2013 World Baseball Classic qualification

International baseball tournament

2013 World Baseball Classic qualificationTournament details

Countries|  Germany
Panama
Taiwan
United States
Dates| September 19 – November 19, 2012
Teams| 16
Tournament statistics
Games played| 24
Attendance| 103,774 (4,324 per game)

2017 →

The qualifying round of the 2013 World Baseball Classic was held from September 19 to November 19, 2012. It was the first ever qualifiers for the tournament.

Although the 2006 and 2009 editions of the World Baseball Classic were contested by the same pre-selected field of 16 teams, for the 2013 tournament only the 12 teams that won at least one game in 2009 were guaranteed a berth in the main tournament. Due a agreement with then International Baseball Federation (now World Baseball Softball Confederation), other four (Canada, Chinese Taipei, Panama, and South Africa) contested the qualifying round along with 12 additional teams invited by the confeeration.[1]

The qualifiers were organized as four independent modified double-elimination tournaments featuring four teams each. The final game was winner-take-all, even if won by the team emerging from the loser's bracket. That is, the team emerging from the winner's bracket might be eliminated despite losing only one game (as, in fact, happened to Israel in Qualifier 1).

Canada and Chinese Taipei dominated in Qualifiers 2 and 4 to advance easily. In Qualifier 1, Spain and Israel both won in the first round, then Israel beat Spain in the winner's bracket. Spain then eliminated South Africa (the only team in the qualifier to have previously contested the WBC) to earn a rematch with Israel, which was without its several Major League players due to the qualifier taking place during the MLB season. Spain won the winner-take-all final game, 9–7 in 10 innings, to advance to the main tournament.

In Qualifier 3, favorites Panama and Nicaragua lost in the first round, and Panama then eliminated Nicaragua. After both teams defeated Colombia, underdog Brazil defeated Panama 1–0 to advance to the main tournament.

## Players

[edit]

See also: 2013 World Baseball Classic qualification rosters

Under the Classic's rules, Team Israel was entitled to have non-Israeli citizens of Jewish heritage play for the team. Such players included major leaguers catcher Ryan Lavarnway, first baseman Ike Davis, second basemen Ian Kinsler and Josh Satin, third basemen Kevin Youkilis and Danny Valencia, outfielders Ryan Braun (whose father is Israeli), Sam Fuld, Ryan Kalish, and Gabe Kapler, and pitchers Jason Marquis, Scott Feldman, Craig Breslow, and John Grabow, as well as what were then recent major leaguers catcher Brad Ausmus and pitcher Scott Schoeneweis.[2][3][4][5][6][7] Kinsler said:

> "Wow, I would be happy to play for Team Israel.... The truth is that if a proposal comes from Team USA to play for them, I will have a very difficult decision to make. Yuk [Kevin Youkilis], Braun [Ryan Braun], and I could make a fantastic team. I am sure that I'll talk it over with Yuk – we always laugh about things like this."[8]

Outfielder Shawn Green, who retired in 2007, was also eligible because he is Jewish. In early June 2011 he said it "would be an honor" and he "would love to" play for Israel in the Classic.[9][10]

Because they were held in September, while the Major League Baseball season was still in progress, Qualifiers 1 and 2 could not feature major league players.[11][12] Kevin Youkilis announced that he would play for the team if they made it past the qualifying round.[13]

The highest-level players involved in Qualifiers 1 and 2 were minor-league prospects ranked among the top 20 in their respective organizations.[14] Team Israel, managed by former major league All Star Brad Ausmus, included minor league pitchers Eric Berger (1–0) and Brett Lorin, first baseman Nate Freiman (.417; 4 HR in 12 AB), second baseman Josh Satin (.273), shortstops Jake Lemmerman and Ben Orloff, and outfielders Adam Greenberg, Ben Guez, Joc Pederson (.308), and Robbie Widlansky.[15][16] Retired major leaguer Shawn Green played for Israel (.333).[15]

Similarly, Joey Votto and Justin Morneau were unable to play for Canada.[17] They were led by minor league first baseman Jimmy Van Ostrand (.538; 10 RBIs in 13 at-bats).[16] Although Canada advanced easily despite the unavailability of its Major Leaguers, Israel was eliminated after narrowly losing the final game to Spain.

