Officials view rules for World Classic

Mike Piazza could be eligible to catch for the Italian team.
INDIAN WELLS, Calif. (AP) -- Mike Piazza would be eligible to catch for Italy in the inaugural World Baseball Classic next year under eligibility rules being discussed by the commissioner's office and the players' association.
The sport is considering adopting rules that allow the most latitude, a high-ranking baseball official said Monday after arriving at the annual meeting of big league general managers.
In addition, the commissioner's office and the union planned to complete the sites for the tournament today, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the of the pending announcement.
Tournament sites
Chase Field in Phoenix (formerly Bank One Ballpark) and Scottsdale Stadium will join the Tokyo Dome, Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and the Atlanta Braves' spring training ballpark in Kissimmee, Fla., as first-round sites.
Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., will be used with Bithorn Stadium as a second-round site for the tournament, to be played from March 3-20. The semifinals and the final will be at San Diego's Petco Park, baseball and the union said in September.
For soccer's World Cup, players must be a citizen of a country and hold a passport for that country to participate. Rather than let each nation's eligibility rules be the determinant, baseball will likely apply the broadest rules of any participating country to all teams in the 16-nation event.
Rules lower U.S. quality
Under these rules, players born in the Dominican Republic who are United States citizens still would be eligible to be on the Dominican team. These rules probably will lower the quality of the U.S. team and boost the depth of other nations in the tournament.
While rules have not been finalized, among the ways players could be eligible for a team would be if they hold a passport, were born in the country, have a parent who was born in that country or they had residency in that country.
"The union told us they determined that Mike could play for the Italian team," said Piazza's agent, Dan Lozano. He was unsure of the specific reason why Piazza, who was born in Norristown, Pa., was eligible.
Baseball hopes to announce at the winter meetings in December commitments from players to participate.
"Eligibility rules are still being discussed. It will be similar to the IBAF rules," said Paul Archey, senior vice president of Major League Baseball International, referring to the International Baseball Federation.
General managers arrived Sunday and Monday for the five-day session. With seven teams changing their top baseball operations person since August, many clubs are still formulating their off-season plans. Agent Scott Boras predicted that will lead to a slow market for free-agent signings.
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