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2006 World Baseball Classic

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2023}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2023}}

{{Short description|Tournament between national baseball teams}}

{{Infobox international baseball tournament

| image = 2006_World_Baseball_Classic_logo.gif

| size = 200px

| country = {{JAP}}

| country2 = {{PUR}}

| country3 = {{USA}}

| dates = March 3–20, 2006

| num_teams = 16

| medal_type = world baseball classic

| champion = Japan

| num_championships = 1

| second = Cuba

| third = South Korea

| third-flagvar = 1997

| fourth = Dominican Republic

| games = 39

| attendance = 737112

| mvp = {{flagicon|JPN}} Daisuke Matsuzaka

| prevseason =

| nextseason = 2009

}}

Image:2006 World Baseball Classic Map.PNG

The 2006 World Baseball Classic (WBC) was the inaugural tournament between national baseball teams that included players from Major League Baseball. It was held from March 3 to 20 in stadiums in or around Tokyo, Japan, and the American cities of San Juan, Puerto Rico; Lake Buena Vista, Florida; Phoenix, Arizona; Scottsdale, Arizona; Anaheim, California; and San Diego, California.

The first two rounds had a round-robin format, which led to two teams being eliminated on run difference tiebreakers: in the first round, Canada was eliminated despite its 2–1 record, due to a blowout loss to Mexico as well as failing to run up the score on South Africa; and in the second round, eventual champion Japan advanced despite its 1–2 record, due to a blowout win over Mexico and losing more narrowly to South Korea than did the United States. The higher-seeded teams generally advanced to the second round, including Puerto Rico and Venezuela, as well as the teams mentioned elsewhere in this summary.

Although South Korea defeated Japan twice in the earlier rounds, they were matched against each other again in the semifinals as the two teams emerging from the same second round pool, and Japan won that game to advance to the final against Cuba (which had defeated the Dominican Republic in the other semifinal). Japan defeated Cuba 10–6 to be crowned the first champion of the World Baseball Classic.

Daisuke Matsuzaka, a Nippon Professional Baseball veteran who was little-known outside Japan at the time, was crowned the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. The following year, he made his debut in the Major Leagues with the Boston Red Sox.

Format

The first World Baseball Classic featured 16 teams in a round-robin. Each team played the other three teams in their pool once. Teams were ranked by winning percentage in the first round, with the top two teams in each pool advancing to the second round, where the teams from Pools A and B (in Pool 1) and the teams from Pools C and D (in Pool 2) competed against each other in another round-robin.

Teams were ranked by winning percentage in the second round, without regard to the results of the first round, with the top two teams from each pool entered a four-team single-elimination bracket, with the pool winners and runners-up from each pool facing each other in the semifinals. The winners of the semifinals then met to determine the World Baseball Classic Champions.

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.

In the first two rounds, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority:

  1. The winner of head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  2. The team allowing the fewest runs per nine innings (RA/9) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  3. The team allowing the fewest earned runs per nine innings (ERA) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  4. The team with the highest batting average (AVG) in head-to-head games between the tied teams;
  5. Drawing of lots, conducted by World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI).

Rosters

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic rosters}}

Each participating national federation initially submitted a 45-man provisional roster. Final rosters of 28 players, which also must include a minimum of 13 pitchers and two catchers, were later submitted. 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.

Venues

Image:Dontrelle Willis, World Baseball Classic, Angel Stadium, Anaheim, USA.jpg

Seven stadiums were used during the tournament:

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width=900
width=25%|Pool A

!width=25%|Pool B

!width=25%|Pool B

!width=25%|Pool C & 2

{{flagicon|JPN}} Tokyo, Japan

|{{flagicon|USA}} Phoenix, United States

|{{flagicon|USA}} Scottsdale, United States

|{{flagicon|PUR}} San Juan, Puerto Rico

Tokyo Dome

|Chase Field

|Scottsdale Stadium

|Hiram Bithorn Stadium

Capacity: 42,000

|Capacity: 49,033

|Capacity: 8,500

|Capacity: 18,264

200px

|200px

|200px

|200px

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" width=900
width=33%|Pool D