By contrast, all four teams in Qualifier 3 boasted Major League players, as it took place in November and did not conflict with the MLB season. Established Major Leaguers included Carlos Ruiz, Rubén Tejada, Manny Acosta, Manny Corpas, and Carlos Lee of Panama; and Everth Cabrera and J. C. Ramírez of Nicaragua. Major League rookies and prospects included Erasmo Ramírez and Cheslor Cuthbert of Nicaragua; Yan Gomes of Brazil; and Luis Martinez and brothers Donavan and Jhonatan Solano of Colombia. Retired Major Leaguers included Ramiro Mendoza of Panama and Édgar Rentería of Colombia.[18]

Although Qualifier 4 also took place in November, it did not feature any current MLB players, as both Wei-Yin Chen and Chien-Ming Wang of Chinese Taipei elected to skip the qualifier. Chinese Taipei did feature Japanese major leaguer Yao-Hsun Yang as well as Taiwanese league players such as Peng Cheng-min and Lin Chih-sheng, and qualified easily. Both New Zealand and the Philippines included minor league players, while Thailand included former Major Leaguer Johnny Damon.[19]

## Venues

[edit]

Four stadiums were used during the qualifying round:[20][21]

Qualifier 1  | Qualifier 2  | Qualifier 3  | Qualifier 4

|
|
|

Jupiter, United States |  Regensburg, Germany |  Panama City, Panama |  New Taipei City, Taiwan
Roger Dean Stadium | Armin-Wolf-Arena | Rod Carew Stadium | Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium
Capacity: 6,871 | Capacity: 10,000 | Capacity: 27,000 | Capacity: 12,500
|  |  |

## Pools composition

[edit]

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the WBSC World Rankings at the time of the tournament.[22]

Qualifier 1  | Qualifier 2  | Qualifier 3  | Qualifier 4

|
|
|

France (30)  |  Canada (6)  |  Brazil (20)  |  Chinese Taipei (5)
Israel (74)  |  Czech Republic (25)  |  Colombia (19)  |  New Zealand (28)
South Africa (27)  |  Germany (17)  |  Nicaragua (15)  |  Philippines (22)
Spain (16)  |  Great Britain (21)  |  Panama (14)  |  Thailand (23)

## Qualifying round

[edit]

### Qualifier 1

[edit]

Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualifier 1

| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Preliminaries| | | Semifinals| | | Qualifier
| | |
| –|  Israel| 7
| | |
| –|  South Africa| 3| |
| | | W1|  Israel| 4
| | | | |
| | | W2|  Spain| 2| |
| –|  France| 0| | | |
| | | |
| –|  Spain| 8| |
| | | W3|  Israel| 7
| | |
| | | W5|  Spain| 9
| Lower round 1| | | Lower final| |

| |
| | W4|  South Africa| 3
| |
| L1|  South Africa| 5| | | L3|  Spain| 13| |
| | | |
| L2|  France| 2| | |
| | | |

Date  | Local time  | Road team  | Score  | Home team  | Inn.  | Venue  | Game duration  | Attendance  | Boxscore

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Sep 19, 2012  | 19:00  | Israel  | 7–3 |  South Africa |   | Roger Dean Stadium | 3:16  | 1,581  | Boxscore
Sep 20, 2012  | 19:00  | France  | 0–8 |  Spain |   | Roger Dean Stadium | 2:51  | 975  | Boxscore
Sep 21, 2012  | 13:00  | Israel  | 4–2 |  Spain |   | Roger Dean Stadium | 2:43  | 814  | Boxscore
Sep 21, 2012  | 19:00  | South Africa  | 5–2 |  France | 11  | Roger Dean Stadium | 3:57  | 922  | Boxscore
Sep 22, 2012  | 19:00  | Spain  | 13–3 |  South Africa |   | Roger Dean Stadium | 3:11  | 1,183  | Boxscore
Sep 23, 2012  | 17:00  | Spain  | 9–7 |  Israel | 10  | Roger Dean Stadium | 4:50  | 4,463  | Boxscore

