1st Round:
Pool A MVP: Alfredo Despaigne (Cuba) .417 avg. (5/12) 3 runs, 2 walks, 2 HR, 6 RBI
Poo B MVP: Dai-Kang Yang (Chinese Taipei) .333 avg. (4/12) 3 runs, walk, HR, 4 RBI
Pool C MVP: Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic) .600 avg. (9/15) 3 runs, HR, 5 RBI
Pool D MVP: Mike Saunders (Canada) .727 avg. (8/11) 4 runs, 2 walks, HR, 7 RBI
My take: I agree with all four of the MVP's. Despaigne was one of the five man wrecking who led Cuba to win Pool A. Dai-Kang Yang and the Chinese taipei team was fun to watch. Yang didn't catch anyone's eye with the batting average, but came through with timely hitting to lead the surprise Pool B winners. Robinson Cano was outstanding this entire tournament, so there is no need to validate his success here. Even though Canada failed to advance, Mike Saunders held his own coming out party. He led Pool D with a .727 batting average and teamed with Justin Morneau to be the backbone of the Canadian lineup.
Upset of the round: Italy 6 Mexico 5 in the first game of Pool D play
Biggest Disappointment: Venezuela (1-2). One of the tournament favorites and a team that was loaded with Major League talent struggled in Pool C play, getting crushed by the Dominicans in their opening game and only being able to beat Spain in their final game. The offense waited until their last game to come alive and the pitching struggled all tournament allowing 21 runs in just three games.
Biggest Surprise: Italy (2-1, runners-up of Pool D). You could go a couple of routes with this one, but since i predicted Chinese Taipei to advance Italy is my pick. The Italians put on one hell of a run. They opened their tournament with a two-run ninth inning comeback to upset Mexico and then followed that up with a 14-4 thrashing of Canada the next day to earn their spot in the second round. This team proved it was no fluke that they advanced by leading 15 of the 18 innings they played in the second round, but was still unable to win being eliminated in two games.
2nd Round:
Pool 1 MVP: Hirokazu Ibata (Japan) .571 avg. (8/14) 6 runs, 5 walks, 3 RBI
Pool 2 MVP: Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic) .519 avg. (14/27) 5 runs, 2 HR, 6 RBI
My take: I also agree with both of these MVP's. Hirokazu Ibata was a deserving candidate, but I also would not have had a problem if either of his teammates, Nobuhiro Matsuda or Shinnosuke Abe, would have been awarded the honor. Cuba had a few candidates from the middle of their lineup, but since they were unable to advance they shouldn't have the MVP. Robinson Cano kept his lumber with him all tournament en route carrying the Dominicans to the title.
Upset of the round: Puerto Rico 4 USA 3 Second elimination game in Pool 2
Biggest Disappointment: Cuba (1-2). After going undefeated to win Pool A, Cuba couldn't get past the Netherlands in round two. The Dutch hammered Cuba 6-2 in the opening game and eliminated Cuba in a wild 7-6 game. The reason I chose Cuba over the U.S. as the biggest disappointment is because David Wright did not play vs. the Dominican Republic or in the last game verse Puerto Rico. Missing Wright was obviously a huge blow to the U.S. offense, which to me makes it unfair to rule the second round elimination for the Americans as a fail.
Biggest Surprise: Puerto Rico (2-2, runners-up of Pool 2). Puerto Rico was in an early hole after getting blown out 7-1 by the U.S. to start the second round and was down to their final six outs verse Italy until a three-run rally in the eighth inning saved the day. They went on to eliminate the U.S. and earn a spot in the semifinals.
Championship Round:
Tournament MVP: Robinson Cano (Dominican Republic) .469 avg. (15/32) 6 runs, 3 walks, 2 HR, 6 RBI
My take: There is no way you could disagree with this. Robinson Cano was the most consistent part of a great Dominican Republic offense. Cano drew all three of his walks in the championship round and was stellar at second all tournament for the Dominicans.
Upset of the round: Puerto Rico 3 Japan 1 First Semifinal
Biggest Disappointment: Japan. Just when everything pointed in their favor and it looked like their bats were at championship-winning level, the Japanese experienced being eliminated in the WBC for the first time. Puerto Rico played fantastic and took advantage early on and didn't relent. Japan's best chance came in the seventh, but an uncharacteristic mental mistake erased any chance of a comeback.
Biggest Surprise: Puerto Rico (Runners-up). It is fitting that Puerto Rico shocked us all again by advancing to the next stage of the tournament by making the championship game and they once again were the runners-up to the Dominican Republic. In all three round of the tournament the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico squared off, and all three times the Dominican Republic won the game and round.
Top 10 Games of the 2013 WBC:
10) Puerto Rico 3, Japan 1 (Day 16 - First Semifinal)
9) Dominican Republic 5, Italy 4 (Day 11 - 2nd Round, Pool 2 Opening game)
8) Dominican Republic 3, Puerto Rico 0 (Day 18 - Championship game)
7) Puerto Rico 4, USA 3 (Day 14 - 2nd round, Pool 2 Elimination game)
6) USA 9, Canada 4 (Day 9 - 1st Round, Pool D Game 3)
5) Puerto Rico 4, Italy 3 (Day 12 - 2nd Round, Pool 2 Elimination game)
4) Korea 3, Chinese Taipei 2 (Day 4 - 1st Round, Pool B Game 3)
3) Japan 4, Chinese Taipei 3 (Day 7 - 2nd Round, Pool 1 Opening game)
2) Italy 6, Mexico 5 (Day 6 - 1st Round, Pool D Game 1)
1) Netherlands 7, Cuba 6 (Day 10 - 2nd Round, Pool 1 Elimination game)
To read the recaps of the Top 10 or any of the other games to go to that Day's blog and enjoy!
To look at the official 2013 All-World Baseball Classic team go to: http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com/wbc/2013/allworld/index.jsp
The whole Dominican Republic team was fantastic, Robinson Cano gets tournament MVP and Fernando Rodney and the magic of his Plantain dominated with his seven saves to bring home the title. This year's edition of the World Baseball Classic provided us with great baseball for two and a half weeks. Congrats to the 2013 champs the Dominican Republic who finished 8-0 to claim the title.
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