You knew it was coming. No, it’s not an infographic created by some media outlet, but rather by Major League Baseball itself. Since they say pictures speak louder than words, here it is. The infographic includes:

• An overview of the teams, pools, venues and dates (beginning with Australia @ Chinese Taipei tonight at 11:30pm ET).
• Broadcast information (MLB Network and ESPN Deportes airing all 39 games in the U.S. along with 36 international broadcasters televising games in 13 languages in more than 200 countries. Click here for a full list of all international broadcasters).
• Top players participating (43 former All-Stars, including eight different MVP or Cy Young Award winners).
• Social media facts and figures, including the ten participating players with the most Twitter followers (led by Team USA’s Brandon Phillips with more than 950,000).  Official World Baseball Classic social media channels: Twitter (@WBCBaseball), Facebook.
• An overview of the tournament rules and regulations, including pitch counts, tiebreaker scenarios and early termination rules.
• A summary of top sponsors for the tournament (60 in all, more than double the inaugural tournament, led by global sponsors Delta, Konami, MetLife and Brand USA).
• Important examples of how the World Baseball Classic is impacting the growth of baseball around the world.

Source: Major League Baseball

World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) today announced the venues and pools of the new Qualifiers for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.  The winners of each Qualifying Pool will advance to compete in the 2013 World Baseball Classic tournament next March.  The four venues that have been selected to host a Qualifying Pool are:

• Armin-Wolf-Baseball-Arena in Regensburg, Germany;
• Rod Carew Stadium in Panama City, Panama;
• XinZuang Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan; and
• Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida

Initial opening round match-ups (including home and visitor designations) as well as ticket information will be announced at a later date by the host venues.

The pools for each Qualifier are:

Qualifier 1
Sept. 20^th-24^th in Regensburg, Germany
Canada
Czech Republic
Germany
Great Britain

Qualifier 2
Nov. Dates TBD in Jupiter, Florida, USA
France
Israel
South Africa
Spain

Qualifier 3
Nov. Dates TBD in Taipei, Taiwan
Chinese Taipei
New Zealand
Philippines
Thailand

Qualifier 4
Nov. 14^th-18^th in Panama City, Panama
Brazil
Colombia
Nicaragua
Panama

“We are excited to expand the scope of the World Baseball Classic and maintain our commitment to global baseball development, starting with four excellent venues hosting the new Qualifiers this fall,” said Paul Archey, Senior Vice President, International Business Operations for Major League Baseball. “We are very pleased with the level of interest from venues and organizers around the world who share our enthusiasm for the World Baseball Classic and its mission of celebrating the global nature of our game.”

We are pleased to have 12 new countries participating in the World Baseball Classic,” said Major League Baseball Players Association Assistant General Counsel Ian Penny. “Sports fans around the world will witness one of the greatest events on the international sports calendar when the 2013 World Baseball Classic launches its new Qualifiers with games in Regensburg, Germany. We’re confident the Qualifiers will further expand the international popularity of the game we all love. We thank all participating nations for their commitment to the World Baseball Classic and the Qualifier host locations and organizers for their passion and interest in the game of baseball.”

The Qualifiers will feature a six-game modified double-elimination format. The composition of the pools was determined after venues were selected, with consideration given to competitive balance, existing rivalries and each national team’s geographical location.

“The implementation of this qualification system into the World Baseball Classic framework is a true sign of the strong collaboration between the IBAF and our colleagues at Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association,” said Riccardo Fraccari, President of the International Baseball Federation. “We are very encouraged about the inclusion of emerging baseball territories and the continual growth of the international baseball landscape that this represents.”

The Qualifiers will expand the competitive field from 16 to 28 countries. The teams invited to participate in the Qualifying Pools will include the four World Baseball Classic teams from 2009 that did not win a game – Canada, Chinese Taipei, Panama and South Africa.

The winners from each Qualifying Pool will advance to the World Baseball Classic tournament, scheduled for March 2013.  Those four teams will join the 12 countries – Australia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, United States and Venezuela – that receive automatic invitations based on their performance in the 2009 tournament.

The 2013 World Baseball Classic will mark the third edition of the tournament.  The inaugural event was held in 2006, and the second World Baseball Classic was held in 2009.

Source: MLB, MLBPA, World Baseball Classic, Inc., IBAF

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He writes for Baseball Prospectus and is a contributor to Forbes SportsMoney blog.. He is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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World Baseball Classic, Inc. (WBCI) today announced, with the endorsement of the tournament Steering Committee, the introduction of a new World Baseball Classic Qualifying Round for the 2013 World Baseball Classic which will expand the competitive field from 16 to 28 countries. The new round will feature 16 teams divided into four pools of four teams each. The teams invited to participate will include the four World Baseball Classic teams from 2009 that did not win a game. The 16 countries receiving Qualifying Round invitations are:

Brazil
Canada*
Chinese Taipei*
Colombia
Czech Republic
France
Germany
Great Britain
Israel
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Panama*
Philippines
South Africa*
Spain
Thailand

*Participated in the 2009 World Baseball Classic

The Qualifying Round games will take place in Fall 2012 and each of the four pools will feature a six-game modified double-elimination format. The composition of the pools will be determined once the Qualifying Round venues are selected and will be based on geographical location, competitive balance and regional rivalries.

