March is coming, and that can only mean one thing in the world of sports: some big tournament. You know, the one that has lots of big-name players? Has lots of underdogs that could cause
potentially historic upsets? What's the name of it again? March'¦ March'¦
Oh yeah, the World Baseball Classic.
After a three-year hiatus, the WBC is back with - hold on a second - Japan? No kidding. The WBC is back with Japan returning to defend its crown against 15 other countries from around the world, including the United States, Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
Rosters were announced Tuesday, and some big players have stepped up to play for their respective countries.
Dustin Pedroia and Derek Jeter sharing the same infield with Ryan Braun in the outfield? Carlos Zambrano and Felix Hernandez in the same starting rotation with K-Rod in the bullpen? Cuba gets a chance to show off their homegrown studs who can't enter the MLB?
It sounds like the makings of some great baseball.
It sounds like it has the potential for a great event.
It sounds like people should be talking about it.
I'm hearing nothing.
That's because the WBC, though a spectacular idea in a perfect world, makes absolutely no sense for an MLB
player or for the common MLB fan.
Oh, and don't forget management. It's been rumored that for every MLB player that chooses to play in the WBC, an MLB owner, GM and manager will be diagnosed with an early aneurism. The cause?
Holding their breath every time their players risk getting injured. So basically throughout the entire WBC. It's a real problem.
They were lucky in the inaugural 2006 series, as there was not a single major injury to a player. But in the event someone did get injured, it could easily spell the end to MLB players choosing to play for their countries.
If Jeter, Pedroia or any other all-stars get hurt and have to miss an entire part of the regular season, practically every MLB stud will look at the WBC as way too risky of an event and opt out of it.
And why wouldn't they? They're chancing injury for practically nothing - except for some WE'RE THE BEST"" national pride - and in turn they could damage their salaries and, more importantly, their careers. It's a risk not worth taking.
Lets not forget that these players are in no condition to be playing at their best level, too. Baseball players start to hit their stride around July. Some players, like Ryan Howard, take almost half the season to become the behemoths of the sport they are.
We know players are not going to play their best until, at the minimum, midsummer. Now let's go out and have an all-deciding tournament during spring training... Great idea. What we see in the WBC is nowhere near the level of play we'll be seeing in October because the players are just not ready at that point.
So, from that standpoint, we'd either have lackadaisical all stars that are not playing their best because they're not physically ready or are playing overly cautious to avoid injury. The other option is the big names opting out altogether, leaving us with a team of scrub players that no one cares about, or cares to watch. In both cases, the fan is let down, moving the event further into irrelevance.
That's saying a lot, seeing as everyone and their mother is watching the most dramatic sporting event in almost any given year. I'm talking, of course, about the greatest tournament in all of sports, NCAA March Madness.
Admittedly, this mainly applies to an American sports viewer, but that's where one of baseball's biggest fanbases comes from. They could choose to watch a half-assed game of baseball with a few all stars thrown in, or they could watch a huge upset in college basketball that causes half the country to rip their carefully researched brackets in two. I'd choose the latter, and I'm sure many would do the same.
So what options are there to fix the Classic?
Not many.
Moving the event to a different time could potentially fix a few problems.
Say it took place in November, right after the World Series. There would be less competition as far as fans are concerned without the weekly thunder of March Madness. Games would just have to avoid Saturdays and Sundays. And baseball would still be fresh in our minds, so our collective care level may be much higher for a World Cup of baseball. Players would be better physically, especially non-playoff teams that could take October as a brief resting period.
Sounds reasonable'¦ right?
Except that there are some obvious flaws with this ""fix."" For one, MLB players will be winded from almost half a year's worth of playing baseball. Physically, they may stand in a better position to play their best, especially if non-playoff players took October lightly to get ready for the WBC.
Mentally, however, they'd be too checked-out to care.
Other options have the same caveats, or are just not feasible. In the end, the Classic, though a great idea, is up against too many obstacles to thrive.
It's a shame too, because, as a fan of baseball, I want the WBC to succeed. I want to see the best players in the world come against each other to play their hearts out for their country. It makes for great drama, which, in the end, is why any of us watches sports.
Maybe one day something will be worked out for this little event in March that takes place every couple years to succeed. But until then, it will just be that other tournament.
Terrified that Ryan Braun will pull a hammy against South Africa? Commiserate with Gabe at ubatuba@wisc.edu.
