Kodak World Baseball Classic

Kodak World Baseball Classic
Tournament information
Administrator	Minor League Baseball
Host(s)	Honolulu, Hawaii
Venue(s)	Honolulu Stadium
Teams	5
Final positions
Champion	Caribbean All-Stars
Runner-up	Albuquerque Dukes

Last updated February 23, 2024

The 1972 World Baseball Classic, known as the Kodak World Baseball Classic for sponsorship purposes, and alternatively referred to as the World Baseball Championship, was a Minor League Baseball tournament held in Honolulu in 1972. It was the replacement for the Junior World Series that year, gathering the league champions of the International League (IL), Pacific Coast League (PCL), and the American Association (AA). Also participating were the hosting Hawaii Islanders team of the PCL and a team of Caribbean All-Stars, representing the Latin American winter leagues (though all the Caribbean players were active in the American minor league system).

The organizers of the classic had ambitious hopes for the "minor league championship of the world." Teams from the Mexican League and from Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball were invited, but both declined, citing scheduling concerns. Rumored future sites for the event included Mexico City, Tokyo, Caracas, and Seattle.^[2]

However, the event was a financial disaster. The tournament lost more than US$80,000 and drew just 10,923 fans, compared to projections of over 40,000.^[2]

Participating teams

Group stage

Pos	Team	W	L
1	Albuquerque Dukes (PCL)	3	1
2	Tidewater Tides (IL)	3	1
3	Evansville Triplets (AA)	2	2
4	Hawaii Islanders (PCL)	1	3
4	Caribbean All-Stars	1	3

Playoffs

September 17, 1972	Caribbean All-Stars	5 – 3	Hawaiian Islanders	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu

September 17, 1972	Caribbean All-Stars	6 – 5	Evansville Triplets	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu

September 18, 1972	Caribbean All-Stars	2 – 0	Tidewater Tides	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu

September 19, 1972	Caribbean All-Stars	6 – 2	Albuquerque Dukes	Honolulu Stadium, Honolulu

Awards

All-Tournament Team ^[3]
Pos.	Player	Club
SP	Mike McCormick	Hawaii Islanders
RP	Oscar Zamora	Caribbean All-Stars (Oklahoma City 89ers)
C	George Pena	Caribbean All-Stars (Toledo Mud Hens)
1B	Ramon Webster	Caribbean All-Stars (Iowa Oaks)
1B	Tom Paciorek	Albuquerque Dukes
2B	Pedro García	Caribbean All-Stars (Evansville Triplets)
3B	Ron Cey	Albuquerque Dukes
SS	José Martínez	Caribbean All-Stars (Omaha Royals)
OF	Ossie Blanco	Caribbean All-Stars (Wichita Aeros)
	Larry Hisle	Albuquerque Dukes
	Dave Schneck	Tidewater Tides
Man.	Tony Pacheco	Caribbean All-Stars (Oklahoma City 89ers)

Related Research Articles

The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball (MLB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Association (1902–1997)</span> Defunct baseball class-AAA minor league from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997

The American Association (AA) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated primarily in the Midwestern and South Central United States from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997. It was classified as a Triple-A league, which is one grade below Major League Baseball, for most of its existence.

The Memphis Redbirds are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals. They are located in Memphis, Tennessee, and are named for their Major League Baseball affiliate. The Redbirds play their home games at AutoZone Park, which opened in 2000 and is located in Downtown Memphis. The team previously played at Tim McCarver Stadium in 1998 and 1999.

The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, and play their home games at Werner Park, which opened in 2011. The team previously played at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium from 1969 to 2010.

Professional baseball leagues, amateur-baseball organizations, sportswriting associations, and other groups confer awards on various baseball teams, players, managers, coaches, executives, broadcasters, writers, and other baseball-related people for excellence in achievement, sportsmanship, and community involvement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albuquerque Dukes</span> Minor league baseball team

The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Spokane plays its home games at Avista Stadium, which opened in 1958 and has a seating capacity of 6,752.

The World Baseball Classic is an international baseball tournament, sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) through the World Baseball Classic Inc. The winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy. After 2023 World Baseball Classic, this tournament has become the most popular baseball competition in the world, overtaking the World Series.