!width=33%|Pool 1

!width=33%|Championship

{{flagicon|USA}} Lake Buena Vista, United States

|{{flagicon|USA}} Anaheim, United States

|{{flagicon|USA}} San Diego, United States

Cracker Jack Stadium

|Angel Stadium of Anaheim

|Petco Park

Capacity: 9,500

|Capacity: 45,037

|Capacity: 42,445

200px

|200px

|200px

Pools composition

The teams selected for the inaugural World Baseball Classic were chosen because they were judged to be the "best baseball-playing nations in the world and provide global representation for the event."{{cite web|title=World Baseball Classic |url=http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/about/index.jsp?sid=wbc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150123003823/http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/about/index.jsp?sid=wbc |archive-date=January 23, 2015 |url-status=live |access-date=March 13, 2009 }} There was no official qualifying competition. In addition, there were no world rankings by the International Baseball Federation to determine the strength of the countries.{{cite web |title=IBAF World Ranking Released |url=https://websites.mygameday.app/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-6035-0-0-0&sID=83786&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=7837069 |publisher=MyGameday |access-date=August 20, 2022}}{{cite web |title=IBAF publishes first-ever World Ranking |url=https://www.mister-baseball.com/ibaf-publishes-firstever-world-ranking/ |publisher=Mister-Baseball |access-date=August 20, 2022}}

class="wikitable" width=960
width=25%|Pool A

!width=25%|Pool B

!width=25%|Pool C

!width=25%|Pool D

{{bb|CHN}}

|{{bb|CAN}}

|{{bb|CUB}}

|{{bb|AUS}}

{{bb|TPE}}

|{{bb|MEX}}

|{{bb|NED}}

|{{bb|DOM}}

{{bb|JPN}}

|{{bb|RSA}}

|{{bb|PAN}}

|{{bb|ITA}}

{{bb|KOR|1997}}

|{{bb|USA}}

|{{bb|PUR}}

|{{bb|VEN}}

First round

=Pool A=

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic Pool A}}

{{:2006 World Baseball Classic Pool A|transcludesection=Standings}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 3, 2006|11:30|{{bb-rt|KOR|1997}}|2–0|{{bb|TPE}}||Tokyo Dome|3:19|5,193|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_02_korint_tpeint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 3, 2006|18:30|{{bb-rt|JPN}}|18–2|{{bb|CHN}}|8|Tokyo Dome|3:04|15,869|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_03_jpnint_chnint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 4, 2006|11:00|{{bb-rt|CHN}}|1–10|{{bb|KOR|1997}}||Tokyo Dome|2:52|3,925|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_03_chnint_korint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 4, 2006|18:00|{{bb-rt|JPN}}|14–3|{{bb|TPE}}|7|Tokyo Dome|3:10|31,047|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_04_jpnint_tpeint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 5, 2006|11:00|{{bb-rt|TPE}}|12–3|{{bb|CHN}}||Tokyo Dome|3:31|4,577|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_04_tpeint_chnint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 5, 2006|18:00|{{bb-rt|KOR|1997}}|3–2|{{bb|JPN}}||Tokyo Dome|3:02|40,353|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_05_korint_jpnint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

=Pool B=

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic Pool B}}

{{:2006 World Baseball Classic Pool B|transcludesection=Standings}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 7, 2006|14:00|{{bb-rt|MEX}}|0–2|{{bb|USA}}||Chase Field|2:06|32,727|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_07_mexint_usaint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 7, 2006|19:00|{{bb-rt|CAN}}|11–8|{{bb|RSA}}||Scottsdale Stadium|3:38|5,829|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_07_canint_rsaint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 8, 2006|14:00|{{bb-rt|CAN}}|8–6|{{bb|USA}}||Chase Field|3:02|16,993|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_08_canint_usaint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 8, 2006|19:00|{{bb-rt|RSA}}|4–10|{{bb|MEX}}||Scottsdale Stadium|3:17|7,937|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_08_rsaint_mexint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 9, 2006|18:00|{{bb-rt|MEX}}|9–1|{{bb|CAN}}||Chase Field|3:00|15,744|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_09_mexint_canint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 10, 2006|13:00|{{bb-rt|USA}}|17–0|{{bb|RSA}}|5|Scottsdale Stadium|1:47|11,975|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_10_usaint_rsaint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

