If you watch next month’s World Baseball Classic, you will be in distinguished company.
Beside you on America’s couch will be:
Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, Corey Seager, Madison Bumgarner, Max Scherzer, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Mookie Betts and Josh Donaldson.
Also: Kyle Hendricks, Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Zach Britton, Jake Arrieta, Noah Syndergaard, Bryce Harper, Jon Lester and Rick Porcello.
Of the 14 American pitchers who ranked highest in WHIP during the 2016 season, only one (Danny Duffy) will be on Team USA. Of the eight American hitters who ranked highest in OPS during that season, only one will be playing (Daniel Murphy), although Freddie Freeman will play for Canada in the WBC.
Actually, there’s no guarantee that you, they or a lot of other people will be watching WBC 4, which will conclude in Dodger Stadium March 20-22.
This is not a world problem. It’s an American problem. Team USA never has finished higher than fourth in any of the three WBCs. In 2013 it was beaten by the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, which is not a disgrace, but those countries didn’t have all their best players either. The Dominican Republic eventually won the championship without David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Johnny Cueto and Adrian Beltre.
Puerto Rico’s Nelson Figueroa, who was 38 and finished his major league career with a 20-35 record, mystified the Americans in the elimination game.
The Dominicans beat the Puerto Ricans in the 2013 finals and the hugs and tears were authentic.
The Japanese also partied hard when they won the first two WBCs, with Daisuke Matsuzaka the MVP in both.
Their loss to Korea in the 2006 preliminary round was one of the half dozen best games played in Angel Stadium, before a fired-up crowd of 39,269.
Their finals victory in 2009 over Korea in Dodger Stadium, a 10-inning win before 54,479, was just as precise and gripping.
But even Japan will be playing this WBC without its major-league stars.
Meanwhile, the U.S. lost to Canada and Mexico in preliminary games in 2006 and was out, even though it had Chipper Jones, Roger Clemens and Ken Griffey Jr. Three years later Japan savaged Roy Oswalt in the semifinals and ousted the Americans 9-4.
Among those who said yes to this Team USA are Giancarlo Stanton, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, Buster Posey and Murphy. Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich, from Westlake, is on the list. So is Alex Bregman, the Houston infielder who was drafted in 2015 and splashed into the big leagues last summer.
It’s a short, funky format, with a pool of “designated pitchers” who can’t be used for more than one round. It’s always a crapshoot when you crush a long-term game such as baseball into a couple of weeks. So it’s no use predicting, even with the stacked Dominican and Puerto Rican rosters.
The most interesting moment might be when Canadian manager Ernie Whitt walks to the mound and raises his hand for Eric Gagne, who won the Cy Young Award for the Dodgers in 2003 and was done after 2008. Make sure “Welcome To The Jungle” is available.
No one can rationally blame Trout & Co. for taking a pass. They’re paid to play most of a 162-game schedule. Even though spring training is a seven-week boondoggle, they all have their game plans for Opening Day. And many of them have already done their part for the U.S. in youth tournaments.
The truth is that the WBC is a theory in search of an application. You can’t really contrast it to the bitterly-fought Olympic hockey tournament, played in the midst of an NHL season, or even the World Cup that preceded this regular season. After all, that would be comparing baseball to hockey.
Scott Boras had the best idea for the WBC. He suggested that the U.S. assemble its finest Double-A prospects, the way it does for the Futures Games during the All-Star break. Train them for a couple of months and then throw them into the WBC as pure underdogs, right out of the Mike Eruzione playbook.
If they lose, so what? If they win, it’s one shining moment, and you’ve already marketed a bunch of recognizable kids for the majors.
Or Team USA could go 25-and-under, taking the lead from the fabulously entertaining Team America in hockey’s World Cup. The lineup could include Trout, Bryant, Arenado, Yelich, Harper, Seager, Addison Russell, Jake Lamb, Wil Myers and go from there.
Instead the WBC will give the MLB Network some fodder and the merchandisers some T-shirt inventory. It seemed to deliver so much more, when it was just an dream.
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