JAPAN DEFEATS KOREA; DEFENDS WBC TITLE

Congratulations to Japan for successfully defending their WBC title over Korea.
They now move up in the International rankings posted by the International Baseball Federation. I'm not sure I quite understand how Korea--who lost to Japan--seemingly
leap-frogs ahead of Japan and the USA into second place.

The ultimate hope and expectation from those in MLB's executive suite is that the fan interest and passion exhibited by Korea--whose fans packed an empty stadium to watch a televised game--is passed to mainland China. There is reasonable cause for hope given the level of play demonstrated by Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei.

In addition, we see efforts to at least attempt to introduce the game to the cricket-based India. I'm not sure they will have the same success here as they might in China, but at least they are making the effort.

Japan moves to No. 3 in the IBAF World Rankings following WBC win
Cuba still No. 1; USA falls to fourth
Please follow the link below to view the International Baseball Federation's updated World Rankings, through the 2009 World Baseball Classic (March 24).

http://www.ibaf.org/fileadmin/user_upload/Files_-_world_rankings/2009_IBAF_World_Rankings_March.htm

With Japan's World Baseball Classic victory, it moves to No. 3 in the world. Cuba holds on to the No. 1 position and Korea moves past the USA into second. The new top 10 is as follows:

1. Cuba
2. Korea
3. Japan
4. USA
5. Chinese Taipei
6. Netherlands
7. Mexico
8. Canada
9. Australia
10. Puerto Rico

The IBAF debuted its World Rankings earlier this year in January. Developed in conjunction with Scott Goode, a sports information director from Harding University (Arkansas, USA), the rankings are based on a point total which IBAF member federations (teams) earn from IBAF-sanctioned events in a four-year window, or a period of time that encompasses two IBAF Baseball World Cups.

Teams earn points based on their finish in an event. A tournament winner takes home 50 points, second place, 40; third place, 30; and fourth place, 15. From there, points are divided evenly among the remaining teams in the event to ensure balance between tournaments that feature different-sized fields.

Once points are rewarded based on a team’s finish, that amount is then multiplied by a number based on the strength of the event. Major world championships, such as an Olympic Games, IBAF Baseball World Cup or World Baseball Classic, all receive 4X multipliers. Minor world championship events (Junior, Youth or FISU University Worlds, or the Honkbol Tournament, for example) have a 1X multiplier, and all other continental championships receive multipliers from 1X-.25X based on how many teams in the top-10 of the current IBAF World Rankings compete in the event.

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MORE MISCELLANEOUS NOTES FROM IBAF REGARDING THE WBC:

GROWTH AT THE GRASSROOTS: Forbes.com’s Tom VanRiper looked at the growth of grassroots play increasing because of the down economy…”Thanks to the aching economy, the expensive summer vacation is out for many families around the country. A quiet beneficiary: youth baseball, a declining sport now enjoying a recession-induced resurgence. Following years of steady decline, organizations from Little League to Tee Ball USA to the Connie Mack league are generating more sign-ups in 2009, thanks to the financial downturn…Tee Ball leagues, have seen a 10% to 15% surge in inquiries and sign-ups this year...it's the same story for the American Amateur Baseball Congress, which counts Connie Mack, Mickey Mantle and several other youth and adult leagues under its umbrella. After suffering a steady decline in registration over the past 12 years, from 300,000 players in 1997 to 200,000 in 2008…elsewhere, Pony baseball and softball, an independent national affiliation group that organizes local teams around the country, expects a 6% to 8% increase in registrations this year after several down years, according to president Abraham Key….Also spurring more interest around the country: ESPN's increased coverage of the Little League World Series, which now includes a plethora of tournament games (once upon a time, ABC televised only the finals).” (Forbes.com)

APATHY IN THE U.S.? USA TODAY’s Jorge Ortiz notes ESPN’s ratings for the WBC are “about 30% higher than in 2006, and ticket sales for the first round were up 38% compared with the inaugural event.” However, U.S. fans’ “lack of enthusiasm for the WBC, especially in comparison to their counterparts from other countries, has been a running theme.” Members of Team USA are “puzzled by the lack of support," and they hope their 6-5 bottom-of-the-ninth win over Puerto Rico Tuesday at Dolphin Stadium “wins some disbelievers” (USA TODAY, 3/19). ESPN’s Tim Kurkjian said after the U.S.' win over Puerto Rico, “Anyone who wasn’t onboard with the (WBC) is now officially onboard.” Kurkjian said when you “see those guys celebrating like that on the field after the game, please don’t tell me that they don’t care” (“Baseball Tonight,” ESPN, 3/18). ESPN's Jim Rome: “That was the shot of adrenalin that the WBC needed” (“Jim Rome Is Burning,” ESPN, 3/18).