The winners from each qualifying pool will advance into the World Baseball Classic tournament, scheduled for March 2013.  Those four teams will join the 12 countries – Australia, China, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, United States and Venezuela – that receive automatic invitations based on their performance in the 2009 tournament. 
       
“Growing the game of baseball around the globe is the primary objective of the World Baseball Classic. By expanding the competitive field of the 2013 tournament, we are demonstrating our commitment to this goal and reinforcing that the World Baseball Classic is the premier showcase of baseball around the globe,” said Major League Baseball Commissioner Allan H. (Bud) Selig. “The tournament is a unique experience for fans to witness the excitement of this great game and I encourage organizations around the world to bid for the chance to host this wonderful baseball event.” 
        
“The expansion of the World Baseball Classic from 16 to 28 teams is a testament to the sport’s continuing growth in participation and popularity around the world,” said Major League Baseball Players Association Executive Director Michael Weiner. “The overwhelming fan, player and media support bestowed upon the first two World Baseball Classics is at the root of this decision, which makes the World Baseball Classic a truly global competition.”   
       
WBCI determined the 12 new teams for the Qualifying Round based on criteria established to create the most competitive international baseball event in the world. Some of the key factors involved in team evaluation and selection included: strength of native player base, number of professional players, IBAF international rankings, viability of domestic baseball programs, participant’s impact on baseball development in country/territory and diverse global representation. 
       
World Baseball Classic Inc. also announced the commencement of the venue selection process for hosts of the four Qualifying Round pools, as well as the 2013 World Baseball Classic games. Parties including MLB Clubs, governments, international federations, promotional and event companies are invited to formally express interest in hosting a pool, or pools, of the tournament. Interested parties will be provided a formal bid document including detailed requirements and bid submission guidance. WBCI welcomes bids from bidding groups who can deliver a strong and compelling bid that effectively combines both public and private support for promoting and hosting part of the World Baseball Classic. The bidding process for the Qualifying Round venues is expected to conclude by September 2011 with the venues for the World Baseball Classic tournament to be finalized by December 2011. 
       
Added Riccardo Fraccari, President of the IBAF, baseball’s world governing body: “On behalf of the IBAF and its 119 national federations, it is wonderful that the quality of baseball internationally has warranted the expansion of the World Baseball Classic. The expansion to 28 teams will be beneficial not only for the worldwide development of baseball, but also to raise the technical level of play in many countries that were previously unable to compete at such levels. The tremendous passion and interest from players, fans and the international community makes the World Baseball Classic a special celebration of the game of baseball.”

Source: MLB, MLBPA

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Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey, as well as a contributor to FanGraphs and Forbes SportsMoney. He is available for hire or freelance. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network.

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When news broke earlier today that the IOC had denied baseball's reinstatement into the 2016, there was a comment saying, "Why do we need baseball in the Olympics when we have the World Baseball Championship?"

Apparently, Major League Baseball agrees.

The league issued the following statement regarding the International Olympic Committee’s decision today:

“Baseball has enjoyed great international growth in recent years and today’s decision by the IOC will not deter us from continuing our efforts to grow the game globally. The World Baseball Classic, which is the world’s premier international baseball tournament, is the cornerstone of our global effort and we will work hard to make it even bigger and better in 2013 and beyond.”

The key here is "bigger." For those that followed the WBC closely, it was a smash at the international level. Bringing in other countries may be the key.

However, it's the Olympics. The problem with it has been that it takes place in the middle of MLB's season; a difficult scheduling matter. If there were scheduling solutions that would have allowed for MLB's premiere talent to play in the Olympics, they surely would have leapt at the opportunity.

For more on the IBAF's efforts to have baseball reinstated into the Olympics, see The Biz of Baseball interview with Dr. Harvey Schiller

Maury Brown is the Founder and President of the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey. He is contributor to Baseball Prospectus, and is available as a freelance writer. Brown's full bio is here. He looks forward to your comments via email and can be contacted through the Business of Sports Network (select his name in the dropdown provided).

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With Japan's World Baseball Classic victory, it moves to No. 3 in the world. Cuba holds on to the No. 1 position and Korea moves past the USA into second. The new top 10 is as follows:

1. Cuba
2. Korea
3. Japan
4. USA
5. Chinese Taipei
6. Netherlands
7. Mexico
8. Canada
9. Australia
10. Puerto Rico

The IBAF debuted its World Rankings earlier this year in January. Developed in conjunction with Scott Goode, a sports information director from Harding University (Arkansas, USA), the rankings are based on a point total which IBAF member federations (teams) earn from IBAF-sanctioned events in a four-year window, or a period of time that encompasses two IBAF Baseball World Cups.

Teams earn points based on their finish in an event. A tournament winner takes home 50 points, second place, 40; third place, 30; and fourth place, 15. From there, points are divided evenly among the remaining teams in the event to ensure balance between tournaments that feature different-sized fields.

Once points are rewarded based on a team’s finish, that amount is then multiplied by a number based on the strength of the event. Major world championships, such as an Olympic Games, IBAF Baseball World Cup or World Baseball Classic, all receive 4X multipliers. Minor world championship events (Junior, Youth or FISU University Worlds, or the Honkbol Tournament, for example) have a 1X multiplier, and all other continental championships receive multipliers from 1X-.25X based on how many teams in the top-10 of the current IBAF World Rankings compete in the event.

Select Read More to see the complete IBAF Rankings for March