NEW YORK — The semifinals and final of the World Baseball Classic next year will be hosted by Miami Marlins. This will be the first time the event has been held since 2017.
The tournament will be held at loanDepot Park, Major League Baseball’s park and the players’ union said Thursday. The field will increase from 16 teams to 20, and the top two nations in each of the five-team groups will advance from the first round. The championship round will be decided by the top two teams from each quarterfinal group.
The Intercontinental Stadium, Taichung, Taiwan, the Tokyo Dome and Chase Field in Phoenix will host the first round.
Along with the 16 countries from the 2017 tournament won by the U.S.A, four other teams will be included from qualifying to play at Armin-Wolf-Arena, Regensburg, Germany (Sept. 16-21), and Rod Carew National Stadium, Panama City, Panama (Sept. 30-Oct. 5). Each group will have one qualifier.
Here are the dates for each team:
Group A (Taichung, March 8-13 – Cuba. Italy. Netherlands. Taiwan.
Group B (Tokyo March 9-13, 2009) – Australia China Japan South Korea.
Group C (Phoenix March 11-15) – Canada, Colombia, Mexico and the United States.
Group D (Miami, March 11-15) – Dominican Republic, Israel, Puerto Rico Venezuela.
Quarterfinals (Tokyo, March 15-16; Miami, March 17-18).
Semifinals and final (Miami March 19-21).