Topicmaster1010

Australia takes an early 1-0 lead on Korea. Korea looks terrible so far. On another note, there will be no repeat no-hitter for Martis

Fun fact: Dutch pitcher, Shairon Martis, is the only player in WBC history to throw a no-hitter (not allowing any hits in a game) which he did against Panama back in 2006. Today, Panama and the Netherlands meet again for the first time since then and the starting pitcher for the Netherlands today is, you guessed it, Shairon Martis Lot of other stuff to look forward to today. Korea vs. Australia could be the match that decides 3rd place in Pool B, Shohei Ohtani makes his first start, Matt Harvey starts for Italy, and Cuba needs to win tonight or they'll be in serious trouble

Yikes, glad I went back to sleep after the 4th. I'm officially dead inside

Panama strikes first; classic mistake of leaving your starting pitcher in the game too long

Uh, Taiwan leaves the bases loaded. Crowd's been absolutely incredible so far!

I am awake! Crowd going to be rocking for Panama vs. Taiwan

Game over! Netherlands win. They continue to have Cuba's number in WBC play.

Lot of wind in the ballpark apparently. No one can hit a home run. The kingdom leads 4-2 going into the 9th

Chadwick Tromp with the bloop single! 4-1 for the Dutch

Luis Robert has been absolutely horrific so far for Cuba

Cuba strikes first! 1-0

Dutch escape an early bases loaded jam

It's starting

March 6th Exhibition Games Results Pool B (vs. Japanese Baseball Clubs) South Korea 7-4 Hanshin Tigers Australia 8-1 Saibu Gas China 7-5 Miyazaki Umeda School Japan 9-1 ORIX Buffaloes Czech Republic 9-4 JR Kyushu Railway

You can find all the updated rosters on the first post of this thread. Just waiting for a few more injury replacements. Unfortunately, we've lost a few players since rosters were announced (mostly due to injuries). Some notable names include: Nick Pivetta Tito Polo, Jose Quintana, Donovan Solano Jarlin Garcia, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jose Leclerc, Gregory Soto Jake Bird Seiya Suzuki Alejandro Kirk Ivan Herrera Jose Miranda Clayton Kershaw, Nestor Cortes Jr. German Marquez A huge shame but the good news is that there's still so many great players that will be playing. I still think this is the tournament with the most star power as of yet. Trout, Betts, Turner, Goldschmidt, Arenado, Pressly, Soto, Rodriguez, Devers, Machado, Alcantara, Doval, Ohtani, Murakami, Sasaki, Yamamoto, Darvish, Acuna, Altuve, Urias, Arozarena, Lindor, Baez, Diaz, Lee, Edman, Kim, Robert, Moinelo, Freeman, Bogaerts and more. As a big baseball and ice hockey fan, I've been waiting six years for a best-on-best tournament and that drought finally ends today.

Ooh, Mexico winning over the US, I like that! One small nitpick: In the semifinals, the teams from the Asian pools and the U.S. pools cross over so the matchups should be South Korea vs. Venezuela and Japan vs. United States. Looks great otherwise!

Thanks! It's honestly super close between the top 3 teams. You can make an argument for any of them as the best team in the tournament. Should be exciting either way!

