Poll: Should the WBC be continued?

[Erik Bedard]

This is the spot where you get a chance to say everything you think about the WBC and why it should or should not be continued. Vote now!

[caribeño]

A Complete Success

Here in Puerto Rico the Classic has been a huge success . Not only were we treated to the best Caribbean Series ever ( wished that Panamá and México could be here too , and that it lasted al least two weeks , but ok , we got a banquet ) but a lot of good things came along with the Cup . For starters criminality rate dropped like a zillion % during the games ( hey , everybody loves baseball ) . Then our economy was benefitted in millions , and millions .
Third we didn't hear a word from politicos who are always looking for new ways of upsetting everybody lives and yelling all their trash year round .
And the quiet days and night with no rap or reggaeton up to the n-1 power
( except , of course , when PR scored a run or won a game ) .
And the broadcasting : nobody ever needed cable TV . Our local channel 13 had almost all games in all pools day and night . God , what a celebration !
We were able to watch almost all the teams .
And then each and every game played down here looked like the seven game of any tight " World Series " .
I hope that you my baseball brothers and sisters around the planet , have had as much emotion as we have had in the last few days .
I am sorry that the USA team did not fare that well , but it was not the players and coaches fault .
Of course a lot of things have to be changed and/or upgrade ( dates , umpiring , teams into it , qualifying methods - ¡ Ay , Korea ! , and so on ) ,
but even with the failures of a first time event , the Classic has been a Classic .
And i don't believe that i could ever say this , but : Thank you , thank you MLB , Thank you , Mr Selig . ,

[RedSoxVT92]

The WBC was a very good idea. It shows that baseball isnt just an american sport. Although I think they should have it after the World Series. Because if someone gets hurt now just before the season they dont have any time to recover for the following season. Also spring training builds up chemistry. But if it were after the world series, sure the players would be more tired but they would be ready for it and not have their timing off. And if someone gets hurt they have more time for rehiblitaion. Also it would probably encourage more players to go that dont want to miss spring training or fear of getting hurt. But besides that I think it was a wonderfull idea and the WBC should continue.

[Erik Bedard]

I completely agree. I think that, while it was not the biggest success here in North America, it was HUGE in the Caribbean and Asia. It also proves that baseball is truly global. Also, look what it's done for the International Baseball section of this forum!

[Captain Cold Nose]

If the U.S. wants to continue to host games, they need to do a better job promoting it, but that's the only drawback I have seen. If you believe Chipper Jones, the players are enjoying themselves from the U.S, so the attributed apathy on the part of players very well could have been columnist spewing without facts.
caribeno captured what is going on in for some of the other participant countries. There is no reason to not hold the event again, beyond the next scheduled time in 2009.

[Andruw]

Japan wallops Cuba, becomes World Champions

http://mdn.mainichi-msn.co.jp/photospecials/graph/060321wbcfinal/index.html

[jalbright]

Overall, I love it, but there are things that need to be improved:

1) the umpiring at times was embarrassing, as there weren't top-level umps there. American umps shouldn't work US games, Japanese umps shouldn't work Japanese games, etc. That way, if there is a blown call, we won't get conspiracy theorists all riled up.

2) I'm not sure whether March is the optimal time, though unless they are willing to do it in July (unlikely at least for now), there may not be such a thing.

3) As mentioned by another poster, better promotion of the event.

4) Teams from various pools (US & Mexico, Japan & Korea, for example) shouldn't be in the same second round pool. I think one of the attractions of the event is seeing different players, and spreading them around more like soccer's World Cup does achieves that goal better.

There may be other kinks to hammer out, but those are some of the prime ones I see.

Jim Albright

[Cubsfan97]

I love the idea of the WBC. IDon't think it needs to be more often though, because then players will miss Spring Training possibly every year. And it raises injury possibility more. Obviouslly there were no major injuries this year but if we do this every year theres bound to be one sometime. Is there any chance more countries will get involved or are the countries the same every year?

