Dodger Stadium will host the semifinals and final of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, doing so for the second time in the tournament’s history. The games will be played March 20-22, 2017.
“The Los Angeles Dodgers and the City of Los Angeles are excited to be selected as the host of the World Baseball Classic semi-finals and final,” Dodgers president and CEO Stan Kasten said in a released statement.
“Dodger Stadium and our great fans look forward to the finest players in the world competing for the WBC championship.” Kasten also serves as chairman of the MLB International Committee.
Dodger Stadium hosted the WBC Championship in 2009, with the matchup between Japan and Korea drawing a sellout crowd. Japan defeated Korea in 10 innings, 5-3, behind Ichiro Suzuki’s go-ahead, two-run base hit.
The contest saw Hyun-Jin Ryu pitch for the first time at Dodger Stadium, as he tossed two-third of an inning out of the bullpen.
First-round games of the 2017 WBC will be played at Marlins Park and Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Guadalajara, Mexico. Petco Park will host second-round games.
It was previously announced Gocheok Sky Dome in Seoul, South Korea (Pool B) and the Tokyo Dome in Japan (Pool A and Pool E second round) are hosting WBC games as well.
The first- and second-round format will be round-robin pool play, with each team playing the others in their pool once. The top two teams in each of the four first-round pools will advance to the second round.
Pool C in Miami features the defending WBC champion Dominican Republic, Canada, Colombia and the United States. This spring, Adrian Gonzalez joined Mexico in the WBC Qualifier. Mexico is part of Pool D in Guadalajara, which also includes Italy, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
Pools A and B open the 2017 WBC on March 17 with games played at the Tokyo Dome and Gocheok Sky Dome, respectively.
