2009 Baseball World Cup
 |
|
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host countries |
 Croatia Czech Republic Germany Italy Netherlands San Marino Spain Sweden
|
| Dates | 9–27 September |
| Teams | 22 (from 5 continents) |
| Defending champions |
 United States (2007) |
| Final positions | |
Champions
 |
United States (4th title)
|
Runner-up
 |
 Cuba
|
Third place
 |
 Canada
|
| Fourth place |
 Puerto Rico
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 92 |
| Attendance | 126,799 (1,378 per game) |
| Most Valuable Player |
Justin Smoak
|
|
← 2007
2011 →
Last updated on 27 September 2009 |
|
| Qualified for the 2nd round | |
| Qualified for the 2nd round as wild card |
| Qualified for the 2nd round | |
| Qualified for the 2nd round as wild card |
| Qualified for the 2nd round | |
| Qualified for the 2nd round as wild card |
| Qualified for the 2nd round | |
| Qualified for the 2nd round as wild card |
| Qualified for the 2nd round |
| Qualified for the 2nd round as wild card |
| Qualified for the 3rd round |
| Qualified for the 3rd round |
The 2009 Baseball World Cup was an international baseball tournament that started on 9 September 2009. The final was held in Nettuno, Italy on 27 September 2009. It was the 38th time the World Cup took place, and the first time that it was hosted by a continent rather than a single country. Eight European countries hosted the tournament and 22 nations competed, including defending champions the United States.
The United States successfully defended their title, achieving their fourth World Cup championship by defeating Cuba in the final 10–5. Canada defeated Puerto Rico in the bronze medal game 6–2 for their first medal at a World Cup.
Previous editions of the World Cup were held with no more than 18 teams. These teams were initially broken up into two pools, with the top teams from each pool qualifying for the final knockout stage. With 22 teams competing in the 2009 tournament, the format has been expanded into three phases. Teams that play from the first round and finish among the top eight teams of the tournament will now have played as many as 15 games, making it one of the longest campaigns for any international baseball tournament.
All of the teams, with the exception of Italy and Netherlands, will compete in the first round (as hosts for the second-round games, Italy and Netherlands receive a bye through the first round). The teams will be broken into five pools of four teams each. Each pool will be held in a different country, with the hosts Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Croatia and Germany assigned to the corresponding pools. (Previously, Russia had been set as the host nation for Pool D, however they were replaced by Croatia in an announcement from the IBAF.) Unlike the 2009 World Baseball Classic, the pools will be conducted in single round-robin format. The top two teams from each pool will automatically qualify for the second round, while four of the five third-place finishers will also qualify as wild cards. In some respects, the first round is like a final qualifying tournament, similar to the format used for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
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