The most popular sport in Mexico currently is association football followed by boxing. However, there are regional variations: for example, baseball is the most popular sport in the northwest and the southeast of the country. Charrería is the national sport of Mexico. American rodeo is also popular in Mexico, but primarily in the northern half of the country. Basketball, American football and bull riding are also popular. Other sports followed by Mexicans are ice hockey, mixed martial arts, motorsports, taekwondo, and cycling. The tradition of bullfighting remains strong in Mexico.

The Junior World Series was a postseason championship series between champions of two of the three highest minor league baseball leagues modeled on the World Series of Major League Baseball. It was called the Little World Series until 1932, and acquired other official names at different times.

The United States national baseball team, also known as Team USA represents the United States in international-level baseball competitions. The team is currently ranked 2nd in the world by the World Baseball Softball Confederation. The United States has won many international tournaments, many of which are now discontinued. Most notably the team won the Olympic baseball tournament in 2000, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2017.

The Puerto Rico national baseball team, also known as Team Rubio is the national baseball team of Puerto Rico. The men's senior team is currently ranked 13th in the world. Puerto Rico is the incumbent Pan American and Central American/Caribbean champion, as well as the World Baseball Classic runner-up. The team will compete against Israel, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Nicaragua in the 2023 World Baseball Classic in March 2023 in Miami, Florida.

Triple-A has been the highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States since 1946. Currently, two leagues operate at the Triple-A level, the International League (IL) and the Pacific Coast League (PCL). There are 30 teams, one per each Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise, with 20 in the IL and 10 in the PCL. Triple-A teams are generally located in smaller cities as well as larger metropolitan areas without MLB teams, such as Austin, Jacksonville, Columbus, and Indianapolis. Four Triple-A teams play in the same metro areas as their parent clubs.

The Triple-A National Championship Game is a single interleague postseason baseball game between the league champions of the two affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball (MiLB)—the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL)—to determine an overall champion of the classification. With the exceptions of 2020 and 2021, the game has been held at the end of each season since 2006.

The Triple-A All-Star Game was an annual baseball game held from 1988 to 2019 between professional players from the affiliated Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball. These leagues were the International League (IL) and Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1998 to 2019. Previously, the American Association competed along with the IL and PCL before it disbanded following the 1997 season. The 2020 game was cancelled along with the entire minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2021 game was postponed and not rescheduled after a delayed start to the season. There has been no announcement about its resumption in the future.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Israel national baseball team</span>

The Israel National Baseball Team represents Israel in international competitions. It is managed by Ian Kinsler.

Alexeis Bell Quintero, is a Cuban professional baseball outfielder.

The El Paso Chihuahuas are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in El Paso, Texas, and play their home games at Southwest University Park, which opened in 2014. The Chihuahuas moved to El Paso from Tucson, Arizona, where they were known as the Tucson Padres. They played in the PCL until the 2021 restructuring of the minor leagues when they shifted to the Triple-A West, but this league was renamed the PCL in 2022. The Chihuahuas won the PCL championship in 2016.

The North American continent is the birthplace of several organized sports, such as basketball, charrería/rodeo, gridiron football, ice hockey, jaripeo/bull riding, lacrosse, ollamaliztl, mixed martial arts (MMA), racquetball, ultimate, and volleyball. The modern versions of baseball and softball, skateboarding, snowboarding, stock car racing, and surfing also developed in North America.

Randy Lia Arozarena González is a Cuban-born Mexican professional baseball outfielder for the Tampa Bay Rays of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played for the St. Louis Cardinals.

References

↑ "Caribbean Triple A's Best — The Hard Way". The Sporting News. October 7, 1972.
1 2 Blumenau, Kurt. "September 19, 1972: Scrappy Caribbean All-Stars score dramatic win in only Kodak World Baseball Classic". Society for American Baseball Research.
↑ "Classic Champs Place Six on All-Star Squad". The Sporting News. October 7, 1972.

Bibliography

Spink, Taylor, ed. (1973). 1973 Sporting News Official Baseball Guide. Sporting News, Inc.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] "Caribbean Triple A's Best — The Hard Way". The Sporting News. October 7, 1972.

[sabr-2] 1 2 Blumenau, Kurt. "September 19, 1972: Scrappy Caribbean All-Stars score dramatic win in only Kodak World Baseball Classic". Society for American Baseball Research.

[3] "Classic Champs Place Six on All-Star Squad". The Sporting News. October 7, 1972.

[1]

[2]

[3]