Thursday, April 29, 2004
16-Team Event Closer to Reality
Jayson Stark of ESPN explains how the proposed World Cup of Baseball might work. The tentative plan is to hold the tournament over a 13-day period in March. The 16-club field would be divided into four, four-team groups. The top two teams in each group would advance to the round of eight, after which the four winners would play a single-elimination semifinal, followed by a single-elimination final.
The first rounds would be held at spring training venues. The semifinals and finals would be played in major league ballparks -- either domes or warm-weather cities with little chance of a rainout. Considerable pressure would be applied on owners to let their best players participate, even if, like George Steinbrenner, they'd rather keep them in spring training, with its lower risk of injury.
Update: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Sports Council has begun discussing possible sites for the tournament. Rich Levin of MLB says it's too early to be talking about sites.
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Jayson Stark of ESPN explains how the proposed World Cup of Baseball might work. The tentative plan is to hold the tournament over a 13-day period in March. The 16-club field would be divided into four, four-team groups. The top two teams in each group would advance to the round of eight, after which the four winners would play a single-elimination semifinal, followed by a single-elimination final.
The first rounds would be held at spring training venues. The semifinals and finals would be played in major league ballparks -- either domes or warm-weather cities with little chance of a rainout. Considerable pressure would be applied on owners to let their best players participate, even if, like George Steinbrenner, they'd rather keep them in spring training, with its lower risk of injury.
Update: The Los Angeles Times reports that the Los Angeles Sports Council has begun discussing possible sites for the tournament. Rich Levin of MLB says it's too early to be talking about sites.
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