# The World Baseball Classic · Baseball Level 10: Professional

Baseball · Level 10: Professional · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/baseball/level-10/the-world-baseball-classic/)

How the Classic began, its format and rules, the tournaments of 2006, 2009, 2013, 2017 and 2023, who can play for whom, newcomers and surprises, and its hosts and venues.

## Test 1: The idea and the organisers

- It was announced in 2005 and played the next March. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The world body for the sport sanctions it. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Major league players had not taken part in the Olympic tournaments. (Source: General baseball reference)
- It fits into the spring training weeks before the season. (Source: General baseball reference)
- COVID-19 pushed it back two years. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Pitchers are still building up their arms in spring. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Nations earn ranking points from their games. (Source: General baseball reference)
- 2005, 2006, 2023, then 2026. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Clubs and insurers have a say before a big-leaguer can play. (Source: General baseball reference)
- National teams full of major leaguers meet only at the Classic. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 2: Format and rules

- The field had been sixteen teams from 2006 to 2017. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The top two from each pool reached the quarter-finals. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The limit rises in later rounds. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Pitchers are still building up strength in March. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Rest rules protect arms that are not yet ready for a season. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A 10-run lead after seven innings also ended the game. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The same rule had come into MLB. (Source: General baseball reference)
- 65, 80, then 95 pitches. (Source: General baseball reference)
- After the pools, every game was knock-out. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Pitch limits apply even during a no-hitter. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 3: The first Classic, 2006

- They had been close to elimination in the second round. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The final ended 10-6. (Source: General baseball reference)
- It was played at Petco Park. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He went on to sign with the Red Sox that winter. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He had hit 868 home runs as a player. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Koreans won their first six games. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A licence was finally granted. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Mexico's win let Japan through on runs allowed. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The semi-finals and final were both in San Diego. (Source: General baseball reference)
- His call that the runner left third before the catch was much argued about. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 4: The second Classic, 2009

- They met five times during the tournament. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Los Angeles hosted the semi-finals and final. (Source: General baseball reference)
- It broke a 3-3 tie. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He won three games. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Their wins knocked out a team full of big-league stars. (Source: General baseball reference)
- A team had to lose twice to be knocked out. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He gave up the tying run in the ninth and then won it in the tenth. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Japan won 5-3 in ten innings. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Dominican Republic went home after losing twice to the Dutch. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The hit gave Japan its second straight title. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 5: The third Classic, 2013

- They won all eight games. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The final ended 3-0. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Giants' park by the bay was the stage. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He batted .469. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Team-mates carried the plantain to every game. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Puerto Rico won 3-1 in San Francisco. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Both came through the new qualifying round. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Eight games, eight wins. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Cuba lost twice to the Netherlands in Tokyo. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The 'plátano' became the symbol of the unbeaten team. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 6: The fourth Classic, 2017

- It had never reached a final before. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The final was one-sided. (Source: General baseball reference)
- His no-hit bid ended in the seventh. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Most of its players were Jewish Americans. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The doll sat in the dugout at every game. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Fans at home copied the look. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He leapt at the wall in San Diego. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Puerto Rico's semi-final came a day before the USA's 2-1 win over Japan. (Source: General baseball reference)
- 2006, 2009, 2013, then 2017. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The look became a national craze that spring. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 7: The fifth Classic, 2023

- The final was played in Miami. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He batted, pitched and closed the final. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Two Angels team-mates met in the deciding at-bat. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Japan had trailed in the ninth. (Source: General baseball reference)
- They won all seven games. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He missed the whole MLB season that followed. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He hit five homers in the tournament. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Both games were in Miami. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Mexico reached the semi-finals for the first time. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Trout was the US captain. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 8: Who can play for whom

- A parent's birthplace or citizenship counts. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He was the first player born outside Japan on its Classic team. (Source: General baseball reference)
- His mother's family is Puerto Rican. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Both of his parents were born in Canada. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Italy reached the quarter-finals. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Jewish players are eligible for Israeli citizenship. (Source: General baseball reference)
- They are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Eligibility through a parent is enough. (Source: General baseball reference)
- 2017 for the USA, 2023 for Puerto Rico. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Japanese fans took up his celebration. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 9: Newcomers and surprises

- Most of its players had other jobs. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He worked as an electrician. (Source: General baseball reference)
- He managed while practising medicine. (Source: General baseball reference)
- It was the British team's first appearance. (Source: General baseball reference)
- It played its pool games in Miami. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Players from Curaçao led those teams. (Source: General baseball reference)
- It played in the Miami pool. (Source: General baseball reference)
- 2009, 2017, then 2023. (Source: General baseball reference)
- 2013, 2017, then 2023. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Japanese fans cheered the Czech team warmly. (Source: General baseball reference)

## Test 10: Hosts and venues

- Japan's pool games draw huge crowds there. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Marlins' park hosted them. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The final again went to Miami. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The pool was played in Taiwan. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Israel won the pool there. (Source: General baseball reference)
- The Padres' park in San Diego. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Japan won there in 2009 and the USA in 2017. (Source: General baseball reference)
- 2006, 2009, 2013, then 2023. (Source: General baseball reference)
- Invited in 2006 and 2009, qualifiers from 2013, twenty from 2023. (Source: General baseball reference)
- It opened in 1988. (Source: General baseball reference)

Sources: General baseball references, WBSC and league material, coaching manuals; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered rules belong to the Rules category.

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