World Baseball Classic: Dates, Sites Announced For 2017 WBC

SEE ALSO: World Baseball Classic Archive

The 2017 World Baseball Classic schedule is set, and the United States is in a pool that won’t be easy to navigate.

The United States was placed in Pool C with defending champion Dominican Republic, Canada and Colombia when the pools and sites were announced on Thursday.

The United States and the rest of Pool C will open first-round play at Marlins Park in Miami. The other first-round sites are Tokyo; Seoul, South Korea; and Guadalajara, Mexico. The second round will be played in Tokyo and Petco Park in San Diego, while the semifinals and finals will be at Dodger Stadium from March 20-22.

It is the second time Dodger Stadium will play host to the finals, along with 2009.

The U.S. has never finished higher than fourth in the WBC, a trend they will try to break when the event officially starts on March 7.

One final qualifier will be played from Sept. 22-25 in Brooklyn, N.Y., with Great Britain, Israel, Pakistan and Brazil playing to qualify for the WBC.

SCHEDULE
FIRST ROUND
(Round robin)
Pool A
March 7-10
At Tokyo
Tokyo Dome

Teams: Australia, China, Cuba, Japan

Pool B
March 7-10
At Seoul, South Korea
Gocheok Skydome
Teams: Taiwan, South Korea, Netherlands, Winner of Brooklyn, N.Y. qualifier (Brazil, Great Britain, Israel, Pakistan)

Pool C
March 9-12
At Miami
Marlins Park

Teams: Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, United States

Pool D

March 9-12
At Guadalajara, Mexico
Estadio Charros de Jalisco

Teams: Italy, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Venezuela

SECOND ROUND
(Round robin)
POOL E
March 12-15
At Tokyo
Tokyo Dome

Teams: Pool A winner, Pool A runner-up, Pool B winner, Pool B runner-up

POOL F
March 14-18
At San Diego
Petco Park

Teams: Pool C winner, Pool C runner-up, Pool D winner, Pool D runner-up

SEMFINALS
(Single elimination)
March 20-21
At Los Angeles
Dodger Stadium

Teams: Pool F winner vs. Pool E runner-up; Pool E winner vs. Pool F runner-up

CHAMPIONSHIP
(Single elimination)
March 22
At Los Angeles
Dodger Stadium