=Pool C=

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic Pool C}}

{{:2006 World Baseball Classic Pool C|transcludesection=Standings}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 7, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|PAN}}|1–2|{{bb|PUR}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|2:47|19,043|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_07_panint_purint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 8, 2006|14:00|{{bb-rt|CUB}}|8–6|{{bb|PAN}}|11|Hiram Bithorn Stadium|4:11|6,129|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_08_cubint_panint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 8, 2006|20:30|{{bb-rt|PUR}}|8–3|{{bb|NED}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:29|15,570|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_08_purint_nedint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 9, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|CUB}}|11–2|{{bb|NED}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:19|7,657|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_09_cubint_nedint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 10, 2006|14:00|{{bb-rt|NED}}|10–0|{{bb|PAN}}|7|Hiram Bithorn Stadium|2:18|6,337|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_10_nedint_panint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 10, 2006|20:30|{{bb-rt|PUR}}|12–2|{{bb|CUB}}|7|Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:01|19,736|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_10_purint_cubint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

=Pool D=

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic Pool D}}

{{:2006 World Baseball Classic Pool D|transcludesection=Standings}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 7, 2006|13:00|{{bb-rt|DOM}}|11–5|{{bb|VEN|1954}}||Cracker Jack Stadium|3:16|10,645|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_07_domint_venint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 7, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|AUS}}|0–10|{{bb|ITA}}|7|Cracker Jack Stadium|2:16|8,099|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_07_ausint_itaint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 8, 2006|19:00|{{bb-rt|ITA}}|0–6|{{bb|VEN|1954}}||Cracker Jack Stadium|2:48|10,101|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_08_itaint_venint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 9, 2006|13:00|{{bb-rt|ITA}}|3–8|{{bb|DOM}}||Cracker Jack Stadium|2:39|9,949|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_09_itaint_domint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 9, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|VEN|1954}}|2–0|{{bb|AUS}}||Cracker Jack Stadium|2:45|10,111|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_09_venint_ausint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 10, 2006|19:00|{{bb-rt|AUS}}|4–6|{{bb|DOM}}||Cracker Jack Stadium|2:52|11,083|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_10_ausint_domint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

Second round

=Pool 1=

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic Pool 1}}

{{:2006 World Baseball Classic Pool 1|transcludesection=Standings}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 12, 2006|13:00|{{bb-rt|JPN}}|3–4|{{bb|USA}}||Angel Stadium of Anaheim|3:09|32,896|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_12_jpnint_usaint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 12, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|MEX}}|1–2|{{bb|KOR|1997}}||Angel Stadium of Anaheim|2:57|42,979|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_12_mexint_korint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 13, 2006|19:00|{{bb-rt|USA}}|3–7|{{bb|KOR|1997}}||Angel Stadium of Anaheim|3:27|21,288|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_13_usaint_korint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 14, 2006|16:00|{{bb-rt|JPN}}|6–1|{{bb|MEX}}||Angel Stadium of Anaheim|2:36|16,591|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_14_jpnint_mexint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 15, 2006|19:00|{{bb-rt|KOR|1997}}|2–1|{{bb|JPN}}||Angel Stadium of Anaheim|2:44|39,679|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_15_korint_jpnint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 16, 2006|16:30|{{bb-rt|USA}}|1–2|{{bb|MEX}}||Angel Stadium of Anaheim|2:50|38,284|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_16_usaint_mexint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

