The U.S. World Baseball Classic (WBC) national team won the quarterfinals with a dramatic come-from-behind home run in the 8th inning. However, before the joy of victory wears off, they have to play the semi-finals the next day.
The unreasonable bracket of the World Baseball Classic Organizing Committee (WBCI), led by the MLB secretariat, eventually became a boomerang in the United States.
The U.S. has to play two consecutive tournaments, with the quarterfinals on the 19th followed by the semifinals on the 20th.
Originally, if the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals in Miami, Florida, it was a schedule to play GAME 4, which would be held on the 19th out of two games. However, when the US ranked second in Group C during the tournament, the US quarterfinal match was changed from GAME 4 to GAME 3, leaving the date unchanged.
This was a measure that changed the quarterfinal matchup. Originally, the winner of GAME 4 was matched against the Japan-Italy winner in the semifinals.
However, as the US quarterfinal match was changed to 먹튀검증 GAME 3, if the US advances to the semifinals, the bracket is changed to a Cuba-Australia winner, not a Japan-Italy winner. The Japan-Italy winners were swapped with the Mexico-Puerto Rico winners in the quarterfinals.
Initially, if the United States and Japan went up to the semifinals side by side, the schedule was to face each other in the semifinals, but for unknown reasons, the bracket was changed during the tournament. Suspicions were also raised that the U.S. switched to meet Japan in the final rather than the semifinals.
As the tournament schedule was changed in the middle, voices of dissatisfaction erupted from each team. Mexico had to play the first round in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, and then move to Miami, Florida, for the quarterfinals.
However, Mexico played its last game in Group C in Phoenix on the 16th, took a day off on the 17th, and played Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals on the 18th in Miami. There is a 3 hour time difference between Phoenix and Florida.
Mexico national team coach Benji Gill expressed dissatisfaction with the schedule ahead of the quarterfinal match on the 18th. He expressed his dissatisfaction with the game schedule, saying, “I arrived at the hotel at 8 am yesterday, trained at noon, and played today.”
Mexico, which finished first in Group C, had to face Puerto Rico, second in Group D, on the 19th as planned. However, with the United States playing on the 19th, Mexico’s quarterfinal match was moved forward a day.
The schedule change eventually boomeranged in the United States as well. The U.S. won a dramatic victory over Venezuela in the quarterfinals on the 19th, but has to play the semifinal against Cuba on the 20th. Japan avoided it, but it became a schedule to play two days in a row without a break in the quarterfinals and semifinals, which were eliminated.