The 2013 World Baseball Classic

World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and created by Major League Baseball , the Major League Baseball Players Association , and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world...

will be an international baseball

International Baseball Federation

The International Baseball Federation is the worldwide governing body recognized by the International Olympic Committee as overseeing, deciding and executing the policy of the bat-and-ball sport of baseball at the international level...

  competition. The Classic was expanded to 28 teams, from 16.

Japan won the first two World Baseball Classics, in 2006 and 2009.

Qualification

In a new format, 16 teams will play in a double-elimination qualifying round in late 2012.

Four teams that did not win a game in 2009 (Canada, Chinese Taipei, Panama, and South Africa) will all play in the qualifying round. The 12 other teams in the qualifying round are Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

, Colombia

Colombia

Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...

, the Czech Republic, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

, Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

, Philippines

Philippines

The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and Thailand

Thailand

Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...

.

Under the Classic's rules whereby non-Israeli citizens of Jewish heritage can play for Israel, the players who could qualify to play on the Israeli team include major leaguers first baseman Ike Davis

Ike Davis

Isaac Benjamin "Ike" Davis is a Major League Baseball first baseman for the New York Mets. He and his father Ron Davis, who pitched in the majors for 11 years, are the 197th father-son combination to have both played in the major leagues.He led his high school team to three straight Arizona state...

, second baseman Ian Kinsler

Ian Kinsler

Ian Michael Kinsler is a Major League Baseball All-Star second baseman for the Texas Rangers.Despite having been drafted in only the 17th round out of college, Kinsler has risen to become a two-time All Star, and a member of the Sporting News 2009 list of the 50 greatest current players in baseball...

, third basemen Kevin Youkilis

Kevin Youkilis

Kevin Edmund Youkilis , also known as "Youk" , is an American professional baseball player with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball...

 and Danny Valencia

Danny Valencia

Daniel Paul Valencia is a third baseman for the Minnesota Twins.In high school, he was all-county three times and all-state twice. In college, he was Southern Conference Freshman of the Year, second-team all-conference, and on his all-regional team...

, outfielders Ryan Braun

Ryan Braun

Ryan Joseph Braun is an American right-handed Major League Baseball left fielder for the Milwaukee Brewers. A perennial standout, he was ranked No...

, Sam Fuld

Sam Fuld

Samuel Babson "Sam" Fuld is an American professional baseball outfielder with the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball....

, Ryan Kalish

Ryan Kalish

Ryan Michael Kalish is an American professional baseball outfielder in the Boston Red Sox organization.A standout high school baseball and football player, he was drafted by the Red Sox in 2006...

, and Gabe Kapler

Gabe Kapler

Gabriel "Gabe" Stefan Kapler is an American Major League Baseball outfielder.He has played portions of 13 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Tampa Bay Rays...

, and pitchers Jason Marquis

Jason Marquis

Jason Scott Marquis is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He previously pitched for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals and Arizona Diamondbacks....

, Scott Feldman

Scott Feldman

Scott Feldman was a news anchor for News 12 Long Island for 22 years.-Early life:Feldman was born in St. Louis, Missouri, graduated from the University of Denver in 1971. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves and National Guard....

, Craig Breslow

Craig Breslow

Craig Andrew Breslow is a Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. He throws left-handed, and is considered a lefty specialist....

, and John Grabow

John Grabow

John William Grabow, nicknamed "Grabes" , is a Major League Baseball left-handed reliever....

, as well as recent major leaguers catcher Brad Ausmus

Brad Ausmus

Bradley David "Brad" Ausmus is a former All Star catcher in Major League Baseball, and currently a special assistant for the San Diego Padres....

 and pitcher Scott Schoeneweis

Scott Schoeneweis

Scott David Schoeneweis is an American Major League Baseball left-handed relief pitcher who is currently a free agent.In the five seasons from 2003–07, Schoeneweis allowed only one home run to left-handed batters...

. 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 [Boston's Kevin Youkilis], Braun [Milwaukee's 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." Outfielder Shawn Green

Shawn Green

Shawn David Green is a former Major League Baseball player.Green was a 1st round draft pick and a two-time major league All-Star...

, who retired in 2007, is also eligible inasmuch as he is Jewish, and said in early June 2011 that assuming it works out, it "would be an honor" and he "would love to" play for Israel in the Classic.

The New Zealand team may include infielder Scott Campbell

Scott Campbell (baseball)

Scott Campbell is a current Minor League Baseball batter for the Las Vegas 51s. In , he became the first New Zealander to be drafted by a Major League Baseball club, when selected 300th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays.He played college baseball at Gonzaga University...

 and pitcher Scott Richmond

Scott Richmond

Scott Daniel Richmond is a Canadian professional baseball pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball...

.

The qualifying round games will take place in Fall 2012, and each of four pools will feature a six-game modified double-elimination format. The composition of the pools will be determined once the Qualifying Round venues are selected, and will be based on geographical location, competitive balance, and regional rivalries.

The top 4 teams from the qualification round

2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualification

The qualification round for the 2013 World Baseball Classic will be held in 2012. For the first time ever a qualifying round will be held to determine the final set of teams that will compete in the main tournament...

, along with the top 12 teams at the 2009 World Baseball Classic

2009 World Baseball Classic

The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...

 (Australia, China, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Venezuela), will qualify for the tournament.

Confederation	Qualifying Tournament	Qualifier(s)
BCO (Oceania) Baseball Confederation of Oceania The Baseball Confederation of Oceania is the governing body of baseball within Oceania, and is responsible for the Oceania Baseball Championship.The Baseball Confederation of Oceania was established in 1989, it currently has 15 member nations....	2009 World Baseball Classic 2009 World Baseball Classic The 2009 World Baseball Classic was an international baseball competition. It is the only international baseball tournament to feature a large number of players from the major leagues of North America and Asia. It began on March 5, 2009, and finished March 23, 2009.Japan emerged victorious for the...
BFA (Asia) Baseball Federation of Asia The Baseball Federation of Asia is the governing body of the sport of baseball in Asia. The federation is governed by the International Baseball Federation.-Members:-Rankings:...
CEB (Europe) Confederation of European Baseball The Confederation of European Baseball , is the governing body of baseball within Europe. The CEB was founded in 1953 with 5 members, which were Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain. As of today, there are 38 members, excluding Armenia...
COPABE (Americas) Pan American Baseball Confederation The Pan American Baseball Confederation , is the governing body of baseball within the Americas.-Members:-Rankings:...
Qualifying round Participant	Qualifying round 2013 World Baseball Classic – Qualification The qualification round for the 2013 World Baseball Classic will be held in 2012. For the first time ever a qualifying round will be held to determine the final set of teams that will compete in the main tournament...