World Baseball Classic provisional rosters announced
Each of the 16 Baseball Federations participating in the 2009 World Baseball Classic has submitted its provisional roster prior to Monday's deadline. Provisional rosters allow Federations to list up to 45 players from which the final 28-man rosters will be selected. Each Federation must submit its final roster, including a minimum of 13 pitchers and two catchers, by Feb. 24.
About World Baseball Classic, Inc.
World Baseball Classic, Inc. is a company created at the direction of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major LeagueBaseball Players Association (MLBPA) to operate the World Baseball Classic tournament. The tournament, which issanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), is supported by MLB, the MLBPA, Nippon ProfessionalBaseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players associations and other leagues andplayers from around the world.
About the World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic is the premier international baseball tournament, sanctioned by the International BaseballFederation, and features the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories. In March 2006,486 players - 235 of them from MLB organizations - representing 16 teams from across the globe competed in theinaugural event. More than 740,000 fans from 48 states and 15 countries attended games - 16 of which sold out - andmillions more watched on TV as Team Japan was crowned the first-ever World Baseball Classic Champion. Broadcast by48 media outlets in 10 languages to 205 countries and territories around the world, the inaugural tournament had 50official sponsors and 21 official licensees. Media members representing 25 different nations attended the 39 games inseven host venues across three countries/territories. The next tournament will be held in March 2009 and will againfeature 16 of the greatest baseball-playing nations in the world. The tournament will be held every four years thereafter,with plans in place to expand the participant field beginning in 2013.