2017 World Baseball Classic tickets drawing affordable pricing on resale market

The 2017 Major League Baseball season is rapidly approaching but before we get to that point, there will be other competitive baseball of great interest to fans all over the globe.

That, of course, is the fourth installation of the World Baseball Classic, set to begin on March 6, when 16 nations spanning five continents will battle it out in order to become the next world champion.

Modeled after soccer's World Cup, countries are allocated into groups of four, with the top two advancing from each into another pool that involves teams who advanced from their respective groups. That second grouping then sees the first- and second-place teams from each move on into the Championship Round, where the winner will ultimately be decided.

It all culminates on March 22, when the two countries left standing will go toe-to-toe at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles to decide the tournament's victor.

The WBC happens only once every four years, so it's no surprise to see that tickets to the games have been drumming up a lot of interest on the secondary market. Affordable prices exist across the tournament, too, giving fans all the more reason to partake in the action.

According to data provided by TicketIQ, the aforementioned Championship Game from Chavez Ravine is currently registering a $266 ticket average with the cheapest priced from $54 each. Meanwhile, the two other Championship Round bouts, set to also be hosted in Los Angeles, are hovering around a $200 average, with the least expensive tickets priced at just $32 each.

In all, there will be three American baseball stadiums (Dodger Stadium, Marlins Park and Petco Park) and three international venues (Estadio Charros de Jalisco in Mexico, the Gocheok Sky Dome in South Korea and the Tokyo Dome in Japan) used throughout the tournament depending on what round it is and what pool is involved.

Arguably the best ticket prices can be found in the earlier portion, in which Marlins Park is set to host Pool C games. The cheapest is the very first contest of the Pool C bracket on March 9, when Canada battles the Dominican Republic. Tickets for this affair are currently averaging $63, while the get-in rate is going for as low as $11.

The least expensive game involving the United States squad takes place one day later on March 10, when tickets to see the U.S. collide with Colombia in their opening encounter are averaging $73, with the cheapest going for $12 each.

The Dominican Republic won the last World Baseball Classic back in 2013, but there should be plenty of stiff competition that makes it tough to duplicate. There is precedence for a repeat, however, as Japan took the first two tournaments in 2006 and 2009.

No matter what, with so much quality baseball talent involved from all of the big-time professional leagues all over the world, it will certainly be entertaining, and something that should hold over fans until MLB kicks things off at the onset of April.

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