The first round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic officially begins Friday evening.
The tournament will take place across the globe from Mar. 1-Mar. 19 with the event beginning in Taiwan Friday and ending in San Francisco for the Championship Round.
Toronto Blue Jays fans get a chance to see new ace R.A. Dickey (USA) and shortstop Jose Reyes (Dominican Republic), who will be competing for their respective countries.
After a letdown in 2009, Canada is looking to advance out of their pool for the first time in the history of the event.
Cincinnati Reds slugger Joey Votto and Jays shortstop Brett Lawrie headline the Canadian roster as they begin their search for a championship in Phoenix on Mar. 9.
Sportsnet will have you covered across all platforms with 39 games, including all of Canada’s contests, airing on our network. You can be able to follow along with live stories and updates with Shi Davidi and Barry Davis down in Arizona providing full coverage.
To ensure you are prepared, here is a primer of everything you need to know heading into the WBC.
WBC Breakdown
For the first time, 12 of the 16 teams were given an invitation to participate in the WBC. There was a qualification round to determine the final four spots.
Number of teams: 16
Pools: 4
Pool A (Mar. 2-6)
Where: Fukoka, Japan
Who: Japan, China, Cuba, Brazil
What to watch: Defending champion Japan seeks their third-straight title in the event. There aren’t many familiar names on the Japan roster but the team is considered the clear favourite heading into the tournament. Rangers ace Yu Darvish decided to drop out and will not pitch for Japan.
Pool B (Mar. 1-6)
Where: Taichung, Taiwan
Who: Korea, Netherlands, Australia, Chinese Taipei
What to watch: Pool B does not offer the star power of some of the other groups but there are still some names that baseball fans may recognize including Chien-Ming Wang. The Chinese Taipei has plenty of players under contract with MLB teams and according to the official WBC website, they are the highest-ranked team in the pool.
Pool C (Mar. 7-10)
Where: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Who: Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Spain
What to watch: Blue Jays fans should be following the Dominican team closely as Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Reyes make up half of the team’s starting infield. The pool features household names with Carlos Beltran, Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera and Carlos Gonzalez in the group.
Pool D (Mar. 7-10)
Where: Phoenix, Arizona
Who: Canada, U.S., Italy, Mexico
What to watch: Canada is looking to advance out of their pool for the first time and arguably have their strongest roster yet with Votto, Lawrie and Twins first baseman Justin Morneau manning the heart of their attack. Their main competition should come from the United States, who haven’t lived up to expectations in past years, but their roster features plenty of major-league stars including Dickey, J.P. Arencibia, David Wright, Mark Teixeira, and Ryan Braun.
WBC format
First round: The first round of the event begins with a round-robin format.
Every team will play the three different teams in their respective pools and the top two teams from each pool will advance to the following round.
For every pool, the teams will be ranked based on winning percentage and there will be a winner and runner-up coming out of every group. Those distinctions will shape the matchups heading into the second round.
In case there are two or more teams with equal winning percentages, you can see the tie-breaking procedures at the WBC official website.
Second round: The second round consists of two separate pools with four teams in each group.
The top two teams from Pools A and B (Pool 1) and the teams from Pools C and D (Pool 2) will face off in a double-elimination format.
The round begins with the runner-up taking on the winner from opposite pool. For example, in Pool 1, the Pool A winner will face the Pool B runner up and so on.
Championship round: The top two teams in Pool 1 and 2 will move on to a four-team single-elimination semi-final.
Just like the second round, the teams cross over as the winner of Pool 1 will take on the runner up of Pool 2.
The two-winners will then face off in a winner-take-all championship game on Tuesday Mar. 19 at AT&T Park in San Francisco.
In the final, the team with the highest winning percentage will be the home team.
WBC Rules
The Tournament offers some very specific rules that all teams must follow for the entire event:
Here are some of the rules you should know:
-All games are played using a designated hitter.
-Just like when you were a kid, there is a mercy rule. In the first and second round, the game will be called if the opposing team is down by 10 runs and has batted for seven full innings or when a team is up 15 runs after the opposing team has batted for five full innings.
-If a game reaches the 13th inning, all teams will begin the inning with runners on first and second base.
Pitching:
The WBC has very specific rules for pitchers as they do not want the countries to wear down any of the players’ arms during the event.
