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2009 World Baseball Classic = Success

2009 world baseball classic logoDynasty had one of its clients, Paul Rutgers, perform in the World Baseball Classic.  While his team of South Africa did not last long in the tournament, Rutgers at least showed off his dancing skills (I hope the producers of Dancing with the Stars were watching!).  Beyond Rutgers and his dancing, the World Baseball Classic was a huge success.  Here are some numbers from the WBC that Joe Favorito sent over to me:

  • The Final between Japan and Korea on March 23 drew 54,846 fans, the largest crowd in World Baseball Classic history.
  • A total of 141,854 fans attended the three games in Los Angeles over Championship weekend…43,630 fans attended the Japan vs. United States Semi-Final on March 22, the second largest-crowd in World Baseball Classic history.
  • ESPN’s telecasts of this year’s semifinals (Korea vs. Venezuela Saturday, March 21, and USA vs. Japan Sunday, March 22) and final (Korea vs. Japan, Monday, March 23) averaged 1,820,000 viewers (up 24 percent) and a 1.4 rating (up eight percent).
  • In Japan, the Final earned a 36.4 rating despite starting at 10:30 AM on Tuesday morning.
  • Sunday night’s telecast of Japan vs. USA on ESPN was the most-watched World Baseball Classic telecast in U.S. history by posting a 2.2 rating.
  • The 2.2 rating of Japan vs. USA more than doubled the 1.0 rating both semifinals produced in 2006.
  • Japan vs. USA was the most watched sports event on North American cable television last week.
  • More than 15,000 fans watched the Final from Jamsil Baseball Stadium in Seoul, South Korea.

By Darren Heitner

Darren Heitner created Sports Agent Blog as a New Year's Resolution on December 31, 2005. Originally titled, "I Want To Be A Sports Agent," the website was founded with the intention of causing Heitner to learn more about the profession that he wanted to join, meet reputable individuals in the space and force himself to stay on top of the latest news and trends.

Heitner now runs Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., which is a law firm with many practice areas, including sports law and contract law. Heitner has represented numerous athletes and sports agents as legal counsel. He has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 2011-2014, where he created and taught a course titled, Sport Agency Management, which included subjects ranging from NCAA regulations to athlete agent certification and the rules governing the profession. Heitner serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law, where he teaches a Sports Law class that includes case law surrounding athlete agents and the NCAA rules.