game into extra innings.[15]

Japan batted first, with Chang-yong Lim pitching for South Korea in the tenth. Uchikawa and Iwamura hit a single to put runners on first and third with two out. Ichiro was one strike away from ending the inning when he hit a line-drive single up the middle that scored Iwamura and Uchikawa. Lim then hit Nakajima with a pitch and intentionally walked Norichika Aoki to face Kenji Johjima who was hitless up to that point. Lim was able to strikeout Johjima and send the game to the bottom of the tenth. Darvish made short work of South Korea, capping with a strikeout of Keun-woo Jeong to clinch Japan's successful defense of their 2006 championship.[15][16]

Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka was awarded the tournament MVP for the second consecutive time, with a 3–0 record and 2.45 ERA.[17]

2013

the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held at AT&T Park, San Francisco, California, United States from March 17 to 19, 2013.

The championship round was a single-elimination tournament. In the final (championship) game, 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.

The Dominican Republic defeated the Netherlands and Puerto Rico to win their first World Baseball Classic championship. Robinson Canó was named the tournament's Most valuable player.[18]

2017

the 2017 World Baseball Classic took place at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, from March 20 to 22, 2017. The championship round was a single-elimination tournament.[19][20] Japan and the Netherlands advanced to the championship round from Pool E.[21] Puerto Rico and the United States advanced from Pool F.[22][23] Defending champions Dominican Republic were eliminated in the second round.

Puerto Rico and the Netherlands played a semi-final game on March 20,[24] while the United States and Japan played on March 21.[25] Puerto Rico and the United States advanced to the championship game.[26] The United States defeated Puerto Rico to win the championship. Marcus Stroman was named the tournament's Most valuable player.

2023

For the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the fifth edition of the World Baseball Classic, The trophy was updated to reflect the growth of tournament and the new visual identity for the tournament, it was added a new 24-karat gold overlay to accentuate the ball in the center, that became smaller in comparison to 2017 version of the trophy.[27]

The Final game was played on March 21, 2023, at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida, United States,[28] between hosts and defending champion United States and two-time champion Japan. Japan won 3–2 to earn a record-extending third World Baseball Classic title. Shohei Ohtani won the most valuable player award.

Unlike in 2009, 2013 and 2017, the 2023 U.S. lineup attracted distinguished players, which some commentators claimed contributed to generating excitement for the final.[29] The U.S. general manager Tony Reagins credited Mike Trout, a three-time major league MVP, for committing to the team early (in July 2022) which made it easier to convince others to join.[29]

By team

Team Trophies Seasons
 Japan 3 2006, 2009, 2023
 United States 1 2017
 Dominican Republic 1 2013

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Japan 2023 World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy Pano Framed LE #1". auctions.mlb.com. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  2. ↑ Suvanto, Lyndon. "World Baseball Classic Trophy unveiled, how does it compare to past designs?". www.sportskeeda.com. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  3. ↑ A Closer Look at the Tiffany & Co. Trophy Japan Won at the World Baseball Classic
  4. ↑ A Closer Look at the Tiffany & Co. Trophy Japan Won at the World Baseball Classic
  5. ↑ "USA-Japan WBC Title Game Could Be the Most-Watched Baseball Game in History". nbcboston.com. March 21, 2023.
  6. ↑ "How World Baseball Classic may have helped MLB, Cubs grow". allchgo.com. March 22, 2023.
  7. ↑ "When is the World Baseball Classic final? Date, start time, and TV listings". www.sportskeeda.com. March 20, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2006 World Baseball Classic Documentary". MLB Network. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  9. ↑ "Statcast Venue Profile of Petco Park". MLB Statcast. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  10. ↑ "Is Petco Park a "Pitcher's Park"?". Petco Park Insider. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  11. ↑ "Cuba vs. Japan 2006 World Baseball Classic Final Boxscore". Global Sports Archive. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  12. ↑ "Team Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka holds the World Baseball Classic MVP trophy". Alamy. Retrieved 11 August 2021.
  13. ↑ Schlegel, John (March 23, 2009). "Japan and Korea familiar foes at Classic". Worldbaseballclassic.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2010. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  14. 1 2 Bloom, Barry (24 March 2009). "Ichiro lifts Japan to Classic glory". Worldbaseballclassic.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2009. Retrieved 24 March 2009.
  15. 1 2 "Ichiro comes through with big hit as Japan wins WBC". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 24, 2009. Archived from the original on 27 March 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  16. ↑ "Japan vs. Korea box score". Yahoo! Sports. March 24, 2009. Retrieved March 24, 2009.
  17. ↑ Jack Curry (March 24, 2009). "Ichiro Suzuki Delivers Memorable End to World Baseball Classic". New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  18. ↑ Schlegel, John (March 20, 2013). "Torrid stretch earns Cano Classic MVP". MLB.com. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  19. ↑ Adler, David (August 25, 2016). "LA to host 2017 World Baseball Classic final". MLB.com. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  20. ↑ "2017 World Baseball Classic: Full schedule, TV start times, scores, results, standings". CBSSports.com. November 15, 2016. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Baseball: Japan, the Netherlands blast way into WBC final four". Reuters. March 15, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2017 – via Reuters.
  22. ↑ Kelly, Matt (March 18, 2017). "Puerto Rico reaches LA, is floating on error". MLB.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2017.
  23. ↑ "U.S. ousts Dominican Republic, will face Japan in WBC semifinals". ESPN.com. Associated Press. March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  24. ↑ Coskrey, Jason (March 20, 2017). "Puerto Rico, Netherlands ready for WBC semifinal". The Japan Times. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  25. ↑ "U.S. advances to face Japan in WBC semis". The Japan Times. Associated Press. March 19, 2017. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  26. ↑ Thornburg, Chad (March 22, 2017). "Team USA, Puerto Rico roll with familiar lineups: Stroman, Lugo to square off on mound in World Baseball Classic championship". MLB.com. Retrieved March 22, 2017.
  27. ↑ Simms, Demetrius (2023-03-23). "A Closer Look at the Tiffany & Co. Trophy Japan Won at the World Baseball Classic". Robb Report. Retrieved 2023-04-18.
  28. ↑ Adler, David (July 7, 2022). "World Baseball Classic 2023 venues, pools announced". MLB.com. Retrieved July 7, 2022.
  29. 1 2 "Why is the US finally treating the World Baseball Classic like a World Cup?". The Guardian. 2023-03-06.
  30. ↑ "Special | The Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum". english.baseball-museum.or.jp. Retrieved 2020-10-13.
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