Japan Defends Title, Winning WBC Again

Japan celebrating their victory over Korea, 5-3. Photo from the New York Times.


Good evening sports fans and welcome to this weeks edition of the Wide World of Wildcats. The World Baseball Classic came to an end last Monday as Japan took the title of World Champions once again it what was a remarkable game. Let's get to it, shall we?

Unlike the rest of the tournament, the championship game was just that-one game that determined who would become this years world champions. The game, held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California, was between rivals Korea and the defending champions, Japan. This game was the fifth meeting for the two teams, with their series tied at 2-2. 

Japan was ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the 9th as it looked like the game was over, but Korea came back to tie it 3-3, sending the game to extra innings. In the top of the 10th inning, Seattle Mariner and Japanese star Ichiro Suzuki hit a two-run single, putting Japan back on top 5-3. Korea was unable to answer back which led Japan to the 5-3 win.

Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of Japan, who plays for the Boston Red Sox, was named MVP for the second consecutive WBC. It's been a huge few years for Daisuke who is now a two-time WBC champion, a two-time WBC MVP and he won the World Series with the Red Sox in 2007.

Daisuke Matsuzaka pitching for Japan. Photograph from daylife.com

Japan earned the prize winnings of $2.7 million for wining the tourney with a bonus of $400,000 for winning the first round. Korea still came up big, earning $1.7 million for the runner-up position and an additional $300,000 for winning the first round.

The game was played in front of a record breaking crowd of 54,846. This years WBC drew in bigger numbers and more fans than the previous tournament. Attendance for the tournaments 39 games rose from 737,112 to an astounding 801,408. Television viewership also increased, raising 30 percent in the U.S. With numbers like this, the tournament will continue to be a huge success in its 2013 return.

Looking far ahead to the future, many are hoping that due to the success of the WBC, baseball will be added to the Summer Olympics in 2016. It may seem far fetched, but Major League Baseball and International officials have already begun lobbying for the return of America's favorite pastime to the Olympics. Only time will tell...

For a great photo slideshow of Japan done by the New York Times, click here.

That concludes this weeks edition, but I'll be back next week, same time, same place. Until next time, Bear Down!