=Pool 2=

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic Pool 2}}

{{:2006 World Baseball Classic Pool 2|transcludesection=Standings}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 12, 2006|14:00|{{bb-rt|CUB}}|7–2|{{bb|VEN}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|2:56|13,697|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_12_cubint_venint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 12, 2006|21:00|{{bb-rt|PUR}}|7–1|{{bb|DOM}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:01|19,692|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_12_purint_domint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 13, 2006|14:00|{{bb-rt|DOM}}|7–3|{{bb|CUB}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:48|6,594|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_13_domint_cubint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 13, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|VEN}}|6–0|{{bb|PUR}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:09|19,400|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_13_venint_purint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 14, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|VEN}}|1–2|{{bb|DOM}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:02|13,007|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_14_venint_domint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 15, 2006|20:00|{{bb-rt|CUB}}|4–3|{{bb|PUR}}||Hiram Bithorn Stadium|3:56|19,773|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_15_cubint_purint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

Championship round

{{4TeamBracket

| RD1=Semifinals | RD2=Final

| seed-width=40 | team-width=180

| RD1-seed1=2R | RD1-team1={{bb|CUB}} | RD1-score1=3

| RD1-seed2=2W | RD1-team2={{bb|DOM}} | RD1-score2=1

| RD1-seed3=1R | RD1-team3={{bb|JPN}} | RD1-score3=6

| RD1-seed4=1W | RD1-team4={{bb|KOR|1997}} | RD1-score4=0

| RD2-seed1=SF1W | RD2-team1={{bb|CUB}} | RD2-score1=6

| RD2-seed2=SF2W | RD2-team2={{bb|JPN}} | RD2-score2=10

}}

=Semifinals=

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 18, 2006|12:00|{{bb-rt|CUB}}|3–1|{{bb|DOM}}||Petco Park|3:42|41,268|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_18_cubint_domint_1 Boxscore]}}

{{bb res|Mar 18, 2006|19:00|{{bb-rt|JPN}}|6–0|{{bb|KOR|1997}}||Petco Park|2:40|42,639|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_18_jpnint_korint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

==Semifinal 1 – Cuba 3, Dominican Republic 1==

{{Linescore

| Date = March 18

| Time = 12:00

| Location = Petco Park

| Road = {{bb|CUB}} | RoadAbr = CUB

| R1 = 0 | R2 = 0 | R3 = 0 | R4 = 0 | R5 = 0 | R6 = 0 | R7 = 3 | R8 = 0 | R9 = 0 | RR = 3 | RH = 12 | RE = 3

| Home = {{bb|DOM}} | HomeAbr = DOM

| H1 = 0 | H2 = 0 | H3 = 0 | H4 = 0 | H5 = 0 | H6 = 1 | H7 = 0 | H8 = 0 | H9 = 0 | HR = 1 | HH = 8 | HE = 1

| WP = Pedro Luis Lazo (1–0)

| LP = Odalis Pérez (2–1)

| SV =

| RoadHR =

| HomeHR =

| Attendance = 41,268 (97.2%)

| Umpires = HP − Bob Davidson, 1B − Tom Hallion, 2B − Chris Guccione, 3B − Neil Poulton,
LF − Carlos Rey, RF − Ed Hickox

| Notes =

| BoxURL = http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_18_cubint_domint_1

}}

==Semifinal 2 – Japan 6, South Korea 0==

{{Linescore

| Date = March 18

| Time = 19:00

| Location = Petco Park

| Road = {{bb|JPN}} | RoadAbr = JPN

| R1 = 0 | R2 = 0 | R3 = 0 | R4 = 0 | R5 = 0 | R6 = 0 | R7 = 5 | R8 = 1 | R9 = 0 | RR = 6 | RH = 11 | RE = 0

| Home = {{bb|KOR|1997}} | HomeAbr = KOR

| H1 = 0 | H2 = 0 | H3 = 0 | H4 = 0 | H5 = 0 | H6 = 0 | H7 = 0 | H8 = 0 | H9 = 0 | HR = 0 | HH = 4 | HE = 0

| WP = Koji Uehara (2–0)

| LP = Byung-doo Jun (0–1)

| SV =

| RoadHR = Kosuke Fukudome (1), Hitoshi Tamura (1)

| HomeHR =

| Attendance = 42,639 (100.5%)

| Umpires = HP − Ed Hickox, 1B − Chris Guccione, 2B − Bob Davidson, 3B − Carlos Rey,
LF − Tom Hallion, RF − Neil Poulton

| Notes =

| BoxURL = http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_18_jpnint_korint_1

