Baseball Classic Champions. In the final, the team with the higher winning percentage of games in the tournament were to be the home team. If the teams competing in the final had identical winning percentages in the tournament, then World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) would conduct a coin flip or draw to determine the home team. In the first two rounds, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority: The winner of head-to-head games between the tied teams; The team allowing the fewest runs per nine innings (RA/9) in head-to-head games between the tied teams; The team allowing the fewest earned runs per nine innings (ERA) in head-to-head games between the tied teams; The team with the highest batting average (AVG) in head-to-head games between the tied teams; Drawing of lots, conducted by World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI). Rosters Each participating national federation initially submitted a 45-man provisional roster. Final rosters of 28 players, which also must include a minimum of 13 pitchers and two catchers, were later submitted. If a player on the submitted roster was unable to play, usually due to injury, he could be substituted at any time before the start of the tournament. Venues Seven stadiums were used during the tournament: Pools composition The teams selected for the inaugural World Baseball Classic were chosen because they were judged to be the "best baseball-playing nations in the world and provide global representation for the event." There was no official qualifying competition. In addition, there were no world rankings by the International Baseball Federation to determine the strength of the countries. First round Pool A |} Pool B |} Pool C |} Pool D |} Second round Pool 1 |} Pool 2 |} Championship round Semifinals |} Semifinal 1 – Cuba 3, Dominican Republic 1 Semifinal 2 – Japan 6, South Korea 0 Final |} Final standings Organizer WBCI has no interest in the final standings and did not compute. So, it was calculated by IBAF. In the final standings, ties were to be broken in the following order of priority: The team allowing the fewest runs per nine innings (RA/9) in all games; The team allowing the fewest earned runs per nine innings (ERA) in all games; The team with the highest batting average (AVG) in all games; Attendance 737,112 (avg. 18,900; pct. 67.1%) First round 326,629 (avg. 13,610; pct. 55.3%) Pool A –