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Yes, they will.... Everything is more expensive in Europe so these prices are not out of the ordinary. And, these fans have no idea that down the line is not that great of a seat. They'll just want to be there. Most are not baseball savy.Originally Posted by Rally Monkey
Now, can we please confirm the Jupiter dates so I can book my travel plans already!!!
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well actually it is 26 USD for Baseline (Single Game) 20 USD for Outfield/Bleachers.
It is hard to say if this pricing makes sense or not. I think it is a little bit high but reasonable. Compared to other events in Germany (Soccer Bundesliga, WC, EC; Handball, Basketball;etc) it is surely a good deal and the fans will come. They will come to see the Canadian Pro players, support the German team on their quest and some will come from Czech Republic. I expect the German games sold out with 10.000 and the other games with a mid thousands number.
Baseballwise it is surely expensive and I wouldnīt pay that much or wouldnīt get a tournament ticket if I had too - but thatīs another story and would surely not sit on the Baseline or bleachers.
You have to imagine that the fans love to see Baseball on that high level and they will pay more to be part of this opportunity. It is not like in the US (or elsewhere) with the opportunity to see stars on a everyday basis. Fans are hungry for it!
The only thing you know is you never know and that you know for sure!
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Here is some travel info. Assuming that travel to TAIWAN and GERMANY from the USA is too expensive, here is some info for those who may be arranging to visit the FLORIDA and PANAMA qualifying pools.
JUPITER. FLORIDA dates TBD, assuming fly there from Minneapolis on Fri, Nov 9 in time to see the Fri night game, pay for hotel on Fri and Sat evening, and stay long enough to see the Sun afternoon game:
Airfare is $529 on Delta to Fort Lauderdale
Hotel is $131 at the Fairfield Inn in Jupiter
TOTAL is $661 affordable
PANAMA CITY, PANAMA dates Nov 15-18, assuming fly there from Minneapolis on Fri, Nov 16 in time to see the Fri night game, pay for hotel on Fri and Sat evening, and stay long enough to see just the beginning of the Sun afternoon game:
Airfare is $1017 on American via Miami
Hotel is $108 at the Vera Cruz
TOTAL is $1126 much less affordable
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I know of a condo in a great great spot if anybody is going to Panama City. I stayed there. It was wonderful. Great view, use of a cell phone, airport pickup!!
As for Florida I have a flight credit I'll be using and a timeshare for the week so even with a rental car Florida will be pretty affordable. I just wish they would announce those dates!
As for Germany, I'll be at that stadium next month and I've been to Taiwan twice already too so I don't feel like I'm missing anything
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Why would German fans come out for Canada if they didn't come out for the US games at the 2009 BWC?
http://competition.baseballeurope.co.../stats/010.htm
Add to that the fact that there wont be any MLB players, and Canada has less minor league sure-fire talent than the US team did: the only reason I see fans filling up the Regensburg park is to cheer against the favorites in hopes that Germany gets a weaker opponent in any subsequent round. I think the excitement of hosting the qualifier has gone straight to peoples heads...and they are way overestimating. I can also easily imagine a situation where Lutz and Kepler are blocked from playing for the German team by their clubs, Germany loses to Czech and fans get dejected and don't show up for an elimination game.
Its understandable that the 'Rechensburg'(so much for journalistic integrity and research) organizers would increase the price a bit, because they have a captive market and a rabid fan base, so they could increase prices a significant amount without driving away those fans. On the other hand, to fill up the stadium for other games, they'd have to drop prices through the floor. So it makes more sense financially to raise the ticket price to a level that offsets the cost of the empty seats. And that stadium is awesome, fans will love the atmosphere, so I hope that the marketing team is promoting heavily over the summer.
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Thats great, but what about quotes from Israel, France, Spain, and South Africa?
suddenly not so "affordable"!
