Link Dump 02/02: Groundhog's Day

A: The following criteria will govern player eligibility in the World Baseball Classic:

• The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents, as evidenced by a valid passport the player holds as of January 15, 2006; or
  
• The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents, as evidenced by documentation satisfactory to World Baseball Classic Inc. and the IBAF; or
  
• The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents, as evidenced by a birth certificate or its equivalent; or
  
• The player has one parent who is, or if deceased was, a citizen of the nation the team represents, as evidenced by a passport or other documentation satisfactory to World Baseball Classic Inc. and the IBAF; or
  
• The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents, as evidenced by a birth certificate or its equivalent.

A: Each National Federation, in cooperation with the professional leagues in each country/territory (to the extent that such an organization exists), selects the players that will represent their team. The selection of all players under contract with MLB Clubs must be approved by World Baseball Classic, Inc., the tournament entity jointly governed by MLB and the MLBPA.

"They said that somehow they went through and my name has some kind of Dutch descent," said a bemused Haren before Saturday's A's FanFest. "I immediately called my parents and asked them why I would be included in that. They kind of laughed. They didn't know, and we still don't know how I was included."