}}

=Final=

{{Main|2006 World Baseball Classic championship}}

{{bb res start}}

{{bb res|Mar 20, 2006|18:00|{{bb-rt|JPN}}|10–6|{{bb|CUB}}||Petco Park|3:40|42,696|10=[http://mlb.mlb.com/wbc/2009/stats/boxscore.jsp?gid=2006_03_20_jpnint_cubint_1 Boxscore]}}

|}

Final standings

Organizer WBCI has no interest in the final standings and did not compute. So, it was calculated by IBAF.

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;

{{col-start}}

{{col-2}}

class=wikitable style=text-align:center
width=25|Rk

!width=170|Team

!width=25|W

!width=25|L

!width=150|Tiebreaker

1

|align=left|{{bb|JPN}}

|5

3–
colspan="6"|Lost in Final
2

|align=left|{{bb|CUB}}

|5

3–
colspan="6"|Lost in Semifinals
3

|align=left|{{bb|KOR|1997}}

|6

1–
4

|align=left|{{bb|DOM}}

|5

2–
colspan="6"|Eliminated in Second Round
5

|align=left|{{bb|PUR}}

|4

2–
6

|align=left|{{bb|MEX}}

|3

32.77 RA/9
7

|align=left|{{bb|VEN}}

|3

33.40 RA/9
8

|align=left|{{bb|USA}}

|3

33.75 RA/9
colspan="6"|Eliminated in First Round
9

|align=left|{{bb|CAN}}

|2

1–
10

|align=left|{{bb|ITA}}

|1

25.48 RA/9
11

|align=left|{{bb|NED}}

|1

26.84 RA/9, 6.48 ERA
12

|align=left|{{bb|TPE}}

|1

26.84 RA/9, 6.84 ERA
13

|align=left|{{bb|AUS}}

|0

36.85 RA/9
14

|align=left|{{bb|PAN}}

|0

36.92 RA/9
15

|align=left|{{bb|CHN}}

|0

314.40 RA/9
16

|align=left|{{bb|RSA}}

|0

315.55 RA/9

{{col-2}}

{{winners|bb|2006 World Baseball Classic champions|JPN|First}}

Image:WBC Championship Trophy.JPG

{{col-end}}

Attendance

737,112 (avg. 18,900; pct. 67.1%)

=First round=

326,629 (avg. 13,610; pct. 55.3%)

  • Pool A – 100,964 (avg. 16,827; pct. 40.1%)
  • Pool B – 91,205 (avg. 15,201; pct. 52.8%)
  • Chase Field – 65,464 (avg. 21,821; pct. 44.5%)
  • Scottsdale Stadium – 25,741 (avg. 8,580; pct. 100.9%)
  • Pool C – 74,472 (avg. 12,412; pct. 68.0%)
  • Pool D – 59,988 (avg. 9,998; pct. 105.2%)

=Second round=

283,880 (avg. 23,657; pct. 74.7%)

  • Pool 1 – 191,717 (avg. 31,953; pct. 70.9%)
  • Pool 2 – 92,163 (avg. 15,361; pct. 84.1%)

=Championship round=

126,603 (avg. 42,201; pct. 99.4%)

  • Semifinals – 83,907 (avg. 41,954; pct. 98.8%)
  • Final – 42,696 (avg. 42,696; pct. 100.6%)