### Qualifier 2

[edit]

Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualifier 2

| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Preliminaries| | | Semifinals| | | Qualifier
| | |
| –|  Great Britain| 1
| | |
| –|  Canada| 11| |
| | | W1|  Canada| 16
| | | | |
| | | W2|  Germany| 7| |
| –|  Czech Republic| 1| | | |
| | | |
| –|  Germany| 16| |
| | | W4|  Canada| 11
| | |
| | | W5|  Germany| 1
| Lower round 1| | | Lower final| |

| |
| | W3|  Great Britain| 1
| |
| L1|  Great Britain| 12| | | L4|  Germany| 16| |
| | | |
| L2|  Czech Republic| 5| | |
| | | |

Date  | Local time  | Road team  | Score  | Home team  | Inn.  | Venue  | Game duration  | Attendance  | Boxscore

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Sep 20, 2012  | 19:00  | Great Britain  | 1–11 |  Canada | 7  | Armin-Wolf-Arena | 2:28  | 3,704  | Boxscore
Sep 21, 2012  | 19:00  | Czech Republic  | 1–16 |  Germany | 6  | Armin-Wolf-Arena | 2:15  | 3,019  | Boxscore
Sep 22, 2012  | 13:00  | Great Britain  | 12–5 |  Czech Republic |   | Armin-Wolf-Arena | 3:10  | 1,806  | Boxscore
Sep 22, 2012  | 19:00  | Canada  | 16–7 |  Germany |   | Armin-Wolf-Arena | 4:00  | 4,085  | Boxscore
Sep 23, 2012  | 14:00  | Germany  | 16–1 |  Great Britain | 7  | Armin-Wolf-Arena | 2:35  | 1,452  | Boxscore
Sep 24, 2012  | 19:00  | Germany  | 1–11 |  Canada | 8  | Armin-Wolf-Arena | 2:33  | 3,120  | Boxscore

### Qualifier 3

[edit]

Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualifier 3

| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Preliminaries| | | Semifinals| | | Qualifier
| | |
| –|  Brazil| 3
| | |
| –|  Panama| 2| |
| | | W1|  Brazil| 7
| | | | |
| | | W2|  Colombia| 1| |
| –|  Nicaragua| 1| | | |
| | | |
| –|  Colombia| 8| |
| | | W3|  Brazil| 1
| | |
| | | W5|  Panama| 0
| Lower round 1| | | Lower final| |

| |
| | W4|  Panama| 9
| |
| L1|  Panama| 6| | | L3|  Colombia| 7| |
| | | |
| L2|  Nicaragua| 2| | |
| | | |

Date  | Local time  | Road team  | Score  | Home team  | Inn.  | Venue  | Game duration  | Attendance  | Boxscore

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Nov 15, 2012  | 20:00  | Brazil  | 3–2 |  Panama |   | Rod Carew Stadium | 3:23  | 13,728  | Boxscore
Nov 16, 2012  | 20:00  | Nicaragua  | 1–8 |  Colombia |   | Rod Carew Stadium | 3:31  | 4,028  | Boxscore
Nov 17, 2012  | 14:00  | Colombia  | 1–7 |  Brazil |   | Rod Carew Stadium | 3:33  | 2,952  | Boxscore
Nov 17, 2012  | 20:00  | Nicaragua  | 2–6 |  Panama |   | Rod Carew Stadium | 3:46  | 8,531  | Boxscore
Nov 18, 2012  | 19:00  | Panama  | 9–7 |  Colombia |   | Rod Carew Stadium | 3:30  | 5,317  | Boxscore
Nov 19, 2012  | 20:00  | Panama  | 0–1 |  Brazil |   | Rod Carew Stadium | 2:38  | 10,638  | Boxscore

