Pride in the WBC
I'm a big international baseball guy and for me the WBC is about as good as it gets right now. A little while back I read a piece mentioning that the WBC isn't all its cracked up to be because of the conflict with spring training. This is a good point and I used to take the same perspective.
Looking at the teams present in the WBC however got me thinking about the various leagues around the world and the impact that the WBC has on those leagues.
The Cubans shut down their league to prepare for the WBC. I know it isn't the financial juggernaut that MLB is but regardless the entire country's baseball addiction is put on hold for this event. Japanese players Matsuzaka, Ichiro, and Kenji Johjima have made the sacrifice to play for their clubs including preparation that began in December. The lucrative Japanese league also sacrifices their top talent to attend the WBC rather than stay and participate in league play.
Every country must face different challenges just to field a team and you can never please everyone. Assuming that the point of this tournament is to determine which country has the best baseball team I think it is fair to say that a country's ability to field the best team is part of that determination. Rather than slam the tournament for not having the best players participating in it why not applaud the teams which have success and are able to get better players.
Today I read a quote from Davey Johnson basically saying that if the U.S. team ran out of players at a position he would forfeit games rather than risk future injury to players who would have to play out of position. The Japanese coaching staff would be lynched if they were quoted saying such things. The big league mentality needs to be removed from the picture when it comes to the WBC. Up to now it seems the U.S. assumes it is the dominant baseball country and that when or if they don't win, it's because they couldn't field the best team.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda! Not being able to field the best possible team is a sign to me that maybe that country isn't the best.
Leading up to the WBC all the players asked to participate always talk about all the pride and honor of wearing USA across their chest. Yet when push comes to shove they will leave a game at the slightest twinge of pain because they don't want to be damaged commodities when the season rolls around. This to me says they are putting their team (employer) before country. We should applaud the countries that take the opposite appoach and recognize that the team that wins is indeed the best. The WBC is the best event baseball has ever had to determine a true global champion. The results of it shouldn't be slighted because some guy making $10 million a year pulled a hamstring.
Looking at the teams present in the WBC however got me thinking about the various leagues around the world and the impact that the WBC has on those leagues.
The Cubans shut down their league to prepare for the WBC. I know it isn't the financial juggernaut that MLB is but regardless the entire country's baseball addiction is put on hold for this event. Japanese players Matsuzaka, Ichiro, and Kenji Johjima have made the sacrifice to play for their clubs including preparation that began in December. The lucrative Japanese league also sacrifices their top talent to attend the WBC rather than stay and participate in league play.
Every country must face different challenges just to field a team and you can never please everyone. Assuming that the point of this tournament is to determine which country has the best baseball team I think it is fair to say that a country's ability to field the best team is part of that determination. Rather than slam the tournament for not having the best players participating in it why not applaud the teams which have success and are able to get better players.
Today I read a quote from Davey Johnson basically saying that if the U.S. team ran out of players at a position he would forfeit games rather than risk future injury to players who would have to play out of position. The Japanese coaching staff would be lynched if they were quoted saying such things. The big league mentality needs to be removed from the picture when it comes to the WBC. Up to now it seems the U.S. assumes it is the dominant baseball country and that when or if they don't win, it's because they couldn't field the best team.
Woulda, coulda, shoulda! Not being able to field the best possible team is a sign to me that maybe that country isn't the best.
Leading up to the WBC all the players asked to participate always talk about all the pride and honor of wearing USA across their chest. Yet when push comes to shove they will leave a game at the slightest twinge of pain because they don't want to be damaged commodities when the season rolls around. This to me says they are putting their team (employer) before country. We should applaud the countries that take the opposite appoach and recognize that the team that wins is indeed the best. The WBC is the best event baseball has ever had to determine a true global champion. The results of it shouldn't be slighted because some guy making $10 million a year pulled a hamstring.
posted by Andy Johnson at 10:27 AM
2 Comments:
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