2006 All-World Baseball Classic team

{{multiple image

|align=right

|total_width=600

|image1=Tomoya Satozaki on August 6, 2011 (1).jpg

|image2=Adrián Beltré on April 15, 2007 (1).jpg

|image3=Derek Jeter on April 13, 2010 (1).jpg

|image4=Ken Griffey Jr. on March 25, 2006 (1).jpg

|image5=Ichiro Suzuki on June 3, 2010 (1).jpg

|image6=DSC03272 Chan Ho Park (1).jpg

|footer=Players named to the All-WBC Team (from left to right);
Catcher – Tomoya Satozaki of Japan
Third baseman – Adrián Beltré of the Dominican Republic
Shortstop – Derek Jeter of the United States
Outfielder – Ken Griffey Jr. of the United States
Outfielder – Ichiro Suzuki of Japan
Pitcher – Chan Ho Park of South Korea

}}

:Note: The tournament Most Valuable Player was Daisuke Matsuzaka.{{Cite web|url=https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/world-baseball-classic-previous-champs-results-medal-count-mvps-all-wbc-teams/|title = World Baseball Classic: Previous champs, results, medal count, MVPS, All-WBC teams| date=March 23, 2017 }}

class=wikitable
PositionPlayer
C

|{{flagicon|JPN}} Tomoya Satozaki

1B

|{{flagicon|KOR|1997}} Seung-yuop Lee

2B

|{{flagicon|CUB}} Yulieski Gourriel

3B

|{{flagicon|DOM}} Adrián Beltré

SS

|{{flagicon|USA}} Derek Jeter

rowspan=3|OF

|{{flagicon|USA}} Ken Griffey Jr.

{{flagicon|KOR|1997}} Jong-beom Lee
{{flagicon|JPN}} Ichiro Suzuki
DH

|{{flagicon|CUB}} Yoandy Garlobo

rowspan=3|P

|{{flagicon|CUB}} Yadel Martí

{{flagicon|JPN}} Daisuke Matsuzaka
{{flagicon|KOR|1997}} Chan Ho Park

Statistics leaders

{{col-start}}

{{col-2}}

=Batting=

class=wikitable
StatisticNameTotal/Avg
Batting average*{{flagicon|CAN}} Adam Sternalign=center| .667
Hits{{flagicon|JPN}} Nobuhiko Matsunakaalign=center| 13
Runs{{flagicon|JPN}} Nobuhiko Matsunakaalign=center| 11
Home runs{{flagicon|KOR|1997}} Seung-yuop Leealign=center| 5
RBI{{flagicon|USA}} Ken Griffey Jr.
{{flagicon|KOR|1997}} Seung-yuop Lee		align=center| 10
Walks{{flagicon|DOM}} David Ortizalign=center| 8
Strikeouts{{flagicon|JPN}} Hitoshi Tamuraalign=center| 9
Stolen bases{{flagicon|JPN}} Tsuyoshi Nishiokaalign=center| 5
On-base percentage*{{flagicon|CAN}} Adam Sternalign=center| .727
Slugging percentage*{{flagicon|CAN}} Adam Sternalign=center| 1.333
OPS*{{flagicon|CAN}} Adam Sternalign=center| 2.061

* Minimum 2.7 plate appearances per game

{{col-2}}

=Pitching=

class=wikitable
StatisticNameTotal/Avg
Wins{{flagicon|JPN}} Daisuke Matsuzakaalign=center| 3
Losses{{flagicon|MEX}} Rodrigo López
{{flagicon|VEN}} Johan Santana
{{flagicon|USA}} Dontrelle Willis		align=center| 2
Saves{{flagicon|KOR|1997}} Chan Ho Parkalign=center| 3
Innings pitched{{flagicon|JPN}} Koji Ueharaalign=center| 17.0
Hits allowed{{flagicon|JPN}} Koji Ueharaalign=center| 17
Runs allowed{{flagicon|RSA}} Carl Michaelsalign=center| 10
Earned runs allowed{{flagicon|RSA}} Carl Michaelsalign=center| 10
ERA*{{flagicon|CUB}} Yadel Martíalign=center| 0.00**
Walks{{flagicon|USA}} Dontrelle Willisalign=center| 6
Strikeouts{{flagicon|JPN}} Koji Ueharaalign=center| 16
WHIP*{{flagicon|NED}} Shairon Martisalign=center| 0.14

