Q: What is the World Baseball Classic?
A: The World Baseball Classic is an unprecedented baseball event that will feature many of the best players in the world competing for their home countries and territories for the first time ever. This tournament will give fans around the world a chance to see baseball in an exciting and compelling new format.

Q: Why conduct the World Baseball Classic?
A: The World Baseball Classic was created to provide a platform that will increase worldwide exposure of the game of baseball and further promote grassroots development in traditional and non-traditional baseball nations. The tournament's primary objectives are to increase global interest and introduce new fans and players to the game. The World Baseball Classic acknowledges and pays tribute to the tremendous growth and internationalization of the game.

Q: Which leagues and/or organizations have been involved with establishing the World Baseball Classic?
A: Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) have joined together to establish the World Baseball Classic. The tournament, sanctioned by the International BAseball Federation (IBAF), will be conducted jointly by MLB and the MLBPA in cooperation with Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO), their respective players associations and other professional leagues from around the world.

Q: Where will the World Baseball Classic games be played?
A: Round 1, featuring four pools of four teams, will take place at five different sites: (1) Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan; (2) Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico; (3) The Ballpark at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex, Orlando, FL; (4) Chase Field, Phoenix, AZ and (5) Scottsdale Stadium, Scottsdale, AZ. Round 2, featuring two pools of four teams, will take place at two sites: (1) Hiram Bithorn Stadium and (2) Angel Stadium, Anaheim, California. The Semi-Finals and Final game will take place at PETCO Park in San Diego, California.

Q: Which countries and/or territories will participate in the World Baseball Classic?
A: The following National Baseball Federations will participate in the inaugural World Baseball Classic: Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Panama, Puerto Rico, South Africa, United States, and Venezuela.

Q: What is the format of the World Baseball Classic?
A: The World Baseball Classic will feature 16 teams in a four-round tournament. The 16 teams will be divided into four pools of four teams for Round 1. Round 1 pool play will be held in a round-robin format as all teams within each pool will match up one time (total of six games per pool). The top two teams by record from each of the four Round 1 pools will advance to Round 2. These eight qualifying teams will be split into two pools for Round 2 and will again play one another in a round-robin format of games (total of six games per pool). The top two teams in each pool by record will then advance to the two single-elimination Semi-Final games. The winners of the Semi-Final games will advance to the tournament's single-elimination Final. In total, 39 games will be played.

Q: Will there be one Champion named or a medal format?
A: There will be one Champion. The winner of the World Baseball Classic Final will receive a Championship Trophy. Players on the Championship team will receive individual medals; as will players who participated on the runner-up team.

Q: How will the teams be divided for the Round 1 pools?
A:
Pool A: China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea
Pool B: Canada, Mexico, South Africa, United States
Pool C: Cuba, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico
Pool D: Australia, Italy, Dominican Republic, Venezuela

Q: How were the countries/territories selected and pools determined?
A: The above countries were selected for this inaugural competition because they are the best baseball-playing nations in the world and provide global representation for the event. They were divided into their respective pools based on geography and competitive balance.

Q: When will World Baseball Classic games take place?
A: The World Baseball Classic will take place over an 18-day period (14 days for teams outside the Asia pool). To allow time for travel, the Round 1 Asia pool will begin on Friday, March 3* with the remaining three Round 1 pools beginning play on Tuesday, March 7. Both Round 2 pools will begin play on Sunday, March 12. Both Semi-Final games will be played on Saturday, March 18 and the Final will be held on Monday, March 20.

*Tournament begins at 11:30 AM (local time) in Tokyo, Japan on Friday, March 3; 9:30 PM (EST) in the United States on Thursday, March 2.

Q: How many games will each team play?
A:
Teams eliminated in Round 1 will have played: 3 Games
Teams eliminated in Round 2 will have played: 6 Games
Teams eliminated in the Semi-Finals will have played: 7 Games
Teams in the Final will have played: 8 Games

Q: Who is eligible to play in the World Baseball Classic?
A: A player is eligible to participate on a World Baseball Classic team if:

• The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents. (Additionally, if a player is qualified for citizenship or to hold a passport under the laws of a nation represented by a team, but has not been granted citizenship or been issued a passport, then the player may be made eligible by WBCI upon petition by the player or team.)
• The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents.
• The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the nation the team represents.
• The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents.

Note: In the event a player appropriately appears on more than one provisional roster, he may select the team for which he wishes to play.