[hide] Event & Date Athletes Gold Silver Bronze Women's 1500m Day 1 March 11th 2023 Hanne Desmet x Claudia Gagnon Courtney Sarault Renee Marie Steenge Any Chinese Athlete Anna Seidel Arianna Sighel Olga Tikhonova Selma Poutsma Suzanne Schulting x Xandra Velzeboer Choi Minjeong x Kim Gilli Shim Suk Hee Kristen Santos-Griswold Any Other Athlete Men's 1500m Day 1 March 11th 2023 Brendan Corey Stijn Desmet Pascal Dion Any Other Canadian Athlete Any Chinese Athlete Pietro Sighel x Nurtilek Kazhgali Reinis Berzins Friso Emons Sjinkie Knegt Jens van 't Wout x Hong Kyung Hwan Park Ji Won x Any Other Korean Athlete Any Other Athlete Women's 500m Day 1 March 11th 2023 Kim Boutin x Rikki Doak Petra Jaszapati Selma Poutsma Suzanne Schulting x Xandra Velzeboer x Natalia Maliszewska Nikola Mazur Choi Minjeong Seo Whimin Any Other Korean Athlete Kristen Santos-Griswold Corinne Stoddard Any Other Athlete Men's 500m Day 1 March 11th 2023 Stijn Desmet Steven Dubois x Maxime Laoun Any Other Canadian Athlete Lin Xiaojun x Zhong Yuchen Pietro Sighel Any Japanese Athlete Abzal Azhgaliyev Denis Nikisha Jens van 't Wout Any Other Dutch Athlete Diane Sellier Lim Yong Jin Any Other Korean Athlete x Any Other Athlete Women's 1000m Day 2 March 12th 2023 Hanne Desmet x Kim Boutin Courtney Sarault x Zhang Chutong Anna Seidel Selma Poutsma Suzanne Schulting x Xandra Velzeboer Kim Gilli Shim Suk Hee Any Other Korean Athlete Kristen Santos-Griswold Corinne Stoddard Any Other Athlete Men's 1000m Day 2 March 12th 2023 Pascal Dion x Steven Dubois Any Other Canadian Athlete Any Chinese Athlete Quentin Fercoq Adil Galiakhmetov Roberts Kruzbergs Jens van 't Wout x Any Other Dutch Athlete Hong Kyung Hwan Park Ji Won x Any Other Korean Athlete Furkan Akar Any Other Athlete Mixed 2000m Relay Day 2 March 12th 2023 Canada x China Hungary Italy Netherlands x Poland South Korea x Any Other Nation Women's 3000m Relay Day 2 March 12th 2023 Canada China x Hungary Italy Netherlands x Poland South Korea x Any Other Nation Men's 5000m Relay Day 2 March 12th 2023 Canada x China x Hungary Italy Japan Kazakhstan Netherlands South Korea x Any Other Nation [/hide]

March 6th Exhibition Games Results Pool A (vs. Taiwanese Baseball Clubs) Italy 10-1 Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions Cuba 6-0 CTBC Brothers Netherlands 2-4 TSG Hawks Gonna add the other two scores once I find the scores Pool B (vs. Japanese Baseball Clubs) South Korea 2-4 ORIX Buffaloes Australia 3-15 JR Kyushu Railway China 2-6 Saibu Gas Japan 8-1 Hanshin Tigers Czech Republic 7-5 Miyazaki Umeda Driving School