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Yes. It must continue. But maybe like RedSoxVT92 said, after the WS. But then there can never be any rounds played in Europe...h

But I love the idea to continue the WBC. Different name though!

[efin98]

Overall, I love it, but there are things that need to be improved:

1) the umpiring at times was embarrassing, as there weren't top-level umps there. American umps shouldn't work US games, Japanese umps shouldn't work Japanese games, etc. That way, if there is a blown call, we won't get conspiracy theorists all riled up.

The same will apply if the call is by a Japanese umpire for the Japanese regardless of the rightness of the call. Nationality doesn't matter. What is needed is an umpire down each line to judge fair/foul and home run/in play balls.

2) I'm not sure whether March is the optimal time, though unless they are willing to do it in July (unlikely at least for now), there may not be such a thing.Jim Albright

It's the most convenient time of the year for all involved as it only affects Spring Training here. November puts it at odds with bad weather and other sports and holidays. December/January/early February interferes with the winter leagues. July interferes with the summer leagues(not just MLB). Maybe starting it a week or two earlier than March 2nd would work better.

[KCGHOST]

It doesn't matter to me one way or the other what they do with it.

[DownUnderDodger]

I too think it is a wonderful idea (I think I got that message across in many of my posts on the subject ) as it really highlights baseball as a worldwide game and allows players to proudly represent their country and flag!

I don't belive it should be held more often - once every three years is enough.

the umpiring at times was embarrassing, as there weren't top-level umps there. American umps shouldn't work US games, Japanese umps shouldn't work Japanese games, etc. That way, if there is a blown call, we won't get conspiracy theorists all riled up.

Very valid point and one that does happen in some other sports to avoid bias or perceived bias in the calls. (I wonder if the MLB umps are feeling a little embarrassed about snubbing the tournament?)

I'm not sure whether March is the optimal time, though unless they are willing to do it in July (unlikely at least for now), there may not be such a thing.

Whatever time of the year it will be seen to be unsuitable to someone. The argument about spring training and injuries was prevelant from USA based critics, along with the other argument that USA players were not ready while other countries were just concluding their local competitions. But if it was in July there would be argumnets that teams have not had a chance to get their players ready due to MLB committments - almost all teams, especially Latino (excluding Cuba) would be affected. And the injury argument would probably arise again, given that it would be in the middle of the MLB season. Playing it after the World Series would probably bring out the argument that the players are too tired after their long MLB season.

Teams from various pools (US & Mexico, Japan & Korea, for example) shouldn't be in the same second round pool. I think one of the attractions of the event is seeing different players, and spreading them around more like soccer's World Cup does achieves that goal better.

Spot on!! I was very surprised that the second round draws pitted the same teams against each other - it should be cross-draws so teams play different teams as they progress thru the various rounds.

The tournament should also move around, ie, be played in various parts of the world each time, to spread the word and allow people in other countries to see the stars in action live.

[SSJChar]

i think its a great idea to have the wbc, and having it every 4 years allows potential players to cool down for 3 years, then when the year comes up, they can train during their off time. having it every year or 2 years would probably put too much strain on the athletes, but having it once every 4 years will give them a proper break. also, they could try to anticipate it, and perhaps even shorten/shift the mlb season a week or 2 further down to give the mlb players abit of time to get to know their team and work up chemestry again after the wbc, and again, having it every 4 years wouldn't be too hard on the mlb season either.
did espn show the trophy ceremony at the end of the last game? over here in canada coverage stopped like 5 minutes after the winning pitch. boourns

[Andruw]

World baseball big winner of Classic
03/21/2006 10:48 AM ET
By Mike Bauman

SAN DIEGO -- The big winner of the World Baseball Classic was the game of baseball. It just wasn't the current American game of baseball.
The tournament demonstrated that the rest of the world is playing better baseball than most Americans realized. The rest of the world, in fact, is actually playing baseball the way Americans used to play baseball.