Q: How are players selected for the World Baseball Classic?
A: Each National Federation, in cooperation with the professional leagues in each country/territory (to the extent that such an organization exists), selects the players that will represent their team. The selection of all players under contract with MLB Clubs must be approved by World Baseball Classic, Inc., the tournament entity jointly governed by MLB and the MLBPA.

Q: What is the roster size for each team and when must rosters be set?
A: Each team may comprise a final roster of up to 30 players (with a minimum of 13 pitchers and three catchers). Federations are required to submit provisional rosters of up to 60 players by January 17, 2006 from which final rosters will be selected. Final rosters must be submitted five days prior to a team's first tournament game.

Q: How many players will come from Major League Baseball?
A: It is estimated that approximately 60% of the players participating in the tournament will be under contract with Major League Baseball organizations (Major League and Minor League contracts). The remaining players will be selected from various professional and amateur baseball leagues worldwide.

Q: Will there be roster restrictions on players from Major League Baseball?
A: WBCI will not approve a player's participation if such participation would cause a Major League Baseball Club to have more than 14 players from its organization, or more than 10 of its players who were on any Club's Major League Active or Disabled List as of August 31, 2005, participate in the Tournament, unless the Major League Club informs WBCI in writing that it has no objection to allowing such additional players to participate.

WBCI also may deny participation to players whose participation would otherwise impose an undue hardship on a Major League Baseball Club (e.g., too many starting pitchers, too many catchers, etc., participating in the Tournament, collectively).

Q: Will there be substitutes for injured players?
A: A World Baseball Classic team may replace a player, manager or coach on its Tournament Roster if the player, manager or coach is disabled. A player is disabled only if WBCI grants a petition of a team to declare a player disabled. A Disabled player shall be ineligible to participate in any further Tournament games. A team may replace a disabled player on the Tournament Roster with another player who had appeared on that team's Provisional Roster. The following system will be in place depending upon when such an injury occurs:

• If a player is injured in Round One of the Tournament, no replacement for such player shall play until the beginning of Round Two of the Tournament.
• If a player is injured in Round Two of the Tournament, no replacement for such player shall play until the semifinals of the Tournament.
• If a player is injured in the semifinals of the Tournament, no replacement for such player shall be permitted.
• Replacements are subject to the player restrictions per MLB Club.
• A replacement shall be subject to the same game and tournament Roster restrictions to which the player he is replacing was subject.

Q: Is there a Bereavement Leave Policy?
A: Policy is as follows:

• A World Baseball Classic team may submit a request to WBCI for a player to be granted Bereavement Leave.
• A player given Bereavement Leave may be replaced on the Tournament Roster by another player who had appeared on that team's Provisional Roster.
• The minimum period of Bereavement Leave shall be three consecutive days and the maximum period of replacement shall be seven consecutive days.
• A replacement shall be subject to the same game and tournament Roster restrictions to which the player he is replacing was subject.

Q: How are managers and coaches selected for the World Baseball Classic?
A: Each National Federation, in cooperation with the professional leagues in each country/territory (to the extent that such an organization exists), selects the manager and coaches that will represent their team.

Q: Who will select the umpires for the World Baseball Classic?
A: Umpires will be chosen by World Baseball Classic, Inc. The majority of the umpires selected for the tournament will be professional umpires familiar with Major League Baseball's Official Baseball Rules.

Q: What are the playing rules for the World Baseball Classic?
A: All Tournament games shall be played according to the provisions of the Official Baseball Rules as Recodified, Amended and otherwise Adopted at New York City, December 21, 1949, and thereafter amended by the Official Playing Rules Committee, as supplemented by these Rules. The role of the "League President" in the Official Baseball Rules, with respect to the Tournament, shall be performed by the designees of WBCI.

Q: What are the pitcher use limitations of the tournament?
A: A pitcher must:

• Not pitch until a minimum of four days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched;
• Not pitch until a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched;
• Not pitch until a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched; and
• Throw no more than:
  • 65 pitches per game in Round One of the tournament;
  • 80 pitches per game in Round Two of the tournament; and
  • 95 pitches per game in the Semifinals and Final of the tournament.

  Note: A pitcher may exceed the maximum per-game limits in order to complete a batter's plate appearance.

• There are no restrictions on the use of position players.
• If a pitcher is within 20 pitches of a prescribed limit at the beginning of an inning, the Game Operations Technical Committee (appointed to each game by WBCI) shall so inform the umpire-in-chief, both managers and the ballpark public address announcer. The Game Operations Technical Committee shall immediately notify the umpire-in-chief when a pitcher has reached a limit set forth in the Rule (which includes finishing a batter's plate appearance, if necessary), whereupon the umpire-in-chief shall inform the pitcher's manager to remove the pitcher from the game immediately.

