'Classic' good for everyone
Swinging for the Fences
Matt Watson
Issue date: 3/9/09 Section: Sports
Riddle me this.
Q: What has close to 60 arms, a lifespan of fewer than three weeks and costs about $160 million if purchased in the United States?
A: One World Baseball Classic team.
The WBC kicked off last week, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Classic is a welcome distraction. With Alex Rodriguez pulling out of the tournament because of an injury, the WBC can exist freely without A-Roid-gate, the dominant baseball headline of the offseason.
But the Classic is good news for sports fans outside of baseball, too. The United States won its first game Saturday, the day before the Arkansas hoops team lost its 14th conference game of the season, and long after the Razorbacks clinched the last-place seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
And for any non-sports fans that happen to be reading this sports column, this is great distraction for you, too. Maybe you're too caught up in our country's poor standing in the global economy. Well, never fear, because baseball is here. Maybe you can't pay your mortgage, but at least you can watch a bunch of guys who get paid millions of dollars to play a game take on the rest of the world in some good ole-fashioned (inter)national pastime.
For those of you who are new to the Classic, it is similar to soccer's World Cup, pitting the best national teams in the world against each other in a three week, 16-nation tournament. It doesn't have quite the following of the Cup (the most-watched sporting event in the world, drawing an estimated five times as many viewers as the Super Bowl), or the number of participants (16 teams, compared to 32 World Cup teams after qualifying rounds), or the preparation (the American WBC team practiced for a couple of weeks, while World Cup play years of qualifying games just to get to the World Cup).
But the World Baseball Classic isn't the World Cup, and it doesn't have to be.
This is just the second WBC, the first in 2006. Starting this year, the Classic will be every four years, and tournament organizers hope to add new teams for future events.
The United States found out in the inaugural Classic, much like the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 2004, that the rest of the world has discovered sports, too. The U.S. team lost to both of its neighbors in '06, an 8-6 loss to Canada in the first round and a 2-1 defeat to Mexico in the second round, with both games played on U.S. soil. The host team was bounced after two rounds of pool play, finishing the tournament with two wins against three losses.
Japan won the first WBC title, knocking out Cuba in the finals.
So the Americans have a reputation at stake this time around. They can say they didn't know what to expect in 2006, but there is no excuse for losing this time. The Japanese have the professional league closest to the Major Leagues in the United States, and after building better cars and better video games in the last few decades, Japan won the tournament of America's pastime. It's embarrassing, at least for me.
The U.S. players took care of business Saturday, avenging their '06 loss to Canada, and looking like they want to make it to the final four in Dodger Stadium in two weeks. Their second game against Venezuela was played late last night. It takes just two wins to make it to the second round.
There are more than 400 players vying for the second Classic title. There is a Major Leaguer on almost every team "swinging for the fences." Or for the six WBC teams from Central and South America, "bateando para las cercas." The upstart Dutch team is "swingende voor de hekken," and the Italians are "oscillante per le recinzioni," which may or may not also be a dish at Olive Garden.
Swinging for the Fences, like America's pastime, has gone international.
Matt Watson is the assistant sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Monday.
Q: What has close to 60 arms, a lifespan of fewer than three weeks and costs about $160 million if purchased in the United States?
A: One World Baseball Classic team.
The WBC kicked off last week, and it couldn't have come at a better time. The Classic is a welcome distraction. With Alex Rodriguez pulling out of the tournament because of an injury, the WBC can exist freely without A-Roid-gate, the dominant baseball headline of the offseason.
But the Classic is good news for sports fans outside of baseball, too. The United States won its first game Saturday, the day before the Arkansas hoops team lost its 14th conference game of the season, and long after the Razorbacks clinched the last-place seed in the upcoming SEC Tournament.
And for any non-sports fans that happen to be reading this sports column, this is great distraction for you, too. Maybe you're too caught up in our country's poor standing in the global economy. Well, never fear, because baseball is here. Maybe you can't pay your mortgage, but at least you can watch a bunch of guys who get paid millions of dollars to play a game take on the rest of the world in some good ole-fashioned (inter)national pastime.
For those of you who are new to the Classic, it is similar to soccer's World Cup, pitting the best national teams in the world against each other in a three week, 16-nation tournament. It doesn't have quite the following of the Cup (the most-watched sporting event in the world, drawing an estimated five times as many viewers as the Super Bowl), or the number of participants (16 teams, compared to 32 World Cup teams after qualifying rounds), or the preparation (the American WBC team practiced for a couple of weeks, while World Cup play years of qualifying games just to get to the World Cup).
But the World Baseball Classic isn't the World Cup, and it doesn't have to be.
This is just the second WBC, the first in 2006. Starting this year, the Classic will be every four years, and tournament organizers hope to add new teams for future events.
The United States found out in the inaugural Classic, much like the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 2004, that the rest of the world has discovered sports, too. The U.S. team lost to both of its neighbors in '06, an 8-6 loss to Canada in the first round and a 2-1 defeat to Mexico in the second round, with both games played on U.S. soil. The host team was bounced after two rounds of pool play, finishing the tournament with two wins against three losses.
Japan won the first WBC title, knocking out Cuba in the finals.
So the Americans have a reputation at stake this time around. They can say they didn't know what to expect in 2006, but there is no excuse for losing this time. The Japanese have the professional league closest to the Major Leagues in the United States, and after building better cars and better video games in the last few decades, Japan won the tournament of America's pastime. It's embarrassing, at least for me.
The U.S. players took care of business Saturday, avenging their '06 loss to Canada, and looking like they want to make it to the final four in Dodger Stadium in two weeks. Their second game against Venezuela was played late last night. It takes just two wins to make it to the second round.
There are more than 400 players vying for the second Classic title. There is a Major Leaguer on almost every team "swinging for the fences." Or for the six WBC teams from Central and South America, "bateando para las cercas." The upstart Dutch team is "swingende voor de hekken," and the Italians are "oscillante per le recinzioni," which may or may not also be a dish at Olive Garden.
Swinging for the Fences, like America's pastime, has gone international.
Matt Watson is the assistant sports editor of The Arkansas Traveler. His column appears every Monday.
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