Topicmaster1010's 2023 WBC Power Rankings: Final Edition Here's the last two tiers. Tier 2: The Contenders 6. Puerto Rico WBC History: 2006 - 5th, 2009 - 5th, 2013 - 2nd, 2017 - 2nd 2023 Schedule: 3/11 - vs. Puerto Rico, 3/12 - vs. Venezuela, 3/13 - vs. Israel, 3/14 - Off, 3/15 - @ Dominican Republic Notable Absences: Carlos Correa, Jose Miranda, Joe Jimenez, Seth Lugo Players to Watch: Francisco Lindor, Javier Baez, Edwin Diaz, Marcus Stroman The back-to-back finalists find themselves ranked 6th in these power rankings. Perhaps it might be confusing to some but unfortunately Puerto Rico isn't quite at the level it was 6 years ago and are missing some key pieces for this tournament. However, there past record in the WBC shows that they can play well against top teams in the tournament even with a weaker team on paper beating the likes of Japan, Venezuela, DR and the US over the last two tournaments. They will need to do so again if they want to return to the championship game and win the whole thing. 5. Mexico WBC History: 2006 - 6th, 2009 - 8th, 2013 - 11th, 2017 - 13th 2023 Schedule: 3/11 - vs. Colombia, 3/12 - @ United States, 3/13 - Off, 3/14 - vs. Great Britain, 3/15 - @ Canada Notable Absences: Alejandro Kirk, Andres Munoz, Ramon Urias, Luis Gonzalez Players to Watch: Julio Urias, Patrick Sandoval, Randy Arozarena, Alex Verdugo No, Mexico at 5th in the rankings is not a mistake. This is the best Mexican team that's ever been assembled and I think they can contend with any team in this tournament. They've always had decent pitchers in the past but now they have a good offense to go along with that along with one of the best pitching staffs in this tournament. 4. Venezuela WBC History: 2006 - 7th, 2009 - 3rd, 2013 - 10th, 2017 - 8th 2023 Schedule: 3/11 - vs. Dominican Republic, 3/12 - @ Puerto Rico, 3/13 - Off, 3/14 - vs. Nicaragua, 3/15 - @ Israel Notable Absences: German Marquez, Willson Contreras, Brusdar Graterol, Robert Suarez Players to Watch: Ronald Acuna Jr., Jose Altuve, Pablo Lopez, Luis Arraez Arguably no country has disappointed more in the WBC than Venezuela over it's history. The baseball powerhouse has only podiumed once in it's history and has had it's 2 worst showings in each of the last two editions of the tournament. However, there is more reason for optimism this time around. Many people say that this is the best Venezuelan team ever assembled and a big part of that is that the pitching, which was Venezuela's downfall last time, is much improved. It doesn't have the depth or the top end talent of the 3 teams ranked ahead of it but they will definitely contend for the championship. Tier 1: The Favourites 3. United States WBC History: 2006 - 8th, 2009 - 4th, 2013 - 6th, 2017 - 1st 2023 Schedule: 3/11 - vs. Great Britain, 3/12 - vs. Mexico, 3/13 - vs. Canada, 3/14 - Off, 3/15 - @ Colombia Notable Absences: Clayton Kershaw, Nestor Cortes, Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, probably 20+ other pitchers Players to Watch: Mike Trout, Mookie Betts, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Trea Turner Surprise, surprise! The defending champions come in at #3 in the rankings which may surprise some of you. There is no question that no country produces more baseball talent than the United States. However, when it comes to recruiting that talent to play, then it's a different story. While most of the best hitters are on the team this year, a multitude of starting pitchers still don't want to play in this tournament and as a result, it becomes the USA's weakness which for me, is enough to put them behind 2 teams in these rankings. 2. Japan WBC History: 2006 - 1st, 2009 - 1st, 2013 - 3rd, 2017 - 3rd 2023 Schedule: 3/9 - vs. China, 3/10 - vs. South Korea, 3/11 - vs. Czech Republic, 3/12 - @ Australia, 3/15 - Off Notable Absences: Seiya Suzuki, Yuki Yanagita, Kaima Taira, Hayato Sakamoto, Tomoya Mori Players to Watch: Shohei Ohtani, Munetaka Murakami, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Roki Sasaki They've already won the tournament twice and yet many people believe that this is the best edition of Samurai Japan that's ever been assembled. It's easy to see why. There are exciting players to watch at just about every position including what I believe to be the best starting rotation in the tournament. It would be a massive shock if this team didn't at least make it to the semifinals. 1. Dominican Republic WBC History: 2006 - 4th, 2009 - 9th, 2013 - 1st, 2017 - 5th 2023 Schedule: 3/11 - @ Venezuela, 3/12 - Off, 3/13 - @ Nicaragua, 3/14 - vs. Israel, 3/15 - vs. Puerto Rico Notable Absences: Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jose Ramirez, Fernando Tatis Jr., Emmanuel Clase, Jhoan Duran, Framber Valdez, Luis Castillo, Wandy Peralta, Luis Severino, Seranthony Dominguez, Felix Bautista, Jose Leclerc, Gregory Soto Players to Watch: Sandy Alcantara, Manny Machado, Juan Soto, Rafael Devers, Julio Rodriguez, Camilo Doval Despite so many missing names from this team, I still think the Dominican Republic is the team to beat at this WBC. While the US is weak at pitching and Japan's offense isn't as great as its pitching, the DR has the most well-rounded team of the 3 favourites. What could've been a superteam is still an insanely good team and there are stars at every position still. Full Rankings: 1. Dominican Republic 2. Japan 3. United States 4. Venezuela 5. Mexico 6. Puerto Rico 7. South Korea 8. Cuba 9. Colombia 10. Canada 11. Italy 12. Netherlands 13. Taiwan 14. Israel 15. Panama 16. Nicaragua 17. Australia 18. Great Britain 19. Czech Republic 20. China

