World Baseball Classic
For the past few weeks well-played, important, meaningful baseball games have been going on. Yet the general public really has no idea.
Most baseball fans are more interested in what's happening in spring training, or getting ready for their fantasy drafts. Few "real" fans are watching some of the most enjoyable baseball on TV in years. The participants are thoroughly enjoying themselves, and it shows in the high quality of baseball that is being played. Yet, it seems no one is paying attention.
Early round games played in Puerto Rico were met with nearly sold out crowds of boisterous supporters. Second round play consisted of nearly half empty stadiums in Florida, followed by semi-finals (and todays final) played in front of a large Asian crowd in L.A.. Where are the American fans? Are we so caught up in the Fantasy world of baseball that we can't show a little national pride and support a group of players who are putting getting ready for the season on hold to represent their country.
Where else can you find an infield of hated rivals (Youkilis, Pedroia, Jeter and Wright) all playing together. Only in the WBC, yet the tournament is barely a blip on the sports radar. The tournament seems to be a great source of pride to the Asian and Latin American teams (although the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan teams all were eliminated), but not so much for the U.S.. Could it be that these other nations cultivate and develop more home grown talent than the United States. It's pretty regular to see baseball academies (usually funded by big league players, Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Ichiro) outside of the United States. This helps cultivate a passion for baseball on the grassroots level. It's not something we see in the U.S.... why?
Here in the United States its been widely reported about the lack of African Americans in baseball. It used to be that the best black athletes would become baseball players (Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Dave Winfield each lettered in multiple sports in school and each chose baseball) that is definitely not the case anymore. MLB has taken great strides over the past few years by developing R.B.I (Reviving Baseball in Innercities) but the two biggest names I see supporting it are Torii Hunter and Jimmy Rollins. Frankly put, American MLB players must do more. They have to reach out to the fan and bring them back to the game (especially the younger fans). We have to do as much nationally to cultivate the next generation of talent as they do around the world. Until then there will be no national pride in America's Game.
I think the WBC can be summed up in two moments. First you have Yadier Molina (of the St. Louis Cardinals) who claimed his game winning hit against the Netherlands was the most meaningful hit of his career. This is someone who has hit a homerun to send the Cardinals to the World Series a few years ago, yet advancing the Puerto Ricans to the second round was more meaningful. The second was the jubilation in the United States teams celebration when they came from behind with a 9th inning rally to beat the United States. Mets, RedSox, Phillies and Yankees, all putting pro-team difference s aside to celebrate as one team... Americans. Hopefully America starts to notice what the rest of the world already seems to know, baseball is still the greatest sport on the planet.
Most baseball fans are more interested in what's happening in spring training, or getting ready for their fantasy drafts. Few "real" fans are watching some of the most enjoyable baseball on TV in years. The participants are thoroughly enjoying themselves, and it shows in the high quality of baseball that is being played. Yet, it seems no one is paying attention.
Early round games played in Puerto Rico were met with nearly sold out crowds of boisterous supporters. Second round play consisted of nearly half empty stadiums in Florida, followed by semi-finals (and todays final) played in front of a large Asian crowd in L.A.. Where are the American fans? Are we so caught up in the Fantasy world of baseball that we can't show a little national pride and support a group of players who are putting getting ready for the season on hold to represent their country.
Where else can you find an infield of hated rivals (Youkilis, Pedroia, Jeter and Wright) all playing together. Only in the WBC, yet the tournament is barely a blip on the sports radar. The tournament seems to be a great source of pride to the Asian and Latin American teams (although the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rican and Venezuelan teams all were eliminated), but not so much for the U.S.. Could it be that these other nations cultivate and develop more home grown talent than the United States. It's pretty regular to see baseball academies (usually funded by big league players, Carlos Beltran, Pedro Martinez, Ichiro) outside of the United States. This helps cultivate a passion for baseball on the grassroots level. It's not something we see in the U.S.... why?
Here in the United States its been widely reported about the lack of African Americans in baseball. It used to be that the best black athletes would become baseball players (Willie Mays, Jackie Robinson, Dave Winfield each lettered in multiple sports in school and each chose baseball) that is definitely not the case anymore. MLB has taken great strides over the past few years by developing R.B.I (Reviving Baseball in Innercities) but the two biggest names I see supporting it are Torii Hunter and Jimmy Rollins. Frankly put, American MLB players must do more. They have to reach out to the fan and bring them back to the game (especially the younger fans). We have to do as much nationally to cultivate the next generation of talent as they do around the world. Until then there will be no national pride in America's Game.
I think the WBC can be summed up in two moments. First you have Yadier Molina (of the St. Louis Cardinals) who claimed his game winning hit against the Netherlands was the most meaningful hit of his career. This is someone who has hit a homerun to send the Cardinals to the World Series a few years ago, yet advancing the Puerto Ricans to the second round was more meaningful. The second was the jubilation in the United States teams celebration when they came from behind with a 9th inning rally to beat the United States. Mets, RedSox, Phillies and Yankees, all putting pro-team difference s aside to celebrate as one team... Americans. Hopefully America starts to notice what the rest of the world already seems to know, baseball is still the greatest sport on the planet.
Labels: Sports
posted by LEV at
12:02 PM
1 Comments:
I'm certainly not going to argue your conclusion there, but I've only given the WBC secondary attention when March Madness is on these days. And even before the college basketball tournament started, I was more interested in seeing how the NHL and NBA regular seasons played out.
Until it feels like more MLB players show up for the WBC than don't, I can't really bring myself to take the whole thing very seriously. The idea of a World Cup sort of thing for baseball sounds great in theory, but if I saw correctly the other evening, the U.S. was the visiting team in their loss to Japan ... played at what appeared to be the Dodgers' ballpark in California. Attendance resembled that of those celebrity games they play in the middle of the night on ESPN during All-Star festivities.
I'd say the next move should be to make the tournament more like the World Cup and name one country the host, preferably one where attendance would be as high as some of the games you mentioned. Additionally, a WBC featuring all of the games played at some country outside the U.S. would likely create some level of American public interest with the almost certain amount of "Why isn't it being played here?"
How or when they make the WBC appealing to a majority of the players is beyond me. Seems like the only way you're going to convince a guy who's already under contract to play in 162 games a year (at least) to play even more is to just throw more money at him.
By
D. Rock, at 9:19 AM
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