Baseball Around the World ™ 2009 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC SCHEDULE OF GAMES MLB ROUND 1 Double Elimination Schedule is subject to change. INTERNATIONAL POOL A Tokyo Dome Tokyo, Japan DIRECTORY DATE GAME MATCH-UP LOCAL ET Thurs, March 5 Game 1 China vs. Japan 6:30pm 4:30am CENTRAL OFFICE (New York) (Phone +1-212-931-7500) Fri, March 6 Game 2 Chinese Taipei vs. Korea 6:30pm 4:30am 245 Park Avenue Sat, March 7 Game 3 Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 12:30pm 10:30pm (Fri) New York, NY 10167, United States Sat, March 7 Game 4 Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 7pm 5am Paul Archey, Senior VP, Sun, March 8 Game 5 Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser 6:30pm 5:30am International Business Operations Mon, March 9 Pool Final Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner 6:30pm 5:30am BROADCAST OPERATIONS POOL B FORO SOL STADIUM Mexico City, Mexico Russell Gabay, Vice President DATE GAME MATCH-UP LOCAL ET & Executive Producer Sun, March 8 Game 1 Cuba vs. South Africa 1pm 3pm BROADCAST SALES Sun, March 8 Game 2 Australia vs. Mexico 8pm 10pm Frank Uddo, Vice President, International Broadcasting Mon, March 9 Game 3 Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 8pm 10pm Tues, March 10 Game 4 Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 8pm 10pm GAME DEVELOPMENT Mike McClellan, Program Wed, March 11 Game 5 Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser 8pm 10pm Manager, Game Development Thurs, March 12 Pool Final Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner 7pm 9pm LICENSING Denis Nolan, Vice President, POOL C Rogers Centre Toronto, Canada Licensing DATE GAME MATCH-UP LOCAL ET Sat, March 7 Game 1 Canada vs. USA 2pm 2pm SPONSORSHIP & COMMUNICATIONS Sat, March 7 Game 2 Italy vs. Venezuela 8pm 8pm Dominick Balsamo, Senior Director, Sun, March 8 Game 3 Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 8pm 8pm Sponsorship & Communications Mon, March 9 Game 4 Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 6:30pm 6:30pm Tues, March 10 Game 5 Game 4 Winner vs. Game 3 Loser 5pm 5pm WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC, INC. James Pearce, Tournament Wed, March 11 Pool Final Game 3 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner 6:30pm 6:30pm Director POOL D Hiram Bithorn Stadium San Juan, Puerto Rico REGIONAL OFFICES DATE GAME MATCH-UP LOCAL ET AUSTRALIA & OCEANIA Sat, March 7 Game 1 Dominican Republic vs. Netherlands 12pm 11am (Phone: +61 2 9238-2292) Sat, March 7 Game 2 Panama vs. Puerto Rico 6pm 5pm Level 57, MLB Centre 19-29 Martin Place Sun, March 8 Game 3 Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 4:30pm 4:30pm Sydney, Australia NSW 2000 Mon, March 9 Game 4 Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 6:30pm 6:30pm Tom Nicholson, Director Tues, March 10 Game 5 Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser 6:30pm 6:30pm CHINA Wed, March 11 Pool Final Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner 5pm 5pm (Phone: +86 10 8523-3020) Level is NCL Tower ROUND 2 Double Elimination No. 12 A Jianguomenwai Ave Chaoyang District POOL 1 PETCO Park San Diego, California POOL 2 Dolphin Stadium Miami, Florida Beijing, China 100022 DATE GAME MATCH-UP LOCAL ET DATE GAME MATCH-UP LOCAL ET Mike Marone, Manager Sun, March 15 Game 1 Pool A Winner vs. Pool B Runner-up 1pm 4pm Sat, March 14 Game 1 Pool C Winner vs. Pool D Runner-up 1pm 1pm EUROPE, MIDDLE EAST Sun, March 15 Game 2 Pool B Winner vs. Pool A Runner-up 8pm 11pm Sat, March 14 Game 2 Pool D Winner vs. Pool C Runner-up 8pm 8pm AND AFRICA Mon, March 16 Game 3 Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 8pm 11pm Sun, March 15 Game 3 Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser 7:30pm 7:30pm (Phone: +44 20 7453-7000) Anel House Tues, March 17 Game 4 Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 8pm 11pm Mon, March 16 Game 4 Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner 8pm 8pm 74a Charlotte Street Wed, March 18 Game 5 Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser 8pm 11pm Tues, March 17 Game 5 Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Loser 7pm 7pm London W1T 4QJ, United Kingdom Wed, March 18 Game 6 Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner 7pm 7pm Clive Russell, Director Thurs, March 19 Game 6 Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner 6pm 9pm JAPAN SEMIFINALS & FINALS Single Elimination (Phone: +81 3 3507-5799) FINALS Dodger Stadium Los Angeles, California Masonic 39 MT Building SF DATE GAME MATCH-UP LOCAL ET 2-4-5 Azabidai, Minato - Ku Tokyo, Japan 106-0041 Sat, March 21 Semifinal 1 Pool 2 Winner vs. Pool 1 Runner-up 6pm 9pm Jim Small, Managing Director Sun, March 22 Semifinal 2 Pool 1 Winner vs. Pool 2 Runner-up 5pm 8pm and Vice President, Asia Mon, March 23 Final Championship Game 6:30pm 9:30pm For up-to-date information, please visit: worldbaseballclassic.com 