Daily Times

MIAMI: Plans for the 2023 World Baseball Classic were announced Thursday with Japan, Taiwan and US venues set for games and the final set for next March at Miami. The tournament, designed to feature top Major League Baseball talent and worldwide stars, began in 2006 with Japan winning the inaugural crown and defending the title in 2009 while the Dominican Republic captured the third edition in 2013.The United States won in 2017 but a planned 2021 edition was wiped out due to the Covid-19 pandemic, setting the stage for a 2023 return.Qualifying tournaments will be staged later this year to determine the final four teams in the 20-team main pool, two each qualifying from events at Panama City in Panama, and Regensburg, Germany.Panama will host Pakistan, New Zealand, Brazil, Argentina and Nicaragua while Germany will host Britain, South Africa, France, Spain and the Czech Republic.The 2023 World Baseball Classic will start March 8 in Taichung, Taiwan with the hosts joined by Cuba, Italy, the Netherlands and a qualifier.Tokyo will host games March 9-13 with Japan facing Australia, China, South Korea and a qualifier.The United States will host group stage matches on March 11-15 at Phoenix in the home ballpark of MLB’s Arizona Diamondbacks with Canada, Mexico, Colombia and a qualifier also in the field.Miami will see matches March 11-15 involving Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Israel and a qualifier in the home ballpark of the MLB Miami Marlins.Two teams from each site will advance to the quarter-finals, set for March 15-16 at Tokyo and March 17-18 at Miami. The semi-finals and finals will be contested March 19-21 at Miami.