About half the available tickets for the semis and finals of the World Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium have been sold, but organizers expect a surge of interest once the final four is set.
About half the available tickets for the semis and finals of the World Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium have been sold, but organizers expect a surge of interest once the final four is set.
"I do expect to see large crowds in Los Angeles based on what we’ve seen," Paul Archey, the MLB official running the tourney, told the Los Angeles Times. "We’re excited about Los Angeles. We’re happy where we’re at."
The United States, Venezuela, Korea and Japan comprise the final four after Japan eliminated Cuba in a late game last night.
The WBC has averaged 18,589 fans a game, up some 20 percent from the first tournament. Moving many games from spring-training venues in Arizona and Florida to Toronto certainly helped those numbers.
Still, there’s expected to be some fallout after further injuries to WBC participants. The latest: Red Sox star Kevin Youkilis is returning to the Red Sox training camp after suffering an ankle strain in a semifinal win over Puerto Rico. Chipper Jones, Matt Lindstrom, Dustin Pedroia and Ryan Braun are among the other players injured in the tourney.