Jeter Breaking Gehrig’s Record
Derek Jeter stands on the cusp of breaking the all-time hits record by a New York Yankee, an achievement that will ensure that no other member of the organization will ever don the number 2. As a die-hard Red Sox fan, I can only reflect on what a privilege it has been to watch him play baseball. Whenever his name is announced at Fenway Park, I can never in good conscience bring myself to boo him, because I know he is a Hall-of-Fame caliber player and person deserving of my utmost respect.
In an age of dubious records and doubts of the validity of the very game itself, Jeter consistently played with reverence to those who came before him and those who would and will grace the presence of a diamond after him: with unprecedented heart and desire, doing the very best he could possibly do, and letting the baseball universe take care of the rest. It’s no coincidence that the recent Yankee culture of winning and performing day in and day out with the swagger of a perennial champion was cultivated with him as the centerpiece of the team. In press conferences and interviews, he never fails to include the title of “Mr.” when talking about his managers or team owners. He has commanded respect by giving it. Jeter stormed onto the baseball scene in 1996, when many of the players who are just now starting to make a name for themselves were in grade school. When asked who these athletes admired growing up, Derek Jeter is a popular response. Suffice to say he has inspired a generation of athletes who have and will contribute not only to the game of baseball but to society, and will inspire others to do the same.
Jeter’s inspiration reaches beyond the confines of the baseball field. As detailed in his autobiography, “The Life You Imagine,” he grew up in Michigan with only one life ambition: to play shortstop for the New York Yankees. Also as the book details, this goal did not materialize simply because he was an exceptional athlete, but because he was mentally focused on every aspect involved in making his dream come true. That included excelling in his studies, and maintaining faith in himself and his abilities when he experienced setbacks -namely the number of errors he committed in the Minor Leagues making coaches doubt his long-term future with the organization. When Jeter won a Gold Glove at shortstop many years later, having already accomplished everything within baseball that any individual could hope for, it was said that he was exceptionally proud of the award because he continued to work hard on his defense. The commercials for his signature cologne, Driven, make reference to his ability to leave what transpires on the field out of the other components of his life. The suggestion is that Jeter is about more than just baseball. With his Turn 2 Foundation, he has certainly used his baseball influence to touch and to better lives on and away from the ballpark.
The all-time hits record for the Yankees franchise is currently held by Lou Gehrig, whose Hall-of-Fame career was famously cut short by ALS, the disease that claimed his life and eventually bore his name. When addressing the Yankee faithful for the last time, Gehrig, who accomplished extraordinary things on a baseball field, expressed his feeling of awe at simply being blessed enough to have been given the opportunity to attempt them. I cannot imagine a more worthy successor to this storied record. Congratulations Derek, and thank you for the opportunity to watch your unique accomplishments as a player and a person.
Red Sox sign Cuban shortstop
In the midst of the pennant race, this news has seemed to fly under the radar among Major League Baseball; however the move may eventually solve the shortstop problem the Red Sox have had since trading Nomar Garciaparra at the deadline of their storied 2004 season.
The Boston Globe is reporting that the Sox have signed 19-year-old Havana native Jose Iglesias to a deal worth $8.2 million with a $6 million signing bonus. The team has added Iglesias to their 40-man roster and will be sending him to the Arizona Fall League to play for the Mesa Solar Sox. As this off-season league has garnered a reputation in recent years for providing top competition among noteworthy, close to Major League-ready prospects, it would seem that the organization has placed Iglesias on the fast track. Boston’s handling of Iglesias is not unlike that of the Chicago White Sox with prospect Dayan Viciedo, a Cuban third baseman who they signed to a similar deal upon his defection last winter as a teenager. Viciedo spent all of 2009 with the dominant Birmingham Barons, the Double-A affiliate of the White Sox, where he has hit .280 with 12 home runs and 78 RBIs.
The Red Sox have long lacked stability at shortstop. Alex Gonzalez, who currently mans the position, was brought in from the Reds in a trade as merely a stopgap. Never an offensive threat, Gonzalez is losing range defensively as he ages. Undoubtedly the Sox were hoping to have found their answer in Jed Lowrie, a former top prospect who spent time with the big club last season. However, Lowrie failed to prove himself as the undisputed everyday shortstop before he went down with a dubious hand injury, casting more doubts.
Boston also has a potential shortstop of the future in prospect Casey Kelly. Drafted in 2008 and lured away from a football scholarship at the University of Tennessee, has hit .224 with a home run and 10 RBIs in 32 games with Class-A Greenville. However, the organization is still undecided where exactly Kelly fits into their future plans -he spent the first half of the season as a pitcher.
