(Lea la crónica jugada-a-jugada del partido de Cuba vs. Brasil, en el III Clásico Mundial)
Después de una espera demasiado larga, finalmente la MLB dio a conocer el calendario completo de la III edición del Clásico Mundial. Cuba, como sabemos, quedó ubicada en el grupo más fácil, pues solo Japón parece un rival complicado. Quizás algunos dirán: «recuerda lo que le pasó a Panamá contra Brasil». De acuerdo, ningún equipo será un «manjar», pero, ¿qué preferirían: el grupo B, C o D? Cualquiera de esos tres sería muchísimo más complejo para la selección nacional, así que, al menos esta vez, la «suerte» nos favoreció.
Este es el calendario completo:
Primera ronda (Round Robin)
Grupo A: Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome – Fukuoka, Japón
Game 1 Sat, Mar 2 Japan @ Brazil 5:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 2 Sun, Mar 3 Cuba @ Brazil 10:00 PM (ET), 12:00 PM (Local)
Game 3 Sun, Mar 3 China @ Japan 5:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 4 Mon, Mar 4 China @ Cuba 3:30 AM (ET), 5:30 PM (Local)
Game 5 Tue, Mar 5 Brazil @ China 3:30 AM (ET), 5:30 PM (Local)
Game 6 Wed, Mar 6 Japan @ Cuba 5:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Grupo B: Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium – Taichung, Taiwan
Game 1 Sat, Mar 2 Korea @ Netherlands 6:30 AM (ET), 7:30 PM (Local)
Game 2 Sat, Mar 2 Australia @ Chinese Taipei 11:30 PM (ET), 12:30 PM (Local)
Game 3 Mon, Mar 4 Korea @ Australia 5:30 AM (ET), 6:30 PM (Local)
Game 4 Sun, Mar 3 Netherlands @ Chinese Taipei 1:30 AM (ET), 2:30 PM (Local)
Game 5 Tue, Mar 5 Australia @ Netherlands 11:30 PM (ET), 12:30 PM (Local)
Game 6 Tue, Mar 5 Chinese Taipei @ Korea 6:30 AM (ET), 7:30 PM (Local)
Grupo C: Hiram Bithorn Stadium – San Juan, Puerto Rico
Game 1 Thu, Mar 7 Venezuela @ Dominican Rep. 6:30 PM (ET), 7:30 PM (Local)
Game 2 Fri, Mar 8 Spain @ Puerto Rico 5:30 PM (ET), 6:30 PM (Local)
Game 3 Sat, Mar 9 Dominican Rep. @ Spain 11:00 AM (ET), 12:00 PM (Local)
Game 4 Sat, Mar 9 Puerto Rico @ Venezuela 5:30 PM (ET), 6:30 PM (Local)
Game 5 Sun, Mar 10 Spain @ Venezuela 12:30 PM (ET), 12:30 PM (Local)
Game 6 Sun, Mar 10 Dominican Rep. @ Puerto Rico 7:30 PM (ET), 7:30 PM (Local)
Grupo D: Chase Field & Salt River Fields at Talking Stick – Phoenix, Arizona
Game 1 Thu, Mar 7 Italy @ Mexico 3:00 PM (ET), 1:00 PM (Local)
Game 2 Fri, Mar 8 Canada @ Italy 2:30 PM (ET), 12:30 PM (Local)
Game 3 Fri, Mar 8 Mexico @ United States 9:00 PM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 4 Sat, Mar 9 Canada @ Mexico 2:30 PM (ET), 12:30 PM (Local)
Game 5 Sat, Mar 9 United States @ Italy 9:00 PM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 6 Sun, Mar 10 United States @ Canada 4:00 PM (ET), 1:00 PM (Local)
Segunda Ronda (Doble eliminación)
Grupo 1: Tokyo Dome – Tokio, Japón
Game 1 Fri, Mar 8 Pool A Runner-Up @ Pool B Winner 10:00 PM (ET), 12:00 PM (Local)
Game 2 Fri, Mar 8 Pool B Runner-Up @ Pool A Winner 5:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 3 Sat, Mar 9 Game 2 Loser @ Game 1 Loser 5:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 4 Sun, Mar 10 Game 2 Winner @ Game 1 Winner 6:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 5 Mon, Mar 11 Game 4 Loser @ Game 3 Winner 6:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 6 Tue, Mar 12 Game 5 Winner @ Game 4 Winner 6:00 AM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Grupo 2: Marlins Park – Miami, Florida
Game 1 Tue, Mar 12 Pool D Runner-Up @ Pool C Winner 1:00 PM (ET), 1:00 PM (Local)
Game 2 Tue, Mar 12 Pool C Runner-Up @ Pool D Winner 8:00 PM (ET), 8:00 PM (Local)
Game 3 Wed, Mar 13 Game 2 Loser @ Game 1 Loser 7:00 PM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 4 Thu, Mar 14 Game 2 Winner @ Game 1 Winner 7:00 PM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 5 Fri, Mar 15 Game 4 Loser @ Game 3 Winner 7:00 PM (ET), 7:00 PM (Local)
Game 6 Sat, Mar 16 Game 5 Winner @ Game 4 Winner 1:00 PM (ET), 1:00 PM (Local)
Ronda de campeonato (Eliminación sencilla)
Semifinales: AT&T Park – San Francisco, California
Game 1 Sun, March 17 Pool 2 Runner-Up @ Pool 1 Winner 9:00 PM (ET), 6:00 PM (Local)
Game 2 Mon, March 18 Pool 1 Runner-Up @ Pool 2 Winner 9:00 PM (ET), 6:00 PM (Local)
Juego por el Título: AT&T Park – San Francisco, California
Game 1 Tue, Mar 19 Semi 2 Winner @ Semi 1 Winner 9:00 PM (ET), 6:00 PM (Local)