I believe today's game was with their MLB players

March 5th Exhibition Games Results Pool A (vs. Taiwanese Baseball Clubs) Panama 8-4 Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions Netherlands 1-2 Fubon Guardians Italy 3-3 Wei Chuan Dragons Cuba 4-5 Rakuten Monkeys Taiwan 13-9 CTBC Brothers

Death, taxes, a Canadian in 4th place

In addition to all those, she's also swum a 1:00.25 100m Backstroke, 57.92 100m Butterfly, 1:10.39 100m Breaststroke, and 2:29.56 200m Breaststroke which aren't too bad either!

Topicmaster1010's 2023 WBC Power Rankings: Part 3 Been a while since the last edition. I"ll try to get another edition done later today. Tier 3: Dark Horses 9. Colombia WBC History: 2017 - 11th 2023 Schedule: 3/11 - @ Mexico, 3/12 - Off, 3/13 - @ Great Britain, 3/14 - vs. Canada, 3/15 - vs. United States Notable Absences: Luis Patino, Donovan Solano Players to Watch: Jose Quintana, Gio Urshela, Jorge Alfaro So every power rankings that I've seen so far have Colombia outside of the top 10 and I don't understand why. This is a very solid team in all areas. Colombia qualified for WBC for the first time in their history in 2017. They made sure to make the most of if beating Canada and almost upsetting the powerhouses teams of the United States and the Dominican Republic. Arguably no nation has improved more in the last six years than them producing many MLB players that will be making their debut in this edition of the tournament. 8. Cuba WBC History: 2006 - 2nd, 2009 - 6th, 2013 - 5th, 2017 - 7th 2023 Schedule: 3/8 - @ Netherlands, 3/9 - vs. Italy, 3/10 - @ Panama, 3/11 - Off, 3/12 - vs. Taiwan Notable Absences: A bunch of MLB players who either weren't invited or declined to participate Players to Watch: Luis Robert, Raidel Martinez, Livan Moinelo, Alfredo Despaigne It has been quite a fall for the nation that was almost unbeatable during the 90's and 00's. There WBC record has been trending down and during they failed to qualify for the 2020 Olympics marking the first time that Cuba has ever failed to medal, let alone qualify for the Olympics. This decline can be widely attributed to the fact that most of their talent defected from the country in order to pursue an MLB career. This has lead to the Cuban federation approving the participation of US based players for the first time ever in their history. A total of 6 MLB affiliated players accepted the invitation highlighted by a pair of Chicago White Sox players. 7. South Korea WBC History: 2006 - 3rd, 2009 - 2nd, 2013 - 9th, 2017 - 10th 2023 Schedule: 3/9 - vs. Australia, 3/10 - @ Japan, 3/11 - Off, 3/12 - vs. Czech Republic, 3/13 - @ China Notable Absences: Choi Ji-man, An Woo-jin, Ryu Hyun-jin Players to Watch: Tommy Edman, Kim Ha-seong, Lee Jung-hoo, Go Woo-suk, Kang Baek-ho Speaking of countries on the decline, South Korea is another. After medaling at the first two editions of the tournament, they failed to advance past the opening round in the last two editions including the 2017 one where they were on home soil. During Tokyo 2020, they were playing in the bronze medal game against the Dominican Republic when they lost the lead late in the game and ultimately lost. 13 players return from that 2020 team seeking redemption along with a couple MLB stars including an American-Korean. Edit: After the news today about Quintana's injury, I might move Colombia down a tier.