Jason Bay: The Anti-Manny
On the night before the trading deadline last year, when the rumors of a three-way trade involving Manny Ramirez, Jason Bay, and a third team were in full swing, Red Sox Nation was in an uproar.
“You’re telling me,” said a fan in disbelief calling into WEEI, the official radio station of the Boston Red Sox, “that we’re going to trade a Hall-of-Famer for what’s his name? Bay?”
Almost halfway into the 2009 season, this fan undoubtedly knows the name well. As the Red Sox have stormed into first place approaching the All-Star break, Bay has been a significant factor. His 18 home runs are the eighth-most in Major League Baseball, and his 66 RBIs are good for third in the league. In eight games against the Yankees, against whom the Red Sox have yet to lose this season, Bay is hitting at a .448 clip with three home runs and 12 RBIs.
During an ESPN broadcast of a Sox game in which Bay hit a home run,
while trotting around the bases, the broadcasters spoke of how the
left-fielder attributed his hot start to simply feeling comfortable in
a Red Sox uniform.
He isn’t just putting up gaudy statistics -when his team has needed a clutch hit, Bay has seemed to consistently deliver. In the field he has been just as reliable, as Bay has yet to commit an error this season. He does all the right things without being flashy or drawing attention to anything else besides the common goal of the team.
With his understated demeanor and team-first approach, Bay is the anti-Manny. The level of effort he puts forth is never questioned, only praised. When he speaks of his priority being the success of his team rather than individual statistics, it’s clear he is sincere. Rather than a left-fielder who is constantly asking out of Boston, Bay has wanted in possibly his whole career, his father being a lifelong Sox fan. Bay is in the middle of a contract season, just as Manny was last year, though he has not once dragged the drama of his impending negotiations into the Red Sox clubhouse. He is a true professional, with his lack of ego meshing perfectly with the mentality that the organization strives to maintain.
At 30, Bay is in the prime of his career. With his combination of skill and attitude, the organization should make a vested effort in using their vast resources to keep him in a Sox uniform when he hits free agency. While there is enough now for the deal to make sense on both sides, postseason success has a way of bringing people together in contract negotiations. One thing’s for certain though -if the Red Sox win it all and let Bay walk, the backlash among the fan base may rival what it was when they brought him into the fold.
Braves have interest in Sox righthander Brad Penny, ESPN reports
As Red Sox righthander Brad Penny takes the mound tonight against the Texas Rangers at Fenway Park tonight, chances are there might be an Atlanta Braves representative in the stands.
ESPN is reporting this afternoon that the Braves, among other teams, are having dialogue with the Red Sox front office about Penny. The Atlanta player mentioned in the report that the Sox may have interest in acquiring in return is right fielder Jeff Francoeur. Penny was signed this offseason by the Red Sox at a base salary of $5 million, with the potential to earn another $3 million in incentives. He has a 5-1 record thus far, though his ERA is much less attractive at 5.63. He has a career record of 99-76 with a 4.11 ERA. Penny has been known to be dominant at times, like the 2007 season he had with the Dodgers in which he was 16-4 and got the starting nod in the All-Star Game. However, he has also gained a reputation of inconsistency and some have even gone so far as to question his work ethic.
With Clay Buchholz waiting in the wings at Triple-A Pawtucket and John Smoltz on track to join the team after just a few more rehab starts, there is about to be a logjam in Boston’s starting rotation. Most general managers in baseball would undoubtedly consider this a good problem to have, and their typical response to questions from the media in regards to such a dilemma is usually something like, “these things have a way of working themselves out.” Sometimes, the solution to this problem is a trade. With Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Daisuke Matsuzaka and Tim Wakefield as mainstays in the rotation, Penny would seem to be the odd man out.
A move to the Braves of all teams would likely be a boon for Penny; Atlanta has a long-standing reputation of being a place where faltering players can resurrect their careers in a supportive, not to mention winning atmosphere. It would not be surprising to see Penny bounce back with the Braves.
If Francoeur is indeed the player in question, this move could be a win-win for both sides. A Georgia native, it seemed a fairytale come true when the hometown team drafted Francoeur and he became one of Major League Baseball’s bright young stars in the right field grass of Turner Field. However, the story took a dark turn when last year, Francoeur suddenly stopped being productive at the plate, finishing a 2008 season that saw him demoted to the minors with a measly .239 average and talk of whether he was finished at 24. He has not exactly had a comeback season, hitting .251 with 4 home runs and 25 RBIs so far. That being said, he may benefit greatly from a change of scenery, and despite his Georgia roots, Francoeur actually grew up a Red Sox fan.