* Minimum 0.8 innings pitched per game

** Martí is tied with 10 others with a 0.00 ERA but he pitched the most innings with 12.2

{{col-end}}

Additional rules

There were several rule changes from normal major league play. Pitchers were held to a pitch count of 65 pitches in the first round, 80 pitches in the second round, and 95 in the championship round. (Netherlands pitcher Shairon Martis used exactly 65 pitches to throw the only no-hitter of the tournament, a 10–0 win over Panama{{Cite web |title=Dutch Minor Leaguer No-Hits Panama |url=https://apnews.com/article/bf76bf68cc5ea2e1e9a66e7a3cbb087e |access-date=March 14, 2023 |website=AP NEWS |language=en}} that was stopped by the mercy rule [see below].) If a pitcher reached his maximum pitch count in the middle of an at-bat, he could continue to pitch to that batter, but was required to be replaced once that at-bat ended. 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.

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. In addition, ties could be called after fourteen innings of play.

The designated hitter rule was in place for all games.

Controversies

{{Main|Controversies at the 2006 World Baseball Classic}}

;Format

South Korea completed the first two rounds undefeated (6-0) but was still forced to play Japan, a team it had already beaten twice, in the semifinal round. South Korea lost the match and subsequently was placed 3rd, despite the fact that South Korea's final standings were 6-1, with the most wins. Other international sporting competitions, such as the FIFA World Cup, are formatted so as to make it impossible for teams to play each other three times. They can only face twice at most – in round robin group play and then again for the championship or 3rd-place match. In addition, the regional grouping of teams was called into question, for the groups were perceived to be unevenly distributed, and the four-team pool system and subsequent three-way tiebreakers were widely seen as awkward.

;Umpires

Tournament organizers were unable to reach an agreement with the MLB umpires' union and so the Classic was overseen by umpires from the minor leagues.

;South Korea

When South Korea beat Japan, they planted South Korean national flags into a pitcher's mound at Angels Stadium at Anaheim.{{Cite web|url=http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/news/recap.jsp?ymd=20060316&content_id=1351845&gameid=2006_03_15_korint_jpnint_1|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070426232804/http://www.worldbaseballclassic.com/2006/news/recap.jsp?ymd=20060316&content_id=1351845&gameid=2006_03_15_korint_jpnint_1|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 26, 2007|title=World Baseball Classic: News|date=April 26, 2007|access-date=June 4, 2019}}

;Chinese Taipei

The Chinese Taipei team was originally listed as "Taiwan" and bearing the ROC national flag, but following pressure from the People's Republic of China the listing was later changed to Chinese Taipei with the Chinese Taipei Olympic flag.

;Drug testing

The World Anti-Doping Agency criticized IBAF's drug testing program and threatened to withdraw sanction of the event under claims the MLB was attempting to "brush the issue under the carpet."{{Cite web|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11863168/|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071029055229/http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11863168/|archive-date = October 29, 2007|title = MSN}} South Korean pitcher Myung-hwan Park tested positive for a banned substance during the event, and he was subsequently kicked out of the WBC.[http://www.signonsandiego.com/sports/baseball/20060404-1313-bbi-worldclassic-drugtesting.html]. Venezuelan pitcher Freddy García tested positive for marijuana.