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If you would have read it fully I quoted that I expect all german games to be sold out (around 10.000) and the other games (compared to the BWCQ) with attendance in the mid thousands - equal to the game you posted from BWCQ.
The only thing you know is you never know and that you know for sure!
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Any news on the players available for the non Regensburg qualifiers?
Thanks for any info.
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Off topic, but heard from a German player that Coach Frady is recruiting from the minors 10-15 Americans with German background. Would be an interesting development, since I among others thought that he wouldn't. Donald Lutz is expected to be available, although he is currently on the Reds 40-man. If Paula or anyone else with knowledge of the German team has something to confirm or refute those claims, would like to hear!
Hope this is not the case 'cause i want to see how native German players are developing,so we can have an idea of the state of German baseball,recruiting Americans with German heritage will prevent that.
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I hope not either, because that would really make me afraid for Canada's chances. Wonder if MLB was hoping for a more authentic German team since they gave them the qualifier....?
I was really afraid of this since the German Hockey team doesn't do this for Canadian/American-Germans. I guess the difference is the lack of a significant barrier-of-entry for the WBC.
Last edited by cutchemist42; 05-03-2012 at 05:57 PM.
Mariano's career might be over,this is not good news not only for the Yankees,but also for Panama that is relying heavily on Mariano's skills to win its qualifier,however playing at home is always an advantage,but Nicaragua will be tough to beat.
Who the hell is Stan Papi
If that's the case, you can make book on the possibility he'll be Panama's pitching coach.
Man, do I *HATE* the Yankees!!!!!!
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As far as I know MLB(I) ist helping at least all underdogs like Germany, Czech Republic, GB, New Zealand, etc to field a competitive team against the established teams like Canada, etc.
The only thing you know is you never know and that you know for sure!
Playertobenamedlater
Mariano, may be available for the WBC if Panama can qualify without him. The standard recovery time for an ACL tear is about 9 months and the WBC is about 10 months away.
I don't think the Yankee management would be too excited about him competing in the WBC after just coming off a major injury like ACL,and remember in '09 he refused to play,and he was younger and healthier.
Playertobenamedlater
He has been hinting at retiring and the the WBC could be the last stage he performs on. So, it may not be up to the Yankees to decide. I'm not saying this will definitely happen, but there is a possibility.
He said a couple of days ago that he will return next year with the Yanks,meaning the WBC won't be his final games; i hope i am wrong 'cause i do want to see all the top players representing their countries 'cause that will give more prestige to the tournament,but i don't think that will be the case.
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Not if Nicaragua does not have MLB pitchers. In that case Panama is way better.
In '06 Cuba made it all the way to the finals without a single MLB player,and in '09 Korea also made it to the finals with only one MLB contracted player The lack of MLB players in a team does not mean a country cannot beat teams that do have such players.
Researcher/advocate/mod
Cuba has MLB-caliber players as does Korea. If you have that kind of talent, no, they don't have to have MLBers. However, they do have to have that kind of talent. Nicaragua doesn't have a home grown league with the talent of Japan, Korea or Cuba, and most of their talent goes to MLB. It's fair to evaluate teams like that based on the level of MLB talent they have.
Seen on a bumper sticker: If only closed minds came with closed mouths.
Some minds are like concrete--thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.
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For those of us hoping to see the WBC grow and become more and more successful, the delays are sad. With the 2012-2013 WBC set to begin on September 20, 2012, only four months from now, we still do not know key facts:
(1) What are the dates in November for the Jupiter, Florida Qualifying Pool ?
(2) Is Japan going to participate ?
(3) If Japan chooses not to participate, will Taiwan replace them in the First Round Asian Pool ?
(4) If Taiwan replaces Japan in the First Round, who will replace Taiwan in the Asian Qualifying Pool ?
(5) Assuming that Japan chooses not to participate, and assuming that Taiwan replaces them in the First Round Asian Pool, and assuming that Indonesia replaces Taiwan in the Asian Qualifying Pool, who will host that pool --- Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, or New Zealand ?