If the rumors are true, this is a move that may pay dividends for not only the seasons of both teams, but for the careers of both players as well.
This Year’s Surprise Team
It was one of the best feel-good stories in baseball last year: the team with the lowest payroll in baseball and the league’s worst record the year before, led by rookies and virtual unknowns, took the baseball world by storm not just by winning, but winning consistently, and using all the fundamentals of baseball: good pitching, stellar defense, aggressive base-running, and the long ball.
That team was of course the Tampa Bay Rays. With early-season success lasting into the All-Star break, people began to wonder when this team was going to fade away. It had to be a certainty -this team was too young, too inexperienced to sustain its success throughout the entirety of the season. But that’s exactly what happened. The Rays stunned baseball fans by winning the American League East, beating both division juggernauts, the Red Sox and the Yankees, soundly. They reached the World Series, making bandwagon fans out of people in Tampa Bay and all of baseball alike. The story is quite familiar to baseball fans, especially as the Rays have seemed unable to duplicate that success during the first month of the 2009 season.
So who will be the next team to not only defy expectations, but shock the baseball world with a dramatic worst-to-first comeback? After one month of baseball, it looks as though that team just might be the Kansas City Royals. So far, they have gone 12-10 and are atop the competitive American League Central division. They have a similar framework: a perennially losing team with a relatively low payroll, collecting high draft picks as a result of their lack of success and developing them into prospects. These prospects have been on the radar of Baseball America for years, and it seems as though they are finally ready to make an impact at the Major League level, and collectively take on the powerhouse teams in baseball.
Typically, when a team would travel to Kansas City or host them at home, they could reasonably expect to sweep them, or at least take the series. It would be a disappointment if they didn’t, with the discrepancy in talent level. I even have a friend who is not impressed with Jon Lester‘s no-hitter from last year, because it was against the Royals. However, if those same teams are not taking the Royals seriously in ’09, they should start now.
They have the pitching to contend: Zack Greinke has emerged into the ace that the team hoped he would become when they drafted him with their first-round pick in 2002. Having struggled with off-the-field issues that have kept him out of baseball activities, Greinke has finally put it all together, becoming the first pitcher in the Major Leagues to win five games on Wednesday, improving to 5-0 with an 0.50 ERA. He also pitched 34 innings without allowing a run. His first appearance on the cover of Sports Illustrated should raise awareness throughout the country about what’s happening in Kansas City, and clearly his efforts are a big part of that.
The team’s signing of Gil Meche to a 5-year, $55 million contract before the 2007 season raised eyebrows, but he has been successful in Kansas City, crafting a 3.85 ERA during his time with the team. This year, he is 1-2 with a 3.77 ERA so far, with 27 strikeouts in 31 innings pitched. Meche won 14 games for one of the worst teams in baseball last season; with a much-improved team playing behind him, he should win more games. Braves castoff Kyle Davies is 2-1 this year, and Brian Bannister is 2-0 with a 0.69 ERA. Flamethrower Kyle Farnsworth is a staple in the bullpen behind closer Joakim Soria, who has been lights-out for years and may finally get the attention his career has deserved. Down in the minors, former number-one 2006 draft pick Luke Hochevar has achieved a 4-0 record with a 1.44 ERA; with moderate success at the big-league level, he should be able to step in as needed, and possibly turn a corner in regards to his career in the Majors.
This team can also get it done at the plate. Catcher John Buck, a mainstay behind the plate for years, has his .300 so far with 3 home runs and 15 RBIs. First baseman Mike Jacobs‘ hitting has been his calling card; he slugged 32 home runs for Florida last year. Second baseman Mark Teahen has also been hitting .300. 23-year-old designated hitter Billy Butler, the Royals’ first-round draft pick in 2004, has become a mainstay in the lineup.
Coco Crisp, who was traded from the Red Sox this winter, gives the team a steady centerfield presence as a leadoff hitter capable of stealing bases and providing more than adequate defense. David DeJesus has long been regarded as a productive starting outfielder with strong defensive skills. Jose Guillen has consistently hit 20-plus home runs and 90-plus RBIs over the past several seasons. If this team continues to fire on all cylinders, the combined attitude of camaraderie and winning might lend itself to 2005 first-round draft pick Alex Gordon becoming the five-tool star that the team and baseball experts alike predicted he would be before his career was mired by injuries and inconsistency when he returns in June. What he brings to the table already -some pop and good defense- should give the team a boost when he comes back.