In the event, pitchers cannot pitch:
1) Minimum of four days since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches
2) Minimum of one day since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches
3) Minimum of one day if a pitcher has pitched on conseuctive days
4) More than 65 pitchers per game in the first round
5) More than 80 pitches per game in the second round
6) More than 95 pitches per game in the Finals
If a pitcher reaches limit of pitches in the middle of an at-bat, they can still finish the plate appearance but must come out of the game after the at-bat is complete.
Sportsnet TV schedule
Pool A – Fukuoka, Japan
· Saturday, March 2, Japan @ Brazil, 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Saturday, March 2, Cuba @ Brazil, 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE) – Joined in progress
· Sunday, March 3, China @ Japan, 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Monday, March 4, China @ Cuba, 2:30 a.m. ET/11:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Tuesday, March 5, Brazil @ China, 3 a.m. ET/Midnight PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Wednesday, March 6, Japan @ Cuba, 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
Pool B – Taichung, Taiwan
· Friday, March 1, Australia @ Chinese Taipei, 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East and Ontario)
· Saturday, March 2, Korea @ Netherlands, 8 a.m. ET/5 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE) – Joined in progress
· Sunday, March 3, Netherlands @ Chinese Taipei, 1:30 a.m. ET/10:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Monday, March 4, Korea @ Australia, 5:30 a.m. ET/2:30 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Monday, March 4, Australia @ Netherlands, 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East and Ontario)
· Tuesday, March 5, Chinese Taipei @ Korea, 6:30 a.m. ET/3:30 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
Pool C – San Juan, Puerto Rico
· Thursday, March 7, Venezuela @ Dominican Republic, 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario and ONE)
· Friday, March 8, Spain @ Puerto Rico, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Saturday, March 9, Dominican Republic @ Spain, 11 a.m. ET/8 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Saturday, March 9, Puerto Rico @ Venezuela, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario and West)
· Sunday, March 10, Spain @ Venezuela, 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Sunday, March 10, Dominican Republic @ Puerto Rico, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East and Ontario)
Pool D – Arizona, U.S.A.
· Thursday, March 7, Italy @ Mexico, 3 p.m. ET/Noon PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Friday, March 8, Canada @ Italy, 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific)
· Friday, March 8, Mexico @ U.S.A., 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Saturday, March 9, Canada @ Mexico, 2:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific)
· Saturday, March 9, U.S.A. @ Italy, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario and West)
· Sunday, March 10, U.S.A. @ Canada, 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific)
Pool 1 – Tokyo, Japan
· Thursday, March 7, Pool A Runner-Up @ Pool B Winner, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Friday, March 8, Pool B Runner-Up @ Pool A Winner, 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Saturday, March 9, Game 1 Loser @ Game 2 Loser, 5 a.m. ET/2 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Sunday, March 10, Game 1 Winner @ Game 2 Winner, 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Monday, March 11, Game 3 Winner @ Game 4 Loser, 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Tuesday, March 12, Game 5 Winner @ Game 4 Winner, 6 a.m. ET/3 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
Pool 2 – Miami, U.S.A.
· Tuesday, March 12, Pool D Runner-Up @ Pool C Winner, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Tuesday, March 12, Pool C Runner-Up @ Pool D Winner, 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East and Ontario)
· Wednesday, March 13, Game 1 Loser @ Game 2 Loser, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Thursday, March 14, Game 1 Winner @ Game 2 Winner, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, West, Pacific and ONE)
· Friday, March 15, Game 3 Winner @ Game 4 Loser, 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
· Saturday, March 16, Game 5 Winner @ Game 4 Winner, 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT (Sportsnet ONE)
Semifinal and Championship – San Francisco, U.S.A.
· Sunday, March 17, Pool 2 Runner-Up @ Pool 1 Winner, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario and Pacific and Sportsnet 590 The FAN)
· Monday, March 18, Pool 1 Runner-Up @ Pool 2 Winner, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (Sportsnet East, Ontario, ONE, Pacific and Sportsnet 590 The FAN)
· Tuesday, March 19, Semifinal 1 Winner @ Semifinal 2 Winner, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT (Sportsnet Ontario, West and Pacific and Sportsnet 590 The FAN, and joined in progress on Sportsnet East)
