Report: 2021 World Baseball Classic, which had Chase Field stop, canceled
May 11, 2020, 10:46 AM | Updated: 10:54 am
Relief pitcher Steve Cishek #40 of USA celebrates with catcher Jonathan Lucroy #22 after getting out of the eighth inning against Canada during the World Baseball Classic First Round Group D game at Chase Field on March 10, 2013 in Phoenix, Arizona. USA defeated Canada 9-4. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
The World Baseball Classic won’t be played in 2021 as originally planned, ESPN’s Enrique Rojas reported Monday.
Because MLB’s collective bargaining agreement expires in 2021, rescheduling the World Baseball Classic would be up for negotiation, said Rojas’ story, which was published in Spanish. USA Today’s Bob Nightengale said the classic will be moved to either 2023 or 2025.
The world tournament of national baseball teams was set to stop at Chase Field, home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, for first-round games from March 13-17 of next year. Tucson was slated to host the 2020 qualifiers event from March 13-25 of this year, but they were postponed indefinitely.
Venues for the 2021 classic also included Taichung, Taiwan; Tokyo, Japan; and Miami, Fla. It was set to be the first iteration of the World Baseball Classic in which the field of teams expanded from 16 to 20.
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Chase Field has hosted the World Baseball Classic twice before, once in 2006 and again in 2013. In both instances, the games were first-round contests.
A statement provided to ESPN from the World Baseball Classic’s sanctioning body did not explicitly confirm or deny the reported cancelation or postponement of the tournament.