Perhaps most importantly, the team has a great manager. Trey Hillman has continued to show enthusiasm and optimism for the team despite their struggles, exhibiting the patience necessary for the success of a young team. He has led the team to its best record (75-87) since 2003, the last time they were in playoff contention. He seems to understand what makes his players tick, and likewise his players seem to enjoy playing for him.
With this combination, plus the introduction of their vintage powder-blue uniforms, this team has already begun to attract attention. If they continue their success, which they certainly have the potential to do, the rest of the baseball world are sure to be more than aware of soon.
Quick Hits
After getting off to their worst start since 1996, the Red Sox staged an impressive comeback from a 7-0 deficit last night to beat the Baltimore Orioles 10-8 in what may have been a “potential season-changing win.”
…though their shortstop woes may very well continue, as Jed Lowrie could miss the rest of the season.
Dice-K going to the 15-day DL with “arm fatigue,” letting him pitch in the World Baseball Classic is looking like a terrible idea as far as the fate of the Red Sox is concerned.
Bullpen mainstay Justin Masterson is slated to start in place of Dice-K on Monday.
Big surprise: an umpire who ejected Milton Bradley claims he made physical contact with him.
Vladimir Guerrero out indefinitely.
For anyone with Matt Wieters taking up a spot on the bench on their fantasy teams, this might be of interest to you.
A mlb.com video highlight of David Ortiz’s ’04 ALCS heroics to enjoy until he gets his act together at the plate in the present season.
Shortstop Woes in Boston
As the Red Sox are mired in an early-season slump, a growing concern for fans has been the shortstop position. The team began Spring Training with two candidates who could likely start for any team in baseball: Julio Lugo and Jed Lowrie. With Lugo’s big contract, it seemed that the team would be more inclined to give him the job, if for no other reason than to increase his trade value. However Lowrie’s performance down the stretch in the 2008 playoffs, playing with an injury to boot, could have reasonably been enough for him to secure the starting position; not unlike Jacoby Ellsbury did after the 2007 playoffs. The fact that his performance did not solidify the starting job provides reasonable doubt in whether the Sox were completely sold on Lowrie.
It seems the team was, and is still not, sold on either of these players. It is somewhat of a moot point for the time being as both of them are now on the DL, leaving Nick Green, who could barely break .260 at Triple-A last year, to start at shortstop for the next few weeks. Even when Lowrie and Lugo become healthy again, the Red Sox need a definitive answer to the huge question mark that has been shortstop ever since Nomar Garciaparra was traded away in 2004.
That answer could be in the visitors’ clubhouse during this series with the Oakland A’s. Their former Rookie of the Year shortstop, Bobby Crosby, has been relegated to backup duties since the free-agent acquisitions of Orlando Cabrera and the aforementioned Garciaparra. Since his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2004, he has not been as successful with a career mired with injuries. However, the potential is there -ESPN’s Peter Gammons has even gone so far as to suggest that a healthy Crosby would be an MVP-caliber player.
He may be the type of player who would benefit from a change of scenery. The A’s almost signed Rafael Furcal before landing Cabrera, so they have seemingly wanted Crosby out of the starting job for a while. Their stance on his capabilities have inspired him to request a trade and make no secret of his desire to leave Oakland. The right trade presumably has not been offered yet, though perhaps the best fit would be the Red Sox. Crosby’s value is likely at its all-time low, so it might not cost more than a mid-level prospect to acquire him. The Red Sox are fortunate enough to have the kind of depth in their system that most Major League teams envy. It could be a real win-win for both sides. And winning is something the Sox haven’t done a lot of lately.
Is Schilling’s Career Worthy of the Hall of Fame?
When Curt Schilling took the mound for Game 2 of the 2007 World Series and pitched the Red Sox to victory, it was hardly apparent that it would be the last game of his career. However, after not pitching at all in 2008, Schilling announced on Monday that he would be retiring.
Schilling wrote in his blog, 38pitches, that his decision to retire came with “zero regrets.” And why should he have any? Schilling has an opportunity that is rare for athletes in any sport, and that is to go out on top. The story plays itself out all too often in professional sports: a former star in his forties will bounce around from team to team in a cycle of being released, then picked up by a team taking a chance on his name, hoping to maybe catch lightning in a bottle, inevitably sitting on the bench behind a kid who was only four years old when he started his career, not knowing when to let go. There couldn’t be a better story line scripted than to walk away after reaching the pinnacle of achievement in baseball.
