The World Is Watching, And So Should You
http://www.atomicsportsmedia.com/articles/223/1/The-World-Is-Watching-And-So-Should-You.html
Phil Mattingly
By Phil Mattingly
Published on 03/8/2006
To the rest of the planet, the World Baseball Classic
is a huge event. To Americans, it's just a bunch of exhibition games that might result in injuries to their favorite players. Phil Mattingly thinks we should all stop being selfish and appreciate what everyone else is already a fan of.
The World Baseball Classic is causing a great deal of debate these days. If you ask 10 different people whether it’s good or bad for the game, odds are the answers you’ll get won’t be unanimous. (Unless you are talking to Major League owners and GM’s, then you’ll get 10 votes for bad.)
It is fairly easy to side with ownership, as they pay the contracts of these players. It’s understandable that they don’t want their stars injured in what ultimately amounts to a series of exhibition games. That being said, the World Baseball Classic is absolutely great for baseball fans and the game as a whole. And I am saying this before any of the great matchups have actually occurred.
Something that needs to be remembered is right in the name: World Baseball Classic. The US is truly the minority when it comes to our interest in this battle for world superiority. Latin America eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. Japan is a country that, with its own very successful professional league and impressive roster of exports, has almost as storied a tradition as the Americans.
Granted, many stars have pulled out of the event. Some, like Pedro Martinez, pulled out due to injury and seem genuinely saddened at missing the event. Some, like Manny Ramirez and Aramis Ramirez pulled out for somewhat murky reasons, but are not playing all the same. No one is arguing that a great many of the world’s best players are no longer in the event, but what people are overlooking is the fact that more are still playing than aren’t. A-Rod, Jeter, Tejada, Pujols, Ichiro, Clemens, Beltran, Pudge, Big Papi. These men compose a lineup of the best players at nearly every position in baseball. Add to that the exciting youth movement that will surely surface as minor league prospects take center stage in some of the biggest games and you have an event tailor-made for the fans.
Sure, The Boss is sitting in Tampa throwing a hissy fit about the event taking place, but he might have a point about the timing of the event. Perhaps following the NHL’s Olympic formula of a week-long midseason break for the tournament could be an option in the future, but this is the first WBC ever and the organizing committee should be given a fair amount of time to work out the kinks.
In Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Japan, this event is all that matters right now. It truly is becoming a global phenomenon, precisely what Bud Selig and his colleagues were hoping for when the event was first drawn up. The WBC is great for baseball and if you don’t believe me, just wait until the semi-finals and championship. There will be an international fervor surrounding this event that will be literally unmatched by anything that does not involve a soccer ball.
From a completely selfish standpoint, I finally get to turn on the television at nearly any time of the day and watch some competitive baseball (though the 4 A.M. matchup between Japan and China was rough on my sleep pattern). Any true fan of the game has to appreciate that.
The main thing is that this is great for the game of baseball. Maybe we in the United States are dismissing it at the moment, but the world is not. Perhaps it will take a Dominican vs. USA or Cuba vs. USA championship to light a fire under the fans of American baseball, but one thing is clear, the rest of the world is pretty jacked up about this thing and it is about time we join the party.
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To the rest of the planet, the World Baseball Classic
is a huge event. To Americans, it's just a bunch of exhibition games that might result in injuries to their favorite players. Phil Mattingly thinks we should all stop being selfish and appreciate what everyone else is already a fan of.
|
The World Baseball Classic is causing a great deal of debate these days. If you ask 10 different people whether it’s good or bad for the game, odds are the answers you’ll get won’t be unanimous. (Unless you are talking to Major League owners and GM’s, then you’ll get 10 votes for bad.)
It is fairly easy to side with ownership, as they pay the contracts of these players. It’s understandable that they don’t want their stars injured in what ultimately amounts to a series of exhibition games. That being said, the World Baseball Classic is absolutely great for baseball fans and the game as a whole. And I am saying this before any of the great matchups have actually occurred.
Something that needs to be remembered is right in the name: World Baseball Classic. The US is truly the minority when it comes to our interest in this battle for world superiority. Latin America eats, sleeps, and breathes baseball. Japan is a country that, with its own very successful professional league and impressive roster of exports, has almost as storied a tradition as the Americans.
Granted, many stars have pulled out of the event. Some, like Pedro Martinez, pulled out due to injury and seem genuinely saddened at missing the event. Some, like Manny Ramirez and Aramis Ramirez pulled out for somewhat murky reasons, but are not playing all the same. No one is arguing that a great many of the world’s best players are no longer in the event, but what people are overlooking is the fact that more are still playing than aren’t. A-Rod, Jeter, Tejada, Pujols, Ichiro, Clemens, Beltran, Pudge, Big Papi. These men compose a lineup of the best players at nearly every position in baseball. Add to that the exciting youth movement that will surely surface as minor league prospects take center stage in some of the biggest games and you have an event tailor-made for the fans.
Sure, The Boss is sitting in Tampa throwing a hissy fit about the event taking place, but he might have a point about the timing of the event. Perhaps following the NHL’s Olympic formula of a week-long midseason break for the tournament could be an option in the future, but this is the first WBC ever and the organizing committee should be given a fair amount of time to work out the kinks.
In Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Japan, this event is all that matters right now. It truly is becoming a global phenomenon, precisely what Bud Selig and his colleagues were hoping for when the event was first drawn up. The WBC is great for baseball and if you don’t believe me, just wait until the semi-finals and championship. There will be an international fervor surrounding this event that will be literally unmatched by anything that does not involve a soccer ball.
From a completely selfish standpoint, I finally get to turn on the television at nearly any time of the day and watch some competitive baseball (though the 4 A.M. matchup between Japan and China was rough on my sleep pattern). Any true fan of the game has to appreciate that.
The main thing is that this is great for the game of baseball. Maybe we in the United States are dismissing it at the moment, but the world is not. Perhaps it will take a Dominican vs. USA or Cuba vs. USA championship to light a fire under the fans of American baseball, but one thing is clear, the rest of the world is pretty jacked up about this thing and it is about time we join the party.
Phil Mattingly is a senior at The Ohio State University. He is a sportswriter for the student newspaper, The Lantern. He can be reached at phil.mattingly@atomicsportsmedia.com.