;Player participation

Numerous MLB players pulled out of the competition for various reasons, such as Barry Bonds,{{cite web|title=Bonds says he doesn't want to risk injury|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/worldclassic2006/news/story?id=2303604|work=ESPN|date=January 23, 2006|access-date=January 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112000303/https://www.espn.com/mlb/worldclassic2006/news/story?id=2303604|archive-date=January 12, 2021|url-status=live}} Vladimir Guerrero,{{cite web|title=Guerrero Pulls Out of Classic|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-02-sp-angelrep2-story.html|work=Los Angeles Times|author=Digiovanna, Mike|date=March 2, 2006|access-date=January 12, 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210112000729/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2006-mar-02-sp-angelrep2-story.html|archive-date=January 12, 2021|url-status=live}} and Manny Ramírez,{{cite web|title=Red Sox owner: Manny not playing in WBC|url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/worldclassic2006/news/story?id=2342169|work=ESPN|date=February 23, 2006|access-date=January 12, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210112000044/https://www.espn.com/mlb/worldclassic2006/news/story?id=2342169|archive-date=January 12, 2021|url-status=live}} among others. Cuba in particular barred players such as Orlando Hernández, his half-brother Liván Hernández, and José Contreras from its team as Cubans who had previously defected.{{cite news|title=Searching for a Home Base Cuban Defectors Are Left Without a Country to Play for in Inaugural Classic|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2006/03/03/searching-for-a-home-base-span-classbankheadcuban-defectors-are-left-without-a-country-to-play-for-in-inaugural-classicspan/d6d27db3-a76e-418b-ab6d-baa8d2e40ec8/|newspaper=The Washington Post|author1=Sheinin, David|author2=Fainaru, Steve|date=March 3, 2003|access-date=January 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210104045211/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/sports/2006/03/03/searching-for-a-home-base-span-classbankheadcuban-defectors-are-left-without-a-country-to-play-for-in-inaugural-classicspan/d6d27db3-a76e-418b-ab6d-baa8d2e40ec8/|archive-date=January 4, 2021|url-status=live}}

Success of tournament

Many members of the United States press were skeptical of the Classic since its inception. The event proved to be quite popular, however, providing many memorable moments including a first round game between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic. Attendance was higher than expected at several sites, including the 18,000-seat Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, which was sold out for every Puerto Rico game in the first two rounds. In addition, there were 4,000 media credentials issued — more than the World Series — which bodes well for the stated goal of internationalizing the sport. Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci reported that "more merchandise was sold in the first round than organizers projected for the entire 17-day event." [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/tom_verducci/03/14/wbc.classic/1.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120224202804/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/tom_verducci/03/14/wbc.classic/1.html |date=February 24, 2012 }} He also reported that, at one point, jerseys for the Venezuelan team were selling at the rate of one every six seconds.

The U.S. television ratings on ESPN were stronger than initially expected, drawing in more than one million television sets for some games, more than almost any other ESPN program in the month of March. This occurred despite less than stellar airing times for the games. Most were not aired live but taped, and sometimes with innings cut, as the WBC was organized well after ESPN had committed to much of its programming.

Outside the U.S. TV ratings were very high. In Latin America, a first-round game between the United States and Mexico, was the third-most-watched game in the history of ESPN Dos, one of the three Spanish-language channels of ESPN in Latin America.

The allocation of earnings

The total earnings of the World Baseball Classic is divided into net profit (53%) and prize money (47%).[http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=070000&biid=2006030606428]

=Net profit (53%)=

  • World Baseball Classic Inc.: 17.5%
  • Baseball Players Union: 17.5%
  • Japanese Baseball Organization: 7%
  • Korea Baseball Organization: 5%
  • International Baseball Federation: 5%
  • Miscellaneous expenses: 1%

=Prize money (47%)=

  • Japan (champions): 10%
  • Cuba (runners-up): 7%
  • South Korea and Dominican Republic (semifinalists): 5% each
  • The four teams that lost out in Round 2: 3% each
  • The eight teams that lost out in Round 1: 1% each

References

  • [https://web.archive.org/web/20060627111636/http://www.thebaseballclassic.com/ Unofficial chat forum of The World Baseball Classic (Archived)]

{{Reflist|2}}

External links

  • [https://www.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic Official website]

{{2006 World Baseball Classic}}

{{2006 World Baseball Classic finalists}}

{{2006 World Baseball Classic Stadiums}}

{{World Baseball Classic}}

World Baseball Classic

Category:World Baseball Classic

Category:March 2006 in sports