8 THE OFFICIAL INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL ✯ FALL 2008 National Rivalries Set to Heat Up FALL CLASSIC in 2009 World Baseball Classic 'PHAN-TASTIC' he 2008 World Series celebrated many firsts Jason Bay Ichiro Suzuki Jorge Cantu David Ortiz for MLB Clubs, players NAME CANTO T and fans around the world. The 2008 World Series Champion Philadelphia Phillies knocked out the Brewers and Dodgers on their way to defeating a tal- ented, young American League Champion, the Tampa Bay Rays, in the Rays’ first World Series in franchise history. The 2008 postseason pro- vided a veritable showcase of international baseball players. The city of Sydney, Australia enthusiastically watched as their own Grant Balfour be- came the first Australian since Graeme Lloyd in 1996 to reach the World Series. Teammates Akinori Iwamura and Carlos Peña earned cheers in their homelands, Japan and the Do- minican Republic, respectively. Panamanian catcher Carlos Ruiz made a lasting impres- sion as his single during the bottom of the ninth inning of Game Three marked the first World Series walk-off by a Phil- lies player ever. Overall, the five-game series concluded a HE SCHEDULE HAS BEEN SET, TICKETS South Africa and hometown favorite Team Mexico tak- great season leaving baseball have gone on sale and baseball players ing on Australia. Players on Team U.S.A. will seek to fans everywhere excited for from the 16 participating countries are avenge their 2006 loss to Team Canada in the first game what’s to come in 2009. T eagerly awaiting another chance to repre- matinee at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on March 7, sent their homelands in the hopes of becoming the while Venezuela and Italy have drawn one another for 2009 World Baseball Classic Champions. the nightcap. The Dominican Republic will begin its (1) S E Defending Tournament Champion Team Japan will quest for the Championship against the Kingdom of the G A IM open the second World Baseball Classic against Team Netherlands on Saturday, March 7 in San Juan's Hiram Y ETT China in the Tokyo Dome on March 5, 2009, followed Bithorn Stadium, while Puerto Rico faces Panama in G (3); by Chinese Taipei taking on 2006 Semi-Finalist Team front of what is sure to be an excited home crowd. Lead- B L M Korea the next day. Fans in Mexico City are already ing off with these initial match-ups, the first two rounds BY S gearing up for their first day of games on Sunday, March of the tournament will follow a double-elimination PHOTO 8, with 2006 Runner-Up Cuba squaring off against format – for the full schedule, see page 8. Baseball Around the World Behind Every Play, A Nation THE 2009 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN TO well as in the Toronto Sun and Toronto Star. Radio spots, tagged with ticket support the November 17 launch of ticket sales for Round 1 consisted of purchase information, were put into heavy rotation in top stations in Toronto. print, radio, online and out-of-home creative elements. English, Spanish Using the tagline “Behind every play, a nation," the campaign evokes the spirit and Japanese language print was placed throughout the venue regions, as of nationalistic competition embodied by the World Baseball Classic. MASTERCARD AND BANCO PROVINCIAL TAKE CARD HOLDERS FUN FACT On May 6, 2008, Dodger short- TO THE 2008 WORLD SERIES stop Chin-lung Hu and Dodger MasterCard International and member bank, pitcher Hong-Chih Kuo be- Banco Provincial – BBVA, ran a World Series came the first two Taiwanese promotion in Venezuela from August 15 through players to hit consecutively September 28, offering a grand prize trip to in a big league game, adding the 2008 World Series. Targeted specifically to to the long list of Taiwanese card users, the program was heavily promoted “firsts” the club has spawned, by a significant cable and free-to-air TV plan, starting in 2002 when Dodger including during ESPN International broadcasts of outfielder Chin-Feng Chen Major League Baseball games airing in Venezuela. became the first Taiwanese Additional support was provided by print, radio, player in MLB history. statement inserts and POS within bank locations. 2008 PLAYER NATIONALITIES ARIZONA ATLANTA BALTIMORE BOSTON CHICAGO DIAMONDBACKS BRAVES ORIOLES RED SOX CUBS Dominican Rep., Australia, Cuba, Canada, Cuba, Canada, Dominican Canada, Dominican Mexico, United Curacao, Dominican Dominican Rep., Rep., Jamaica, Rep., Japan, Puerto States, Venezuela Rep., Germany, Puerto Rico, United Japan, Nicaragua, Rico, United States, Mexico, Panama, States, Venezuela Puerto Rico, Venezuela Puerto Rico, UK, United States, United States, Venezuela 2 Venezuela Game Development DEVELOPING MLB Academies Develop Global Talent BASEBALL IN DELHI This past October, Major League Baseball conducted the first-ever MLB India Coach Certification Course, an introductory course held in New Delhi at Jesus and Mary College.