spring training baseball 

Bill will support spring training, teams

The serenading began before the final vote was tallied.

Lawmakers gave Rep. Nancy Detert an enthusiastic rendition of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" on the floor of the Florida House on Friday evening.

The singing continued after the House gave final approval for her bill providing tax breaks to help Sarasota, Bradenton and three other cities keep their spring training baseball teams.

The vote came on the last day of Detert's last legislative session. She had failed twice before to win the bill's passage.

"It's been nice being on third base for two years," Detert quipped, just before the vote. "But it'll be nicer to slide into home."

The legislation had rolled along smoothly until Wednesday, when Miami senators pulled a surprise move and tried to add the Florida Marlins to her bill. They said the baseball team would leave for Texas if they don't get a deal for a new stadium in Hialeah.

Their maneuver failed, but lawmakers were able to add the Marlins to a bill helping the Orlando Magic basketball team. Then the Magic, fearing the weight of the Marlins would sink their bill, convinced the Senate to add them to the spring training bill.

Detert's bill provides up to $15 million in sales tax revenues over 30 years to help fund new stadiums or improvements in Sarasota, Bradenton, St. Petersburg, Fort Lauderdale and Winter Haven.

Amendments to the bill could also lead to help for the New York Mets, who have spring training in Port St. Lucie. The Mets will be allowed to compete for one of five available slots.

The bill will also help the Orlando Magic build a new arena or renovate an old one. It also gives local governments the option of using existing tax revenue to retain their own local pro sports or motorsports venues.

Detert helped sell fellow lawmakers on the bill with a study showing spring training generates $450 million in spending in Florida every year and attracts 800,000 visitors. Competition with Arizona was also a factor, as the Cactus League tries to steal teams from Florid's Grapefruit League.

The bill now heads to the governor's desk.

"It's wonderful," Sarasota City Commissioner Mary Anne Servian said Friday evening. "This is a perfect example of what can happen when everyone's working together."

Arizona Ball Parks Hosting First World Baseball Classic

PHOENIX -- The venue field for next year's inaugural World Baseball Classic was nearly completed on Monday, when it was announced that first-round games, which include the U.S., Canada, Mexico and South Africa, are scheduled to be played at Chase Field (the former Bank One Ballpark) and Scottsdale Stadium on March 9-11.

The other first-round pools are scheduled for the Tokyo Dome (March 3-6), Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan and most probably the Disney complex in Orlando, Fla. Both the latter pools will be played concurrently with the pool in Arizona.

The second round is scheduled for March 13-15 in Puerto Rico and Angel Stadium in Anaheim with the semifinals and finals at San Diego's PETCO Park on March 18-20. Only the first-round games in Florida have yet to be formalized. Scottsdale Stadium is the Spring Training home of the San Francisco Giants, and Chase Field is the regular-season home of the Diamondbacks.

"The continued cooperation of the Diamondbacks and the Giants is another example of the great support from our clubs for the World Baseball Classic," Commissioner Bud Selig said in a release. "Chase Field and Scottsdale Stadium are fine facilities in prime locations, and we thank both clubs for their enthusiasm."

MLB International officials are at organizational meetings in Florida this week to be followed by the owners meetings on Wednesday and Thursday in Milwaukee. Last week in Indian Wells, Calif., Paul Archey, MLB's vice president of international business operations, addressed general managers about their WBC concerns.

A technical committee is expected to review pitch counts, roster size, eligibility and a number of other issues regarding the tournament, which includes 15 nations and the territory of Puerto Rico and will feature Major League players in international competition for the first time. Sixty-man rosters have to be submitted 45 days before the WBC begins. An estimated 270 Major League-affiliated players are expected to be involved in the tournament.

Bob Watson, MLB's vice president of on-field baseball operations and Team USA general manager, said this past weekend that his search for a U.S. manager is narrowing and could be completed shortly.

Buck Martinez, Don Baylor, Davey Johnson and Lou Piniella are among the top contenders, with Piniella being a late addition. Johnson is in the Phoenix area this week as manager of the U.S. team that will compete in an Olympic qualifier scheduled to be played from Tuesday to Saturday. Team USA, Mexico, Canada, Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala are the participants.

"I need to have one more conference call," said Watson, who is in town for this week's Olympic qualifier. "Then we'll see what happens."

As far as the WBC is concerned, the U.S., Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, China, Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, Italy, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Panama and Australia have all accepted invitations. Cuba is still working out logistics, but will join the first-round pool in San Juan.

Don Fehr, the executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, said the tournament couldn't have better Western first-round venues than the two in Arizona. The retractable-domed Chase Field opened in 1998 for the Diamondbacks' first season and the new and improved Scottsdale Stadium opened in 1992 and began a wave of retro Spring Training parks that have now sprouted throughout the Phoenix area. The Scottsdale facility is currently under renovation and will be ready in time for Spring Training.

