World Baseball Classic? A Classic Joke

Everyone can now breathe a sigh of relief. Alex Rodriguez has finally succumbed to intense pressure from Major League Baseball, and, as a generous good will act to fans across the world, has decided that he will play in the World Baseball Classic this March. I think I speak for everyone when I say “Alex, nobody cares.”
You have to give Bud Selig credit for trying. He really wants his brainchild to be an overwhelming success. Unfortunately, the idea was ill-conceived from the start. The biggest reason is that the Major Leagues is it’s own melting pot. There is no way the World Baseball Classic could ever match soccer’s World Cup, because all the best baseball players in the world play in the same league, and see each other every day. Part of the World Cup’s mystique is gathering the world’s best players all under one roof every four years and giving countries a chance to say “Look at how far we’ve come; look at how much better our stars are than yours.” If you watch Soccer and you’ve noticed America gradually gaining more credibility with every passing World Cup, you will know what I’m talking about.

With baseball, we all know which countries are the best, because we see the best players every day for 10 months a year. One glance at the rosters and you know who the two best teams are; USA and The Dominican Republic, surprise, surprise. There is no mystique and no new stars to see, and thus no reason to be excited for anything more than a passionate exhibition contest. Even Cuba, the one country (save maybe Japan) that might shine the light on some blooming stars, is excluded by the U.S. from participating. Wonderful. Fans from Latin American countries, who don’t see their stars play everyday and don’t often get the chance to watch their best face their neighbors in the national sport, may be more excited about the Classic. But don’t expect fans in the U.S. to look at this game as anything more than an All-Star Game at the wrong time of the year.

Why is it the wrong time of year? For a simple reason- pitching. If baseball wants to see it’s everyday players play more meaningful games in March than the regular Spring Training games, then I don’t think anyone would object. After all, position players can get their at bats, take some grounders, and in a sense go through the motions. But shouldn’t we concerned about our pitcher’s arms? If the commissioner gets his wish and the tournament becomes an impassioned, patriotic battle, then who is going to take the fall when a pitcher gets hurt? If a pitcher comes into the game feeling too much pride to serve up long balls all day, how is his spring training arm going to respond to his mid-season curveball? I cringe just thinking about it. And even if a pitcher on the roster takes this game seriously and speeds up his off-season routine to coincide with the games, what is going to happen in September when his arm is blown out for the playoffs? Notice how no Yankee pitchers are on the rosters? Wouldn’t it have made more sense to play out this charade after the World Series, a la NFL’s pro bowl? I just don’t get it, Bud.

There is no doubt that the Latin American countries take tremendous pride in their baseball abilities, and there is a good chance that the tournament may catch some wind in that region, especially if it’s players take the games as seriously as they took the Home Run Derby. I’m pretty sure the Japanese might be pretty enthused as well. But does anybody really see that happening in the United States? Will people be holding up the American flag and driving their players to victory? It will never happen, and it’s pretty simple. The Major League Baseball is a long one, and all of the best players in the world flock to America to play for fan’s favorite teams. For Americans, the only rivalries are between cities like Boston and New York, or San Francisco and L.A. The country sport is too widespread and team loyalties are too established to feel any sense of nationalist pride in a worldwide event. Does anyone expect a Mets fan to root for Roger Clemens over Pedro Martinez? It would never happen. Fans may watch the Championship game with a feigned interest, but we’ll see players as All-Stars, and not as Americans.

There is a reason that baseball was pulled as an Olympic sport. Worldwide events in the game don’t work, and this ill-conceived Classic will be no different. It will be a nice treat to see an All-Star game as a warmup to March, providing no pitcher gets blows his arm out. But Major League baseball is trying to market this tournament as a game-changing event, and it’s just not going to fly. The fact that Rodriguez couldn’t select a team until today, even though he was born in New York and has lived in the United States his whole life, alludes to the amount of national pride budding in America towards this tournament. Knock yourself out AROD, but don’t think you are doing me or any other baseball fans any favors by playing for us.