
2009 World Baseball Classic to contribute more than $15 million to international baseball federations
Supports tournament mission of growing the game worldwide
MLB.com
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Tournament Runner-Up - $1.7 million
Eliminated in Semi-Finals (Two Teams) - $1.2 million
Eliminated Round Two (Four Teams) - $700,000
Eliminated Round One (Eight Teams) - $300,000 In addition, the four teams that win the pool championship games, the final games of each pool of Round One, will receive an additional $300,000 bonus and first place seeding for Round Two. The two teams that win the pool championship games, the final games of each pool of Round Two, will receive a $400,000 bonus and first place seeding in the two Semi-Final games. The 2009 World Baseball Classic begins in Tokyo on March 5 as defending Tournament Champion Team Japan takes on Team China in the first game of Pool A. About World Baseball Classic, Inc.
World Baseball Classic, Inc. is a company created at the direction of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to operate the World Baseball Classic tournament. The tournament, which is sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), is supported by MLB, the MLBPA, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players associations and other leagues and players from around the world.
About the World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is the premier international baseball tournament, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, and features the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories. In March 2006, 486 players (235 of them from MLB organizations) representing 16 teams from across the globe competed in the inaugural event. More than 740,000 fans from 48 states and 15 countries attended games (16 of which sold out) and millions more watched on TV as Team Japan was crowned the first-ever World Baseball Classic Champion. The inaugural tournament was broadcast by 48 media outlets in 10 languages to 205 countries and territories around the world. Media members representing 25 different nations attended the 39 games in seven host venues across three countries/territories. The upcoming World Baseball Classic will be played from March 5 - 23 and will again feature 16 of the greatest baseball-playing nations in the world. The tournament will be held every four years thereafter, with plans in place to expand the participant field beginning in 2013.
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.