World Baseball Classic 2013 Qualification Schedule: Daily Listings and TV Info
As Major League Baseball continues on its stretch run with great races in the American League East and for the final Wild Card spots in both leagues, the World Baseball Classic gets underway with eight countries taking place in qualifying-round games over the next five days.
In all, there will be four qualifying groups featuring 16 countries. The final two groups will start their games on November 15.
This is the biggest iteration of the World Baseball Classic yet, as 12 countries were given automatic bids and the 16 in qualifying will battle for the final four spots at the event in March.
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Here is a look at the eight countries that will comprise the two groups playing games over the next five days.
All games will be streaming on WorldBaseballClassic.com. The finals of each qualifying group will also be broadcast on MLB Network.
| Spain |
| France |
| Israel |
| South Africa |
All games will be played at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, FL from September 19-23. All start times listed in ET.
| Game 1: South Africa vs. Israel | Sept. 19 at 7:00 p.m. |
| Game 2: Spain vs. France | Sept. 20 at 7:00 p.m. |
| Game 3: Israel vs. TBD | Sept. 21 at 1:00 p.m. |
| Game 4: South Africa vs. TBD | Sept. 21 at 7:00 p.m. |
| Game 5: TBD vs. TBD | Sept. 22 at 7:00 p.m. |
| Game 6: TBD vs. TBD | Sept. 23 at 5:00 p.m. |
Favorite
This group appears to be Spain's to lose. The Spanish team is currently ranked No. 18 in the IBAF World Rankings; South Africa is second in the group at No. 35.
Israel has a good chance to play spoiler, despite having no previous experience in the World Baseball Classic. The team boasts former big-leaguers Shawn Green and Gabe Kapler, as well as Brad Ausmus managing the team.
| Canada |
| Czech Republic |
| Germany |
| Great Britain |
All games will be played at Armin-Wolf Baseball Arena in Regensburg, Germany.
| Canada vs. Great Britain | Sept. 20 at 1:00 p.m. |
| Germany vs. Czech Republic | Sept. 21 at 1:00 p.m. |
| Czech Republic vs. TBD | Sept. 22 at 7:00 a.m. |
| Germany vs. TBD | Sept. 22 at 1:00 p.m. |
| TBD vs. TBD | Sept. 23 at 8:00 a.m. |
| TBD vs. TBD | Sept. 24 at 1:00 p.m. |
Favorite
Even though the Canadians had a rough go of things at the 2009 World Baseball Classic, they find themselves ranked No. 5 in the world right now. They are going to get a good test from the Germans, who have the luxury of playing in their own backyard.
Still, it will be hard to imagine anyone else coming out of this group other than Canada, based on the talent that all four countries are sending to Germany.
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