I admit it — I'm geeked for the World Baseball Classic. I snuck-watched a few Pool A games from Tokyo, which aired live on TV at the wee hours of the morning.
But I've also noticed that a lot of people have been critical of this inaugural tournament, probably for good reason. So I decided to strike a dialogue with one of these critics with a Blogcritic, sportswriter and Indians fan Zach Baker.
Matt Sussman:
There’s been a lot of criticism about the World Baseball Classic, which began March 3 in Japan and will start in the Western Hemisphere on March 7. But my personal sentiments on this are summed up best by Will Leitch of Deadspin:
We know it’s not a real competition, and we don’t think it will crown a true champion. But so what? It’s Albert Pujols, David Ortiz and Alfonso Soriano in the same lineup. It’s Roger Clemens pitching against people from South Africa. Jeez … it’s baseball on TV in March!
I for one am excited to see how it will shape up. Since there’s no more baseball in the Olympics (for now), this is the only framework we have to see international competition at all, and it will simply improve every four years. It's good for baseball in the 16 countries participating as well as in countries not in the tournament.
So Zach, what do you have against this inaugural tournament?
Zach Baker:
It's interesting for me to write a piece against something that puts more baseball on television in the month of March. Anyone who knows me is aware that I'm a baseball fanatic. I get the extra innings cable package, even though I can see my favorite team without it. I have the entire Ken Burns Baseball documentary on DVD.
Basically, baseball is a passion of mine.
Still, my problems with the World Baseball Classic have nothing to do with the idea itself. It's a nice little idea that could produce a much-needed boost for the sport.
But Major League Baseball is involved. And that's huge problem. The first problem is the fact that the whole thing seems so hastily and sloppily put together that the organizers of the first Woodstock would be frightened by it. It was announced less than a year ago, and everything has been rushed since then.
Now, this approach would have been great for the steroid issue, but for a worldwide competition, it leaves much to be desired.
Article comments
1 - Felipe Alou
I am back!!!!
Thank god for the World Baseball Classic. As you know, I am so old my brain has turned into Cream of Wheat. Normally this would mean another horrible season for my Gigantes.
BUT the WBC is here, and you know what that means??? Not many (any?) Giants are playing in the WBC, while stars of other teams ARE. And then after the WBC, they have to get back to spring training.
If we are lucky, many NL superstars will get season-ending injuries meaning that my other son Pedro Feliz (most say he stinks, but I say he is the Dominican Barry Bonds) will be NL MVP and the Giants will go all the way!
Hooray for the World Baseball Classic! The more star injuries the better!
- Brain Dead Carribean
2 - Victor Lana
Interesting note to add about this WBC thing. The Yankees have (the ownership not the players) apologized to their fans that stars like Jeter and Rodriguez are not there to be seen at spring training due to the WBC.
Needless to say, Bud Selig is not a happy camper and is set to "meet" with Steingrubber. Stay tuned.
3 - Matthew T. Sussman
Bah. Teeny tiny potatoes. What about the Angels and their 12 roster players? How about the fact that Team Italy is mainly from the US? Now that's comedy.
Korea and Japan made it to Round 2. I also susped that the U.S. and Mexico come out of Pool B, Cuba and Panama out of Pool C, and the D.R. and Venezuela out of D. Sorry, no upsets here.
4 - Gary Garland
First, on the Korean reunification remark, North and South are still two different countries. And pro baseball is in a very tenuous position in South Korea and needs all the help it can get. Soccer and basketball are the preferred sports for most young people there.
Having said that, I've been extremely critical of the planning, or more truthfully, lack of it, for the WBC. Generally, when you have a large undertaking, you want to have every t crossed and i dotted well in advance before you begin to execute it. That the tv deal with ESPN (which discriminates against Asians and english speakers, but I digress) was announced barely a month before the Asia Round got underway was emblematic of the half assed manner in which this thing is being run.
I'll have more thoughts on it when I wrap up the Asia Round on my site Wednesday, but suffice to say, both MLB and ESPN are going to be in for a fair amount of stick. And the solution is getting rid of Bud Selig and, dare I say it, making somebody like Bobby Valentine, if not actually Bobby himself, the Commissioner. Now that baseball wants to be a global entity, you have to move on beyond small minded car dealers like Selig, who are relics of an era that ended 10-15 years ago or more, and get somebody who not only has some international experience, but can look at it in a wholistic way from the standpoint of what the players need and what management requires. Right now, there is nobody like that in the top layers of MLB. And THAT is the problem. It's the vision thing. And Bud is Mr. Magoo.
5 - Matthew T. Sussman
Gary, I don't know how the TV deal is discriminatory against any language, especially since MLB athletes are playing for most of the 16 teams. Four games will be shown live on ESPN/2, two of those games featuring the U.S., as well as Venezuela/DR this afternoon and Cuba/Panama tomorrow. And ESPN Deportes will air virtually every game.
And I'm curious how the TV coverage discriminated against Asia. They play games live when America is asleep. So either they have to tape delay the games or show them live at 2 a.m. -- and they did both. How do you mean that they're discriminatory?
And Selig is another story.
6 - Zach Baker
For the record, I know they're two separate countries. It was an attempt at humor.
7 - DJRadiohead
The idea is a good one, a great one even. The execution? A little less so. So do you wait until you get the perfect answer (in other words never do it) or do you try it and hope to improve things and learn from mistakes?
I love the Classic and hope it catches fire.
8 - Zach Baker
OK, I'll admit it. This US/Canada game is interesting.
9 - Joseph Floyd
Anybody who would have the audacity to suggest that people don't care about the WBC should have seen the Dominican Republic-Venezuela game.
With regard to the criticisms, sure the timing and organization have been bad, but since the players union won't allow anything that reduces their off-season, March really was the only possibility. For all the flaws, people need to be willing to make sacrifices for this to work. I don't like the pitch-count rule that much, but it does add an interesting element of strategy. Its hard to argue against the mercy-rule (who really wants to watch a 10-inning game).
The cheap-shot jokes about this tournament have proven false.
Many of the countries that had no chance of advancing have played very respectably (particularly Panama). The beauty of baseball is its unpredictability and that has been demonstrated in this tournament on many occassions; by an obsucre 40-year old Panamanian pitcher from the Taiwanese league shutting down Puerto Rico, by a couple of minor leaguers (Adam Loewen, Adam Stern) leading Canada to its upset over the U.S.. Contrary to popular opinion, South Africa didn't come with cricket bats. Furthermore, their hasn't been an international incident from members of the Cuban team defecting. Sure, you can joke about the fact that Italy is represented by Americans. However, this is perfectly fine according to the established rules of international sports. Furthermore, Italian law allow individuals whose grandparents were born in Italy to become citizens without residency or language requirements.
Sure, this is a marketing scheme, partly designed to sell jerseys and t-shirts. What else is the Olympics? Its questionable if the global-popularity of baseball is sufficient to merit it being part of the Olympics. However, rugby and cricket, neither one of which are in the Olympics, have World Cup competitions that are integral to the sport, why shouldn't baseball?
10 - Matthew T. Sussman
You gotta start somewhere, Joseph. Perhaps it will be more accepted in Aught-Nine.