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Darwin Barney, Travis Ishikawa, Eric Komatsu, Brandon League, Kurt Suzuki, and Shane Victorino can play for Japan. Add those MLBer with Japanese citizenship. That's almost a whole team without the NPB. A couple of infielders short, maybe?
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I think this is right. Remember, it's the Japanese players' association--not NPB or any of the other Japanese baseball organizations--that's dragging its feet here. If MLB and NPB want to field a Japanese team, they can. (Although I really doubt there'd be any Japanese-Americans on it. I mean, the Industrial League, clubs, and universities in Japan have plenty of experienced players. Add them to Ichiro, Darvish, and other Japanese MLB players, and you can pull together a pretty strong team.)
Although I don't have any inside information on this, I think the hold-up here is coming more on the business end. You know, finding sponsors, signing stadium deals, getting all the infrastructure into place. With all due respect, I think it's clear that MLB doesn't have its A team on the WBC-side of the business operation.
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Interesting questions! My thoughts:
(1) I don't think that they are in a hurry to announce. Maybe about 3 months before we'll hear something, as it will raise awareness just before the Regensburg qualifier, and get players who are wrapping up their minor league seasons to consider playing for countries that they might be tied to (such as Japan, if there is any news on that front when the time comes).
(2) Nobody can imagine Japan not participating. The two time defending champions, while MLB and IBAF are pushing for Olympic reinstatement, missing the title tournament because of a players association? It shouldn't get that far.
(3) I don't think that Taiwan would be an automatic replacement, but I also can't think of a reasonable way to replace Japan. When would a final decision be made on when Japan can be included or not? Probably in Jan or Feb, right at the last moment. Options could range from a number of tie-breakers between the second place teams in the qualifiers, to taking the next highest ranked tea from IBAF standings, to any number of possibilities. Again, Japan really should NOT miss it, so if they aren't taking part, there are bigger problems than who the replacement is.
(4) A lot of what-ifs! I like the suggestion that Indonesia take part, but maybe an Indian or Pakistani team is somehow entered. We have seen MLB look to South Africa and now Israel for global representation, so I don't think that it is such a crazy idea.
(5) Analyzing the places where the games could be held:
Philippines: Would have to be in Manila so Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium with its 10,000 capacity would get the nod. It hosts the country's baseball league, so it has experience hosting baseball events. Chance: 50%
Thailand: Unable to find any baseball fields, but there are some posts on the web about baseball in the suburbs where there is Japanese and American influence. Chance: <1%
New Zealand: Again, the largest city has to be the default location just to get people in the seats, and the places where Curtis Granderson held his practices with local baseball players would be a logical place to play. Not a lot of options. Chance: <1%
Indonesia: In Jakarta there are a few softball fields, but that would require some serious investment to make it host-worthy. Maybe the softball fields near the Jalan Stadium with be worth it to MLB? Doubt it. Maybe someone knows of some baseball fields? Chance: <1%
Other location: Australia has some decent fields, and since they're doing it in Florida, it wouldn't be a surprise to see MLB move the qualifier to a different country. This would maybe draw more interest in the ABL, which MLB has pushed hard. And they could always fly them to Seattle or San Francisco, where there are large expat communities. Chance: 50%
This brings up an interesting question; MLB rewards teams by hosting, but what does it say about the locations they've picked? That Spain, Israel, France and S.A aren't worthy to host? Barcelona has the Olympic Stadium, but they wouldn't be picked to host over South Africa, so maybe the Spanish connections in Florida are the next best thing? But there are lots of Jews in Florida, and Israel doesn't have the facilities either, so maybe they are rewarding Israel? And by making all the European teams travel far, are they rewarding South Africa? They perhaps intentionally made it a toss-up group, but to lose the continental representation of either Israel or South Africa or both seems like a poor choice in Marketing terms.
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