During Schilling’s 19-year-career, he amassed 216 wins and 3,116 strikeouts with a 3.46 ERA while playing for the Orioles, Astros, Phillies, Diamondbacks and Red Sox. The statistics indicate that of a brilliant career; the question is whether or not it is good enough for the Hall of Fame. The accomplishment which is widely believed to make a pitcher a lock for the Hall of Fame is 300 wins. Schilling is 84 wins shy of that achievement, though of course not every Hall of Fame pitcher reached that number either. While 300 wins may be the benchmark for pitchers, the definition of a Hall of Famer at any position is generally defined as a player who was dominant at their position throughout the duration of their career. For most of Schilling’s career, he was regarded as one of the top pitchers in the game. His 3,116 strikeouts are the 15th most of all-time.
Of the 14 other strikeout leaders, 9 of them are enshrined in the Hall of Fame (Nolan Ryan, Steve Carlton, Tom Seaver, Don Sutton, Gaylord Perry, Walter Johnson, Phil Niekro, Ferguson Jenkins, and Bob Gibson), and three of them have yet to retire from Major League Baseball (Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens and Pedro Martinez). The remaining two men on the list of all-time strikeout leaders are: Greg Maddux, an undisputed future first-ballot Hall of Famer; and the other is Bert Blyleven, who with 287 wins and 3,701 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.37, has continuously been snubbed by Hall of Fame voters since gaining eligibility in 1998. During discussion of how worthy Schilling’s career may or may not be of the Hall of Fame on ESPN, Blyleven pointed out that his stats were better in every category, so if Schilling deserves to be in the Hall, so does he.
The X-factor with Schilling over perhaps a player like Blyleven might just be his performance in the postseason. Schilling was one of the best postseason performers the game has ever seen; his record of 11-2 in the playoffs is the best in Major League Baseball. Of course, his “Bloody Sock” heroics in the 2004 World Series will remain forever in Red Sox lore. Before Schilling played for the Red Sox, the team famously had not won a World Series championship in 86 years; with Schilling, they won 2 in 4 seasons. Coincidence?
When teams brought Schilling into the fold, they did not talk of Cy Youngs or record-breaking strikeout seasons (though he did pitch 300-plus strikeouts 3 times in his creer). These teams made it clear they had brought him into their organization for one reason, and one reason only: to win a championship. That is what matters most to executives, players and fans alike; it is considered to be the greatest achievement in baseball. Schilling helped 2 teams reach this all-important goal 3 times. Some writers waver on whether or not to include postseason dominance when making their voting decisions, but Schilling’s playoff success is impossible to ignore.
The topic of Schilling’s worthiness of entrance into the Hall of Fame will likely be debated until 2013, when he is eligible to be voted in. In my opinion, Schilling was a player who truly gave each of his starts everything he had; when injuries prevented him from performing to the best of his ability, he got by on determination, toughness, and knowledge of the game. Opposing teams still feared him, especially in the postseason, knowing how strong those intangibles were where Schilling was concerned. After the “Bloody Sock” procedure of the 2004 World Series, his health was never the same, but it was a sacrifice he made willingly, carrying the weight of Red Sox Nation on his shoulders to bring the franchise an elusive World Series championship.
He even pitched in relief the following season, an established starter embracing a bullpen role. No one would have blamed him if he simply wanted to rehab his ankle to the point where he could start again, but he sought to help the team in any way he could. When he came to Boston, he embraced the culture of the city and of the fan base, appearing in Dunkin Donuts commercials practicing his Boston accent. When he was in, he was all in. Despite what others may think of his well-documented outspokenness and controversial comments in the media, he respected the game and played it the right way. Though his stats may be borderline, his heart is certainly Hall of Fame material.
The World Baseball Classic: Legitimate Do-Or-Die, or Publicity Stunt?
Since the tradition began in 2006, every four years during the Spring Training months, baseball participates in a series of glorified exhibition games elite competition between several countries known as the World Baseball Classic. Athletes who hail from each nation are invited to represent their country on a global stage. In principle, it is a great idea: top athletes competing with the absolute highest level of motivation and pride that comes with wearing the name and colors of their respective countries. But in reality, the competition consists of a handful of superstars competing for a prize that most players would consider to be of lesser worth than a World Series championship or even a league pennant.