### Qualifier 4

[edit]

Main article: 2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualifier 4

| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Preliminaries| | | Semifinals| | | Qualifier
| | |
| –|  Philippines| 8
| | |
| –|  Thailand| 2| |
| | | W1|  Philippines| 0
| | | | |
| | | W2|  Chinese Taipei| 16| |
| –|  New Zealand| 0| | | |
| | | |
| –|  Chinese Taipei| 10| |
| | | W4|  Chinese Taipei| 9
| | |
| | | W5|  New Zealand| 0
| Lower round 1| | | Lower final| |

| |
| | W3|  New Zealand| 10
| |
| L1|  Thailand| 2| | | L4|  Philippines| 6| |
| | | |
| L2|  New Zealand| 12| | |
| | | |

Date  | Local time  | Road team  | Score  | Home team  | Inn.  | Venue  | Game duration  | Attendance  | Boxscore

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Nov 15, 2012  | 11:30  | Philippines  | 8–2 |  Thailand |   | Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium | 3:10  | 923  | Boxscore
Nov 15, 2012  | 18:30  | New Zealand  | 0–10 |  Chinese Taipei | 7  | Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium | 2:29  | 9,788  | Boxscore
Nov 16, 2012  | 11:30  | New Zealand  | 12–2 |  Thailand | 8  | Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium | 3:05  | 1,168  | Boxscore
Nov 16, 2012  | 18:30  | Chinese Taipei  | 16–0 |  Philippines | 7  | Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium | 2:56  | 10,911  | Boxscore
Nov 17, 2012  | 14:00  | New Zealand  | 10–6 |  Philippines |   | Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium | 3:13  | 503  | Boxscore
Nov 18, 2012  | 14:00  | New Zealand  | 0–9 |  Chinese Taipei |   | Xinzhuang Baseball Stadium | 3:31  | 8,163  | Boxscore

## Attendance

[edit]

103,774 (avg. 4,324; pct. 30.7%)

* Qualifier 1 – 9,938 (avg. 1,656; pct. 24.1%)
* Qualifier 2 – 17,186 (avg. 2,864; pct. 28.6%)
* Qualifier 3 – 45,194 (avg. 7,532; pct. 27.9%)
* Qualifier 4 – 31,456 (avg. 5,243; pct. 41.9%)

## Statistics leaders

[edit]

### Batting

[edit]

| Statistic | Name | Total/Avg

|
|

Batting average* |  Mike Cervenak | .714
Hits | 7 Players | 7
Runs |  Jimmy Van Ostrand | 9
Home runs |  Nate Freiman
Jimmy Van Ostrand | 4
RBI |  Jimmy Van Ostrand | 10
Walks |  Szu-Chi Chou
Gift Ngoepe | 6
Strikeouts |  Boss Moanaroa | 7
Stolen bases |  Alan Schoenberger | 5
On-base percentage* |  Mike Cervenak | .750
Slugging percentage* |  Jimmy Van Ostrand | 1.538
OPS* |  Jimmy Van Ostrand | 2.138

* Minimum 2.7 plate appearances per game

### Pitching

[edit]

| Statistic | Name | Total/Avg

|
|

Wins | 24 Players | 1
Losses | 24 Players | 1
Saves |  Thyago Vieira | 2
Innings pitched |  Ramiro Mendoza | 8.2
Hits allowed |  Eric Berger | 10
Runs allowed |  Charlie Labrador
Kieran Lovegrove
Michael Sobotka | 7
Earned runs allowed |  Kieran Lovegrove | 7
ERA* |  Ramiro Mendoza | 0.00**
Walks |  Siraphop Nadee
Andre Rienzo | 5
Strikeouts |  Enorbel Marquez | 8
WHIP* |  Enorbel Marquez | 0.29

* Minimum 0.8 innings pitched per game
** Mendoza is tied with 27 others with a 0.00 ERA but he pitched the most innings with 8.2

## Additional rules

[edit]

A pitcher threw no more than 85 pitches per game in the qualifying round unless the pitcher needed more to complete a batter's plate appearance.

