Spring Training baseball is in full swing, with all 30 major-league teams starting to trim down their rosters and last-minute free agents being signed. But while the Cactus and Grapefruit Leagues have been bustling with activity, a lot of baseball is being played on the other side of the world.
The 2013 World Baseball Classic began last week with games in Japan and China, and today is adding games in the US and Puerto Rico. The WBC is in its third season, having been played in 2006 and 2009 (and both won by Japan). This year, sixteen countries are represented and divided into four pools - pools A and B have already narrowed down their 8 teams to 4 and pools C and D start their action today. In pool A, Cuba and Japan have advanced, with Brazil and China going home. In pool B, the Netherlands and Chinese Tai Pei have moved on, with Australia and Korea being eliminated. Pool C includes the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Spain, and Venezuela, and pool D has the US, Canada, Italy, and Mexico.
So what have I seen of the WBC so far? Well, many of the games were either really late at night or very early in the morning, but thanks to a recent snow day, I was able to watch most of the game between Cuba and Japan. I also watched bits of a game between the Netherlands and Korea, and I also caught some action between China and the Netherlands on another occasion. The one thing that caught my attention the most is the enthusiasm of the Asian fans. In all the games in which Asian teams played (granted, the games were either in Japan or China), spectators blew whistles, beat on their thunder sticks, and even had a whole brass section during one of the games. They have very organized and synchronized cheers, especially when their guys are batting. And even when the Cuban team was winning 6-0 in the ninth inning, the Japanese fans were still in the game, waving their handheld flags and carrying on. Something tells me that if I try to bring a trumpet to a Nationals game, my husband would have to pick me up in the holding cell after the game was over.
But as excited as some fans are about the World Baseball Classic (trust me - I'm going to be glued to the TV when Puerto Rico debuts in this year's WBC in their game against Spain tomorrow), the Classic has received a lot of criticism. Tim Dahlberg of the Associated Press says that the schedule is manipulated to favor the US. I tend to agree with him on that one - the US has to beat teams from Canada, Italy, and Mexico in order to advance, while powerhouses like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico are all in the same bracket. The US team did not make it to the finals in either of the first two WBC tournaments - proof that Lebron James can win an Olympic gold medal but Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter can't beat the Japanese.
Another criticism of the WBC is that it is played smack in the middle of Spring Training, when pitchers are not yet ready to pitch in true game form (hence the pitch count limit - 60 in the first round, 80 in the second, and 95 in the semis and finals) and hitters would rather bask in the Florida and Arizona sun earning their millions while slowly getting into baseball shape. I don't think there is an ideal time to have the WBC - no matter when you hold it, someone is going to complain about the players not being ready, being too tired or run down, etc. I recently heard someone suggest they hold the WBC during the All-Star break - that person must not have realized that the break is only 4 days long and the WBC takes two weeks to play.
Dahlberg also whines about the lack of big-league talent in Team USA: "No Clayton Kershaw, no Bryce Harper. Mike Trout and Josh Hamilton are busy elsewhere. Justin Verlander had other plans." Well guess what? David Wright will be there, as will Ryan Braun, Adam Jones, Giancarlo Stanton, and pitchers Gio Gonzalez, and RA Dickey. Not too shabby, people - stop whining because Robinson Canó will be playing for the Dominican Republic and Joey Votto is representing Team Canada (did you know he was CANADIAN? I had NO IDEA!). Why is it that any time a US team is touted as an underdog, people have to whine and make up excuses? I come from Puerto Rico, where we are very nationalistic about our sports teams, but we're also used to not always winning. Hey, we're happy to be there and we'll hoot and holler like the Asians, but if we don't make it very far, life will go on.
Speaking of Team Puerto Rico, the squad is full of young talent with a sprinkling of big-leaguers like Carlos Beltrán, Yadier Molina, and Angel Pagán. It doesn't look like the team is as strong as in years past, when they made it to the semifinals, but like I said, I'd be happy regardless of how they did, as long as I can wear my Team Puerto Rico t-shirt and wave my flag. And if Team Puerto Rico gets eliminated, I will still watch the rest of the Classic.
Where can you watch every single WBC game? In the MLB Network, which for those of you with Comcast in the Frederick area, it's channel 738. Some people think it's too remote a channel for casual fans to catch, but it's college basketball playoffs time, and you're not going to get ESPN to give that up. I'm just happy I didn't have to do what I did in 2009, when I had to buy the premium "latino" bundle for a month so I could watch more WBC games. And if people still don't think the WBC is a good idea, then perhaps the International Olympic Committee can bring baseball back to the summer Olympics, which is really where international baseball belongs.
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