In Cuba, baseball is passion and the Classic, a true madness (+ infographics and video) – Escambray

Our country has participated in all the editions of the World Baseball Classic, with a second place in San Diego 2006; sixth in Los Angeles 2009, fifth in San Francisco 2013 and seventh in Los Angeles 2017

In Cuba, baseball is history, culture and passion. Competitions at any level generate enough attendance and attention so that each baseball event becomes news and remains in everyone’s memory, even without being a declared baseball fan.

The World Baseball Classic has become the top competition in this sport, an event that brings together good art from the best ball and strike athletes on the planet.

Held for the first time in 2006, it is an event coordinated by the World Baseball Classic Inc. (an institution made up of executives from Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Player Association), as well as executives from Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korean Baseball Organization and the International Baseball Federation.

Traditionally, the tournament is held between 16 countries from the five continents and in its first edition the participants attended by invitation. Since 2009 it was decided that the frequency of the joust would be set every four years and from its third version a qualifying system was implemented.

For the 2013 Clásico, those countries that were among the top 12 places in the previous contest obtained the automatic ticket, the rest had to be eliminated along with another dozen teams in a qualifying round held in four nations and three continents.

Cuba has participated in all editions, with a second place in San Diego 2006, where they lost in the final against Japan; sixth place in Los Angeles 2009, when he failed to make it past the semifinals; fifth place in San Francisco 2013 and seventh place in Los Angeles 2017.

For this 2023 edition, postponed due to the pandemic years, the first round will start on March 8. In total there will be four groups of five participants each. Four matches will be played per key and only the first two will advance to the quarterfinals.

Group A, which will compete from March 8 to 13, will be based at the Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan; The casts of Cuba, Chinese Taipei, the Netherlands, Italy and Panama will be measured.

Group B will compete between March 9 and 13; It will be based in the Tokyo Dome, in Japan, where Korea, China, Australia, the Czech Republic and the host country will be.

Group C will compete from March 11 to 15 at Chase Field in Arizona, United States, where Canada, Mexico, Colombia, Great Britain and the host country will face each other.

Group D will also play from March 11 to 15 at Loan Sports Park in Miami, and the teams from Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Israel, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua will play for advance to the next phase.

The quarterfinals will take place in two venues by the sudden death system. Group winners in Asia will continue the competition on March 15 and 16 in Tokyo, while teams that advance in the United States will do so in Miami on March 17 and 18.

The semifinals and the final will only have one stage and it will be the LoanDepot Park, between March 19 and 21.