Q: Will games end early because of large leads?
A: The umpire-in-chief will award a regulation game in Rounds 1 or 2 of the tournament to the Team that:

• Is ahead by 10 or more runs when the opposing team has batted in at least seven innings;
• Is ahead by 15 or more runs when the opposing team has batted in at least five innings.

Note: A game can be terminated in the middle of an inning if the team reaches the necessary number while at bat. The game will end immediately after that run is scored, unless it is because of a home run, in which case all runs score(similar to games won in a team's last turn at bat).

Q: Describe the tie-breaking procedures for pool play.
A: In Round 1, the Teams in each pool shall be ranked according to the percentages of games won in Round 1. The two Teams with the highest such percentages in each pool shall advance Round 2. In Round 2, the Teams in each pool shall be ranked according to the percentages games won in Round 2, without regard to the results of Round 1. The two Teams with the highest such percentages in each Round 2 pool shall advance to the Semifinal round.

Ties shall be broken in the following order of priority:

• The team that defeated the other tied team head-to-head in a given Round shall be ranked higher in the pool standings for such Round.
• The tied teams shall be ranked in the standings for that Round according to fewest runs allowed divided by the number of innings (including partial innings) played in defense in the games in that Round between the teams tied.
• The tied teams shall be ranked in the standings according to fewest earned runs allowed divided by the number of innings (including partial innings) played in defense in the games in that Round between the teams tied.
• The tied teams shall be ranked in the standings according to highest batting average in games in that Round between the teams tied.
• Standings shall be determined by the drawing of lots, conducted by WBCI.

Note: Standings and Tie-Breaking Procedures are based on IBAF rules.

Q: Is there an anti-doping policy for the World Baseball Classic?
A: All players on provisional and final rosters will be subject to Olympic-style drug testing in accordance with an Anti-Doping Agreement signed by MLB, the MLBPA and the IBAF.

Q: Will there be training camps for the teams?
A: Prior to the commencement of the Tournament, each team will hold a training camp so that all players can prepare for competition.

Q: When will MLB players report to their team training camps?
A: Players under contract with Major League Baseball organizations selected to represent Japan, China, Chinese Taipei or Korea will be required to report to training camps on Sunday, February 26, 2006. MLB contracted players representing any of the other 12 participating countries/territories will be required to report to team training camps on Friday, March 3, 2006.

Q: Will players report to their MLB Club spring training camps before the World Baseball Classic?
A: MLB players will be required to report to their Club spring training camps on their normal reporting date. Training facilities will be made available at Major League spring training sites for players that wish to report early in order to ready themselves for competition. Players under Major League and Minor League contracts will rejoin their respective Club's regular spring training as their teams are eliminated from the tournament.

Q: Where will team training camps take place?
A: Participating Asian countries will host their training camps in either their home countries/territories or in Japan. All other participating teams (with the exception of Cuba) will be hosted at training camps in Arizona or Florida.

Q: Will teams play exhibition games?
A: Teams participating in the Round 1 pool in Asia will play exhibition games in the days leading up to the tournament. Similarly, teams participating in the other Round 1 pools (located in the U.S. and Puerto Rico) will play exhibition games against MLB teams at spring training venues in the U.S. in the days leading up to the tournament. The two qualifying teams from the Round 1 pool in Asia will play exhibition games against MLB teams at spring training venues in the days leading up to the second round of games.

Q: What is World Baseball Classic, Inc.?
A: World Baseball Classic, Inc., is the organizing entity of the tournament, which is jointly governed by MLB and the MLBPA. The entity was established to oversee and administer all transactions and operations involving the tournament.

Q: What is the role of the Steering Committee?
A: The Steering Committee advises World Baseball Classic Inc., regarding the general operational issues of the tournament. It is composed of 13 representatives from various tournament entities, including Japanese and Korean baseball and the IBAF.

Q: What is the role of the Technical Committee?
A: There are two arms of the Technical Committee. The first is composed of seven members, including WBCI's Japan and Puerto Rico sponsors; it advises and reports to WBCI on overall tournament policy as it relates to the actual play of games. The second is responsible for on-site management of game day matters, such as monitoring conformity to playing rules, disciplinary issues, protests, delays, etc. Each country has a representative on this committee and each game will be monitored by three members of this committee.