A pitcher must:

* Not pitch until a minimum of four days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched;
* Not pitch until a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched;
* Not pitch until a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched;

A mercy rule came into effect when one team led by either fifteen runs after five innings, or ten runs after seven innings.

An alternative version of the IBAF's extra inning rule was also used. If after 12 innings the score was still tied, each half inning thereafter would have started with runners on second and first base. The runners would have been the eighth and ninth hitters due in that inning respectively. For example, if the number five hitter was due to lead off the inning, the number three hitter would have been on second base, and the number four hitter on first base. However, this rule was never actually employed in this year's qualifiers, as the two extra-inning games in the qualifying round ended prior to a 13th inning.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2013 World Baseball Classic Field expands to 28 Teams". IBAF. June 1, 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2011.
2. ^ "World Baseball Classic: Israel, managed by Bra". Sporting News. May 21, 2012. Archived from the original on May 23, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
3. ^ Belson, Ken (June 1, 2011). "Israel to Participate in 2013 World Baseball Classic". The New York Times. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
4. ^ "Israel invited to qualify for World Baseball Classic". JTA. June 2, 2011. Retrieved June 2, 2011.
5. ^ Jeremy Fine. "The Great Rabbino". Retrieved July 16, 2011.
6. ^ Aaron Yellin (June 7, 2011). "Israel to Participate in 2013 World Baseball Classic". The Forward. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
7. ^ "Jews to Play in Baseball All-Star Game - Shalom Life". Archived from the original on November 6, 2013. Retrieved March 20, 2013.
8. ^ Ben, Daniel (May 1, 2010). "Baseball / Jewish MLB stars could play for Israel". Haaretz. Retrieved July 16, 2011.
9. ^ Leichenger, Alex (June 21, 2011). "Jewish baseball player supports Little League efforts". Jewish Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
10. ^ Belson, Ken (June 8, 2011). "Shawn Green Says He'd Play for Israel in World Baseball Classic". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2011.
11. ^ Neistat, Aimee (August 24, 2012). "Baseball / World Classic / Youkilis says he will play for Israel, if it qualifies for tournament". Haaretz. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
12. ^ "World Baseball Classic: Israel squad could be dangerous with stars Ryan Braun, Ian Kinsler available". Sporting News. May 21, 2012. Archived from the original on November 25, 2012. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
13. ^ Neistat, Aimee (August 24, 2012). "Baseball / World Classic / Youkilis says he will play for Israel, if it qualifies for tournament". Haaretz. Retrieved March 12, 2013.
14. ^ "World Baseball Classic: There are plenty of prospects to watch in this month's World Baseball Classic qualifiers". worldbaseballclassic.com. September 21, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
15. ^ a b "World Baseball Classic: Team – Israel". worldbaseballclassic.com. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
16. ^ a b "World Baseball Classic: Stats". worldbaseballclassic.com. Archived from the original on April 12, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
17. ^ "World Baseball Classic: Canada: Team – Canada". worldbaseballclassic.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
18. ^ "Panama City set to host World Baseball Classic qualifying action". World Baseball Classic. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
19. ^ "World Baseball Classic: Chinese Taipei favorites in World Baseball Classic qualifier". worldbaseballclassic.com. November 14, 2012. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved March 14, 2013.
20. ^ "World Baseball Classic Qualifier in Florida scheduled for September". IBAF. July 4, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
21. ^ "World Baseball Classic Qualifier to Take Place in Regensburg from September 20–24th". IBAF. March 19, 2012. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
22. ^ "WBSC Rankings - Men's baseball on 12/31/2012". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved May 2, 2021.

## External links

[edit]

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* v
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