Chase Field to host 2021 World Baseball Classic 1st round
Feb 25, 2020, 9:43 AM | Updated: 9:44 am
Mexico's Adrian Gonzalez, right, congratulates Eduardo Arredondo (14) after Arredondo scores a run against the United States in the first inning during a World Baseball Classic baseball game on Friday, March 8, 2013, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
(AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, will host the first round of the 2021 World Baseball Classic, officials announced during a Tuesday press conference in Miami.
The games will take place from March 13-17 next year.
“We are thrilled to once again host World Baseball Classic games at Chase Field,” said D-backs president and CEO Derrick Hall in a team release. “Arizona continues to shine on an international stage and we look forward to providing the best experience, not only to local baseball fans, but also those from across the country and around the globe as they cheer on the most talented players in the world.”
Chase Field will be joined by fellow hosts at the Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium in Taichung, Taiwan; the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan; and Marlins Park, home of the Miami Marlins.
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The WBC heading to Arizona will mark the third time the Phoenix area has hosted a World Baseball Classic first round.
The first round was held in Phoenix in each of 2006 and 2013, the first and third iterations of the event. The D-backs’ training facility in Scottsdale, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, hosted workouts for Team USA in 2013 and Team Netherlands in 2017 as well.
Tucson, Ariz., will also host a qualifier for the event this coming March 13-25 at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium. Tickets to that event are on sale.
All of the finals for the WBC have been held in California; Los Angeles has hosted the championship twice with San Diego and San Francisco welcoming the two best teams once each.
Japan (2006, 2009) has two gold medals and two bronzes in the history of the World Baseball Classic, with the Dominican Republic (2013) and United States (2017) earning the other two golds. Overall, seven countries have fielded national teams that earned medals in the event: Japan, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, South Korea, the United States, Cuba and Venezuela.
In the 2017 World Baseball Classic, the Diamondbacks were represented by major-leaguers Paul Goldschmidt (USA), Fernando Rodney (Dominican Republic), Daniel Descalso (Italy) and Silvino Bracho (Venezuela).
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