This is roughly the same phenomenon you have seen in international basketball competition. The U.S. used to be untouchable in basketball, because, as basketball's birthplace, it was suitably strong in the fundamentals; ball movement, schemes, defense. Now that we're playing basketball by shooting threes and dunking, and the rest of the world is stressing passing and defense, the international competition has become much more balanced, to the point where even the best U.S. hoopsters are far from sure things in international tournaments.

Roughly the same thing has occurred with baseball. We invented the game, we refined the game, and then we moved into a phase that didn't have anything to do with fundamental baseball. We used to pitch, catch, run, bunt, and concentrate on moving runners. We used to value speed. We used to focus on sound execution in all phases of the game. Now we're trying to hit a lot of really long home runs.

And now, we come to the first World Baseball Classic and what do we find? National teams from Latin America and particularly Asia playing baseball exactly the way it used to be played in America. Imitation is, of course, the sincerest form of flattery. But you forget about the flattery when these national teams are beating us over the head with this previously American style of play.

The two teams in the finals, Japan and Cuba, played this way. The most successful team in the tournament by record, Korea (6-1), played this way. It is true that Team USA split against Korea and Japan, but the victory over Japan was stained by a critical and incorrect call by an American umpire that went against Japan.

Against these giants of the small-ball international game, the U.S. sent a home-run-or-nada attack. The long ball approach could have worked, except for the fact that the level of international pitching was much better than expected. Against lesser pitching, the U.S. -- given its power-packed lineup -- could have happily slugged its way to victory. Against the superior pitching it actually encountered, the U.S. would have to depend on manufacturing runs. Oops.

Power is fine. Power is fun. But you'd better have more than power if you hope to succeed in this competition.

Look, the Koreans -- before finally losing to Japan in the semifinals -- gave up eight earned runs in six games. They also committed no errors in seven games. You literally can't beat that kind of game, unless your pitchers are throwing shutouts.

Two Cuban pitchers held the powerful Dominican Republic lineup to no earned runs in the semifinals. After this game, Dominican manager Manny Acta suggested that the Cubans had Major League-quality pitchers performing for them every day in this tournament.

As it turns out, rather than fielding this All-Star -- but one-dimensional -- lineup, the U.S. would have been better off with a team that had more than one way to score. It would have been better off if it had sent a better defensive team. And it would have been even better off if it had more of its top-shelf pitchers on its roster.

All of these sorts of players, players better suited to this competition, exist in American baseball. They just weren't on this team in large enough numbers to make a difference. Entire teams that play small-ball, old-school baseball are succeeding in the Major Leagues. Why didn't we simply send them to this tournament? Because they were not made up primarily of American players.

When this tournament occurs again in 2009, will we have to go through this again? After all, these other national teams are only going to improve. Is this just another embarrassment waiting to happen for U.S. baseball?

Not necessarily. American baseball may be moving back to its better self. The success of the 2005 Chicago White Sox, after a shift in emphasis to pitching and defense, should offer a push in that direction. Frankly, the fact that a suitably rigorous anti-steroids program is in place will also serve to take the game away from the obsession with the homer, the tater, the dinger, and, of course the round-tripper.

The other thing that needs to happen, whether we're talking about sluggers, closers or pinch-runners, is that Team USA is going to need the full support of the 30 Major League clubs. The general managers and team officials who pressured American players not to participate in this Classic will have to be on board for the next one or Classic history will repeat itself.

Whatever happened here, the United States of America still has the deepest pool of baseball talent in the world. What it did not have was the best baseball team in this tournament. America was beaten at its own game, or, at the very least, what used to be its own game.

As baseball fans, Americans can certainly be encouraged by the growth of the worldwide game, the quality of the worldwide game, and the success of this tournament. But for the national pastime in international competition, the desire remains to be both encouraged and victorious. If the appropriate lessons are learned, the U.S should perform at a more suitable level for baseball's birthplace in World Baseball Classic II.

This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.

[DownUnderDodger]

What a great article - said it all!!