Santo Domingo.– Los Angeles will be one of the venues for the semifinals and finals of the Second World Baseball Classic (WBC) in March, 2009, while San Diego and Miami will be the scene for second round games.

The announcement was made at a press conference held at Dodger Stadium by Gene Orza, head of the Office of Operations of the Major League Players Association, which was one of the organizers of the first Classic in 2006.

The 16 teams will once again play in four groups. Pool A involves the Asian teams (Japan, the current WBC Champ, Chinese Taipei, South Korea and China), with the Tokyo Dome as its first round venue. Pool B: Cuba, Mexico, Australia and South Africa, will play in the Foro Sol Stadium in Mexico City.

The first two teams of each of those groups will then travel to San Diego for second round play at the same Petco Park Stadium.

Pool C includes the United States, Venezuela, Canada and Italy and plays their first round in Toronto, Canada. Pool D, with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Holland and Panama will open at the Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The top two teams of each of those groups will play their round two in Miami at the Dolphins Stadium.