INT'L INTRIGUE: The AP’s Tim Dahlberg wrote under the header, “Some Countries Care More About Outcome Than Others.” Team USA was always going to “have difficulty with teams that really seem to care about whether they win or not,” including Team Cuba and Team Venezuela. Parity “reigns in the WBC," as the “best players play in the U.S. because that’s where the money is, but three out of every 10 of them hail from somewhere else.” To them, the WBC “means something” (AP, 3/18). In Miami, Linda Robertson noted during U.S.-Puerto Rico, “two thirds of the crowd was cheering madly for Puerto Rico, turning it into a road game for the U.S.” The large crowds at Dolphin Stadium during the second-round of the tournament “begs the question that has perplexed the Marlins for years: Why doesn’t South Florida’s heavily Hispanic population support the local team?” Team Puerto Rico fan Miguel Rivera: “With Puerto Rico and Venezuela, it’s different. You like to see the players from your country together on one team. It gets your heart racing” (MIAMI HERALD, 3/17).

CASTRO COMMENTS: “As expected, the Japan defeat elicited an essay from Fidel Castro on a government Web site late Thursday. The ailing, 82-year-old ceded the presidency to his brother Raul 13 months ago, but has written almost daily about the Classic -- previously heaping praise on Japan and Ichiro Suzuki, who went 2-for-5 in the second Cuba game. Castro called the Cuba WBC team "excellent ... made up of young athletes who, without a doubt, are a genuine representation of our country."But he also criticized the coaching staff and island sports officials in general, saying, "we have rested on our laurels and we are paying the price. "We must revolutionize the preparation methods of our athletes, not only in baseball but in all sports disciplines," Castro wrote. (AP)

MORE CALIFORNIA SUPPORT: “Frankly, those who don’t like the World Baseball Classic — those who disapprove of it because it takes players away from spring training and exposes them to injury and time missed from their big league clubs — are missing the point….Baseball needs the kind of boost the WBC provides. The crowds in Miami may have been small (after all, Miami has trouble getting people to even come watch the Marlins), but in San Diego, Petco Park was nearly full to see Mexico, Cuba, Japan and South Korea. Stadiums in Mexico, Puerto Rico and Japan were rocking in the earlier rounds. When the U.S. played Canada in Toronto, Rogers Centre was packed. The public’s imagination was caught when the Netherlands eliminated the Dominican Republic. Baseball needs a shot in the arm globally after being kicked out of the Olympics. The World Baseball Classic shows there is an appetite for the sport so that perhaps it can someday be added again. And cultivating interest worldwide can only help Major League Baseball.” (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER)

ALL THE WORLD'S A STAGE: In N.Y., Joel Sherman wrote the "fervor for the WBC is overwhelming in the Far East and Latin America." Fervor "equals dollars via the worldwide appetite for all things baseball," and it "keeps expanding the pipeline of players around the globe." MLB wants to "make 1.2 billion Chinese care," so it is "easy to see why central baseball is so gung-ho about the WBC" (N.Y. POST, 3/14). Also in N.Y., Harvey Araton wrote under the header, "The Classic Is Taking Baseball To Another Level." The WBC offers the opportunity to see MLB players in "home country uniforms." Once every three years, Americans "can afford to view the game through a global lens," and fans "ought to for our own growth, and good" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/15). The N.Y. TIMES' Alan Schwarz writes WBC games are "quickly demonstrating how this tournament exists far less for the United States than for certain ingredients of its melting pot" (N.Y. TIMES, 3/17). YAHOO SPORTS' Jeff Passan writes, "This is what the World Baseball Classic should be." It is "almost as though the tournament prospers without the Americans." Last night's Venezuela-Puerto Rico game drew 25,599 to Dolphin Stadium, showing that the WBC "can succeed, and that was apparent from the voices, the claps, the cheers, the cries and the thank yous, all delivered by a people to whom this tournament really matters" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/17).