First, the issue of “top athletes.” The games begin during the early stages of Spring Training, thus when the players are in possibly the worst game shape that they will be in all season long. They aren’t physically ready for the grind of an 162-game season. Hitters haven’t faced consistent big-league quality pitching, and the pitchers’ arms are not ready to deliver the highest quality of pitches they possess on a regular basis. That’s why Spring Training exists in the first place -so the players can get ready to play their very best when the season starts. And there is a reason it begins in February and ends in late March, or even early April in this year’s case -getting ready to be in top form for the season takes months of preparation. Suffice to say that no player who is a regular in Major League Baseball or any Minor League affiliate is anywhere close to their absolute best form when the World Baseball Classic begins.
With the timing of the event, it is difficult for legit stars and fans alike to take it seriously, knowing that the participants, no matter how elite, are not playing at the standard that has come to be expected of them. Thus many of baseball’s biggest stars have consistently turned down the invitation to play in the World Baseball Classic. In doing so, a lot of them said that their main focus is the Major League team that they play for, and getting ready to play the full season with that team. Essentially, these players haven’t bought into the hype. And why should they?
When thinking of the best American-born pitchers currently pitching in Major League Baseball, names like CC Sabathia, Josh Beckett, Tim Lincecum, Cliff Lee, Jake Peavy, Roy Halladay, Cole Hamels, Brandon Webb, Roy Oswalt and Dan Haren might come to mind. Out of that Cy Young-caliber list, only Peavy and Oswalt are representing Team USA on the 2009 pitching staff.
For a closer, how about Jonathan Papelbon, Joe Nathan, Brad Lidge or Bobby Jenks? Instead, Team USA has J.J. Putz closing games for them; the same J.J. Putz who will not be closing games for the New York Mets this upcoming season in favor of K-Rod. Among the 2008 league leaders in every important statistical hitting category, only seven of these players can be found on a World Baseball Classic roster: Justin Morneau, Canada; Miguel Cabera, Venezuela; David Wright, Kevin Youkilis, Adam Dunn, Dustin Pedroia, and Chipper Jones, USA.
Of these position players, both Pedroia and Jones withdrew from the roster because of minor injuries. Both players indicated that if it were the regular season, they would still be playing. But since it was only the World Baseball Classic, they went back to the Spring Training camps of their respective teams. So is top talent truly competing against top talent? That’s debatable at least.
Since USA’s elimination, there has been talk that the game invented in America is no longer “America’s game.” Then why is it that the top talent of every other baseball-playing nation continues to defect to the Major Leagues in growing numbers? Team Japan beat Team USA, with Red Sox star pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka throwing to Seattle Mariners catcher Kenji Johjima. Both were superstars in their own right in Japan with every conceivable motivation to remain with their Japanese league teams, though they longed to compete against the highest level of talent in America.
The Dominican Republic was no doubt loaded with Major League stars: David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Pedro Martinez. However, their stardom was achieved by playing in the American Major Leagues; being drafted, signed, and developed by American teams. Of course, each of these players possess rare, raw talent. Nonetheless, it was developed and exposed in America. The same can be said for the stars of Team Venezuela (names like Carols Zambrano, Felix Hernandez and Miguel Cabrera might come to mind) and Team Canada (Jason Bay and Justin Morneau are consistently fantasy favorites). If baseball is no longer “America’s game,” then why do the best players of each talent-rich nation dream of playing baseball in the U.
S.?
S.?
Of course great athletes exist everywhere, and with the proper exposure, any of these athletes can become baseball players. However, most international players with such talent come to America to hone these skills within the U.S. baseball system; if already established professionally, these players are coming in increasing numbers to the U.S. to reach the highest level of achievement. So any country can have a great athlete, but the U.S. seems to develop the majority of star baseball players of any nationality.
Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, said he expects the World Baseball Classic to grow substantially in the coming years. He calls out general managers of the Major League teams on putting the interest of their individual teams before that of the game. How can he expect them to act any different? The competition is flawed. And there appears to be no real way to correct the biggest flaws, which is that the timing does not allow for the players to be in their best possible game form, and the players themselves don’t seem to take it as seriously as Selig may hope. It would be nonsensical to interrupt the regular season and the chemistry of the teams in the Major Leagues and abroad alike in favor of the competition; when the regular season is over, the players are far too exhausted. So Selig’s perspective is understandable -that baseball should get on board with it, because this is the best the Classic can do. But it isn’t good enough.
mlblogstheshow
Recent Comments