0 World Baseball Claic Begins is Friday On MLB Network

MLB Networks exclusive English-language telecast of the 2013 World Baseball Classic in the United States begins this Friday, March 1 at 11:30 p.m. ET and continues with all 39 games of the tournament through the Championship on Tuesday, March 19 at 8:00 p.m. ET. MLB Networks Bob Costas, Jim Kaat, Joe Magrane, Harold Reynolds, John Smoltz, Matt Vasgersian, Tom Verducci and Matt Yallof are among the group of announcers scheduled to call the tournament, produced by MLB Network in the United States and by MLB International abroad. The complete list of announcers is outlined below.

In addition to televising all 39 games, MLB Network will extensively cover the World Baseball Classic in its studio programming, including World Baseball Classic Today, which debuts this Saturday, March 2 at 11:00 a.m. ET. Former Major League infielder and coach of the 2005 World Champion Chicago White Sox Joey Cora will serve as a guest analyst on the program from March 7-9. The tournaments Championship Round will include on-site coverage with Intentional Talk live before each game and live pre- and postgame coverage on MLB Tonight on the field from AT&T Park in San Francisco.

The announcers for the World Baseball Classic on MLB Network are:

First Round

Pool A: Brazil, China, Cuba, Japan / March 2-6

Rich Waltz and Buck Martinez - Fukuoka Yahoo! Japan Dome, Fukuoka, Japan

Pool B: Australia, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Netherlands / March 1-5

JB Long and Joe Magrane - Taipei Intercontinental Baseball Stadium, Taichung, Taiwan

Pool C: Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, Venezuela / March 7-10

Gary Thorne and Jose Mota - Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Pool D: Canada, Italy, Mexico, United States / March 7-10

Matt Yallof and Jeff Nelson - Salt River Fields at Talking Stick, Phoenix

Matt Vasgersian, Jim Kaat and Sam Ryan - Chase Field, Phoenix

Second Round

Pool 1 / Tokyo Dome, Tokyo, Japan / March 7-12

Rich Waltz and Buck Martinez

Pool 2 / Marlins Park, Miami / March 12-16

March 12-13: Matt Vasgersian, John Smoltz and Heidi Watney

March 14: Matt Vasgersian, Tom Verducci and Heidi Watney

March 15: Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds and Heidi Watney

March 16: Matt Vasgersian, Harold Reynolds, Tom Verducci and Heidi Watney

Championship Round

Semi-finals / AT&T Park, San Francisco / March 17-18

Matt Vasgersian, Jim Kaat and Tom Verducci

Championship / AT&T Park, San Francisco / March 19

Bob Costas, Jim Kaat and Tom Verducci

As part of its coverage of the worlds premier international baseball tournament, MLB Networks live game telecasts will be available on an authenticated basis online and on Apple devices. At no additional cost, Bright House Networks, DirecTV and Time Warner Cable subscribers who receive MLB Network as part of their TV subscription will have access to all 39 games on computers at WorldBaseballClassic.com/Watch by logging in with their TV service provider information. Once users have authenticated online and created an MLB user profile, they can watch the tournament on Apple devices (iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch) via the WBCBaseball app, available on the Apple App Store. In addition to streaming all 39 games live, authenticated users will be able to view highlights and archived World Baseball Classic games from earlier in the tournament. The live streaming will be available beginning with the first game between Australia and Chinese Taipei this Friday, March 1 at 11:30 p.m. ET.

MLB Network is the exclusive English-language telecast partner in the United States for both the 2013 and 2017 World Baseball Classic tournaments. MLB Network televised 16 games of the 2009 World Baseball Classic, just after the networks launch.

About MLB Network:

MLB Network is the ultimate television destination for baseball fans, featuring the Emmy Award-winning MLB Tonight, live games, including Postseason telecasts, original programming, highlights, and insights and analysis from the best in the business, including Bob Costas, Peter Gammons, Jim Kaat, Al Leiter and Harold Reynolds. MLB Network debuted on January 1, 2009 as the largest launch in cable television history and is currently distributed in approximately 70 million homes throughout the U.S. and Puerto Rico. For more information and to find MLB Network in your area, go to www.mlbnetwork.com.

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