Though the Padres have not yet tasted the World Series in their soon-to-be three-year-old Petco Park, downtown San Diego will nonetheless get a chance to experience true world-class baseball in every sense of the word with the inaugural World Baseball Classic, a 16-nation tournament taking place this month.
The finals on March 18 and 20 promise to be packed with the game’s finest players.
While traditional powerhouses such as the United States, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico feature a majority of Major League Baseball’s most famous players, faraway countries such as Australia, China, Chinese Taipei, South Korea, Japan, the Netherlands, South Africa, Italy, Panama, Venezuela, Canada, and Mexico are also represented.
Rounding out the list is Cuba, who has been cleared to play after initially being denied by the Treasury Department and the White House. Spokesmen for the White House said they wanted to make sure that the Castro regime did not profit from the tournament and that the Cuban government did not misuse the tournament for spying. The concerns have apparently been addressed, as Cuba has said it will donate any profit from the tournament to victims of Hurricane Katrina before baseball’s commissioner’s office and the player’s association reapplied. The fact that the International Baseball Federation threatened to withdraw its sanction for the tournament should Cuba not be allowed to play, and Puerto Rico threatened to withdraw as a host site for the early rounds would have factored as well. For his part, after Cuba’s initial denial, Cuban president and baseball fanatic Fidel Castro said the U.S. was afraid to play the Cuban team.
Some Major League players have declined for reasons of injury, integrating with a new team or focusing their energy on trying to make the 25-man roster during a spring training season that does not pause for this tournament.
Padres, who have agreed to play if selected, include Jake Peavy (USA), Vinny Castilla and Adrian Gonzalez (Mexico), Mike Piazza (Italy), Peter Laforest (Canada) and Chan Ho Park (South Korea). Players like Piazza can play for foreign countries if one of the player’s parents was born in that country.
Teams play in four four-team pools that play round-robins in different countries. Games start March 3 and the finals wrap up with the semifinal and final games taking place at Petco Park.
Tickets can be purchased in three-game packages (two semifinals and one final) through both the Padres and World Baseball Classic websites, at www.padres.com or wwwlworldbaseballclassic.com. Prices for the package range from $51 for Upper Reserved to $180 for Premier club and Terrace Club Infield seating.