Miami to host 2021 WBC semifinals, final

The 2021 World Baseball Classic semifinals and finals will take place at Marlins Park in Miami, it was announced Tuesday.

The venues for the expanded 20team competition, scheduled for March 9-23, 2021, also will include two Taiwan sites, Japan’s Tokyo Dome and Chase Field in Phoenix.

The 16 teams that participated in the 2017 WBC will be invited to return — Australia, Canada, China, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Israel, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, the Netherlands, Puerto Rico, the United States and Venezuela. Four other teams will be determined during qualifying games next month in Arizona.

The 2021 WBC will begin with four pools of five teams competing in a first-round round robin format. The top two teams from each pool will advance to two quarter-final pools, to be held in Tokyo (March 16-17) and Miami (March 19-20). The semifinals and finals will be played at the Miami Marlins’ home venue March 21-23.

“Being selected to host all three rounds, including the finals, reaffirms Miami’s place as a global destination for all the biggest events,” Marlins CEO Derek Jeter said in a news release.

Marlins Park hosted games in each of the last two WBC tournaments.

“The excitement and passion on display in Marlins Park during the last World Baseball Classic showed what we already knew to be true about this market — that South Florida has an undying love for their heritage and the game of baseball,” Jeter said. “We are proud to welcome fans from across the globe to Marlins Park for this event.”

The U.S. won the 2017 WBC championship, defeating Puerto Rico 8-0 in the final at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Japan won the first two World Baseball Classics (2006, 2009) and the Dominican Republic prevailed in 2013.