The biggest surprise in the first round was the Netherlands, which twice defeated the Dominican Republic in Pool D to advance.

South Korea and Japan then advanced to the final game, playing each other for the fifth time in the tournament (split 2–2 up to that time), and Japan emerged victorious for the second straight Classic, winning the final game 5–3 in 10 innings.

For the second straight Classic, Daisuke Matsuzaka was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

[1] Whereas previously the teams played in round-robin competition in the first two rounds, this time they took part in a double-elimination format, similar to the U.S. College World Series sponsored by the NCAA.

This change was made to eliminate the complicated tiebreaking procedures,[2] which were required for one of the pools in each of the first two rounds in 2006.

[2] The championship round process was otherwise unchanged, with each semifinal being a single elimination match, the victors meeting in the final to determine the tournament champion.

All three championship round games were held at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

Each participating national federation had a deadline of January 19, 2009, to submit a 45-man provisional roster.

Final rosters of 28 players, which was required to include a minimum of 13 pitchers and two catchers, were submitted on February 24.

If a player on the submitted roster was unable to play, usually due to injury, he could be substituted at any time before the start of the tournament.

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the IBAF World Rankings at the time of the tournament.

As was introduced in Major League Baseball during the 2008 season, replays were only used to adjudicate on home run decisions, to determine whether the ball was fair or foul, over the fence or not, and the impact of fan interference.

However, this rule was never actually employed in this year's Classic, as the two extra-inning games in the tournament ended prior to a 13th inning.