Even though rumors floated around about only two countries, MLB has announced three countries where the first rounds will be played. The 2021 edition will be played in Japan, Taiwan, and the USA. Marlins Park, home of the Miami Marlins will be the hotspot of this tournament that will be played from March 9 through…
In Ballparks around the world another World Baseball Classic venue will be in the center of the attention. The Tokyo Dome in Japan will be host to the WBC for the fourth time since 2006. Next to hosting group B with Australia, China, Cuba and Japan, it will also host group E in the second…
Early August it was announced that the Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul South Korea would be one of the venues where the World Baseball Classic will be played. The other Asian venue will be the Tokyo Dome. The Gocheok Sky Dome is a brand new indoor ballpark in Gocheok-Dong, Seoul, home of the Nexen Heroes…
Now the Premier 12 tournament is over, it is time for a review. What was a success and what went wrong? In sporting terms, the tournament was a success, despite the lack of (current) MLB players. Especially the fact that Korea blocked the way to the final for Japan was a major surprise. And the…
In the second semi-final, the USA took on Mexico. It was a miracle itself that Mexico got this far. The Mexican baseball federation had a feud with the several Mexican winter leagues, who did not want to lend their players. For a long time it looked like that Panama would take the place of the…
Today, the World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) presented the logo of the new “world championship tournament” called the Premier 12. This tournament will be played in Taiwan and Japan and the best twelve baseball countries of the world will participate. The first round and the quarter-finals will be staged in Taiwan. The semi-finals and…
In the Tokyo Dome the MLB All-Stars and the Samurai Japan met each other for game two of the Japan All-Star Series. You can imagine that Hisashi Iwakuma wanted to shine in his hometown Tokyo. But the pitcher of the Seattle Mariners did everything but shine. Though he got through the first inning relatively…
The first matchup between the MLB All Stars and the Samurai Japan team was a pure pitching duel. Both starters lasted five innings. The difference between the two was two runs. Kenta Maeda, the ace of the Hiroshima Toyo Carp, was masterful and cruised through the five innings that he pitched. Matt Shoemaker pitched…
