History is repeating itself at the World Baseball Classic. Round 1 produced some monumental upsets, including the Netherlands beating the Dominican Republic twice. That means the co-favorites (with the United States) going into the competition at 5-2 were eliminated quickly.
You know what they say about learning from history. So with that in mind, we dedicate this list of stats and factoids to the WBC. We’ll look at the eight teams who advanced to the second round, plus one nugget of wisdom about the departed Dominicans.
Dominican Republic: The Dominicans swept their way into the second round at the 2006 Classic, outscoring their three opponents (Venezuela, Italy, and Australia) 25-12. They made it all the way to the semifinals before losing 3-1 to Cuba.
Japan: Ichiro Suzuki was 3-for-23 at the plate during the exhibition games leading up to the WBC. Then he went 0-for-5 against China before busting out with a combined 4-for-9 performance in two games against South Korea in the first round.
South Korea: Jung-Keun Bong, the winner against Japan last Monday, had a 2.66 ERA last year playing for the LG Twins of the Korea Baseball Organization. This eight-team league was founded in 1982 and is considered a feeder league for Japan.
Mexico: Reliever Luis Ayala is making his second WBC appearance for Mexico; his first ended in ugly fashion when he injured his elbow on the last pitch of a 2-1 victory over the United States. Ayala had Tommy John surgery, missed the 2006 season and has a 4.81 ERA since then, down from 2.66 in 2005.
Cuba: Cuba was the most successful national team during baseball’s brief tenure as an Olympic sport. They won three gold and two silver in the five Olympiads where baseball was an official medal competition, starting in 1992.
United States: Kevin Youkilis and Adam Dunn were 1-2 in runs scored at the WBC with seven and six, respectively, during the first round of the tournament. Team USA outscored opponents 24-16 in the first round; Youkilis and Dunn homered in each of the first two games.
Venezuela: The Venezuelans picked up a big payday last Wednesday, beating the United States 5-3 as +270 underdogs at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Henry Blanco was the star of the day for Venezuela with a home run, a double, and a strong throw on a double-steal attempt in the ninth.
Netherlands: The members of the Dutch team have a combined 82 career home runs in the major leagues, compared to 518 for the Dominican Republic. The most familiar MLB players on the Netherlands are pitcher Sidney Ponson (from Aruba) and first baseman Randall Simon (from Curacao); both are free agents.
Puerto Rico: The best pitching at the WBC so far has come from Puerto Rico, who have allowed just two runs after four games. The Puerto Ricans will try to stifle another opponent on Monday night when they take on the Venezuelans, with live betting available for the event.
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