"We are pleased to have Chase Field and Scottsdale Stadium, two first-class baseball venues, play host to the inaugural games of the World Baseball Classic," Fehr said. "Launching the Classic in Arizona, which has long supported the sport on every level, will provide fans and players with a memorable experience."


Barry M. Bloom is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Orlando to host WBC first round

Orlando to host WBC first round
By Barry M. Bloom
MILWAUKEE -- The venues for next year's inaugural World Baseball Classic were settled on Wednesday when it was announced that six first-round games have been scheduled for Cracker Jack Stadium at Disney Wide World of Sports in the Orlando area on March 8-11.

The other first-round pools are scheduled for the Tokyo Dome (March 3-6), Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, P.R., and Chase Field and Scottsdale Stadium in the Phoenix area. Both the latter pools will be played concurrently with the pool in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

The second round runs from on March 13-15 in Puerto Rico and Angel Stadium in Anaheim, with the semifinals and finals at San Diego's PETCO Park from March 18-20.

"The Orlando area is one of the nation's top international tourist destinations, and we are very pleased that the World Baseball Classic will be a part of that landscape," Commissioner Bud Selig said. "Baseball historically has been a major attraction in Florida each spring, and we are confident that Disney's Wide World of Sports will serve as an excellent host for the World Baseball Classic."

Pool D in Lake Buena Vista is made up of the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Australia and Italy. The top two finalists there will meet the two winners among Puerto Rico, Cuba, Panama and the Netherlands in the second round at San Juan.

MLB International officials were at organizational meetings in Orlando earlier this week, followed by owners meetings here on Wednesday and Thursday. Last week in Indian Wells, Calif., Paul Archey, MLB's vice president of international business operations, addressed general managers about their WBC concerns.

A technical committee, to be chaired by Sandy Alderson, MLB's former vice president of baseball operations and now the chief executive of the Padres, is expected to review pitch counts among other rules issues in the tournament that boasts 15 nations and the territory of Puerto Rico. It's the first international baseball tourney to include Major League players in international competition.

Sixty-man rosters have to be submitted 45 days before the WBC begins. An estimated 270 Major League-affiliated players are expected to be involved in the tourney.

Don Fehr, the union's executive director, said the tournament was a great first-round addition to the Florida landscape. Cracker Jack Stadium, which was opened in 1998, is the spring home of the Atlanta Braves. The Disney Wide World of Sports complex hosts 170 events a year.

"Our agreement with Disney to host the opening east coast round of the World Baseball Classic is another important step towards making these inaugural games the success we envision," Fehr said. "It's a great venue, which has played host to a number of world class events, and I know the fans, as well as the teams playing in the Disney round, will have a great experience."


Barry M. Bloom is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

Ichiro to Play for Japan in March World Baseball Classic

Mariners right fielder Ichiro Suzuki couldn't say "no" to Japanese baseball legend Sadaharu Oh, accepting professional baseball's all-time home run king's invitation to participate in the World Baseball Classic for his native country.
Ichiro's agent, Tony Attanasio, confirmed the offer and acceptance.

"Mr. Oh extended a formal invitation and Ichiro accepted,"Attanasio told the Seattle Times. "For the longest time media people had been asking [Ichiro] if he was going to play for Japan. But it was not that simple; Ichiro had to be [extended] a formal invitation.

"Now there has been an invitation, and Ichiro was delighted to accept. He really wants to play for his country."

Oh, who hit 868 career home runs for the Yomiuri Giants, will manage the Japanese WBC squad.

The 16-nation tournament will be played March 3-20 in Tokyo, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Phoenix and Florida. Major League Baseball plans to announce several players, as well as the U.S. manager, during a Monday press conference at the Winter Meetings in Dallas.

The press conference will be shown live at MLB.com.

Ichiro becomes the second big-name MLB player to commit to the WBC -- the first time big-league players will participate in an Olympic-style event. On Monday, Giants left fielder Barry Bonds announced that he would play for the U.S. team.

Attanasio told the Seattle Times that Ichiro would work out at Safeco Field for several weeks before returning to Japan in February to prepare for the WBC and the Mariners' regular season, which begins April 3 in Seattle against the Angels.

"He'll be doing the exact same thing he does every offseason, working his tail off to be ready to play," Attanasio said. "Only instead of doing it near Kobe, his hometown, he'll be doing it with the Japanese team near Tokyo."

Ichiro is the first player in MLB history to record at least 200 hits in each of his first five seasons. He finished with 206 hits this past season, one year after breaking the all-time single-season hit record with 262 hits. Hall of Fame first baseman George Sisler held the record (257) for 84 years.


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