Published by: MLB.com
Written by: Alden Gonzalez
Posted: July 31, 2008

MIAMI — Manny Ramirez may not be playing home games at Dolphin Stadium any time soon, but his native Dominican Republic could make its way to South Florida in the near future.

On Thursday, during a press conference in Los Angeles, it was announced that the Marlins' home stadium will be one of the hosts for the two pools of Round 2 in the 2009 World Baseball Classic from March 14-19 of next year. PETCO Park in San Diego, Calif., will serve as the other host.

“For us to get the second round, we're getting some really good teams,” said Claude Delorme, senior vice president of stadium development for the Marlins. “It’s going to be great games in our pool, and with the international diversity of South Florida, a lot of people are going to see their countries play, whether it’s the Dominican or Venezuela, Puerto Rico, U.S.A, Canada.

“People are going to come out and watch these games, and the passion for their country will certainly be on display.”

The tournament, which will open on March 5 in Tokyo, Japan, and conclude with the semifinals and finals being played at Dodger Stadium, will span five countries, include 16 participating nations and feature 480 of the world’s best baseball players.

For the Marlins, it was a much-needed step in the right direction in the hopes of opening a new stadium in 2011, especially in the wake of a Ramirez deal gone awry, a lawsuit pending on the stadium plan and another year of league-low attendance.

“I think by baseball selecting us, it's sending a nice message to everybody about how strongly they feel about Miami and the support we have for baseball,” said Delorme, a day after the Marlins drew 20,000-plus fans three weekday nights in a row when the Mets were in town. “I think it exemplifies MLB’s dedication to Miami, and I think it’s a great step for us.”

With the prominence of Hispanic culture in South Florida, a tournament with numerous Latin American countries being played in Miami was pretty much a no-brainer.

“I think it's huge,” Delorme said. “We have to sell baseball at the grassroots level, and our fan base has to grow significantly by the time we get into the new facility. And the more people who are exposed to baseball, I think it helps us sell the game to people and helps people become a fan of baseball.”

The Marlins originally submitted a proposal to be a host venue in 2006, but they were rejected. They gave it another shot last August.

“I was confident that we had a really good chance just because the efforts and the quality of our proposal, both financially and with the detail we attended to it,” Delorme said. “I feel like we responded very favorably to all the expectations.

“This is the gateway to the Americas, and I think it was a natural destination for MLB.”

Rounds 1-2 of the Classic will feature a double-elimination format, with the first two teams with two losses being eliminated from competition and the two remaining from each pool moving on. The winners of each round-two pool will play the opposite pool’s runner-up in two single-elimination semifinal games. The winners of the semifinal games will then advance to the one-game tournament final to compete for the championship.

The World Baseball Classic began in 2006 and will be played every four years. Tokyo and San Diego were selected to serve as host venues for the second straight time.

So, the question is: Can it be Miami again?

“We hope so,” Delorme said. “We hope to demonstrate the uniqueness of our location, the quality of the diversity of this marketplace, and we think that combination with the timing of the season, with tourism at its peak, can generate positive results.

“I think they’ll be highly motivated to think about us again in the future to host the games.”

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