Schedule biggest hurdle for WBC
Victor Martinez was just starting spring training in Florida last month, and already he was feeling the pressure over the World Baseball Classic.
“I don’t know, man,” the veteran slugger said softly. “I think they’re going to have to find a different time to do this.”
The Detroit slugger is on the roster for Venezuela, which begins round-robin play in the WBC on Friday night against Puerto Rico. His concerns about the timing of the event aren’t exactly unique.
Now over a decade old, this international tournament featuring some of the game’s biggest stars is taking place for the fourth time, but as much as players look forward to the opportunity, it’s become increasingly clear that there’s no perfect time and format for this type of competition.
With so many great players from all over the world, baseball seems like an ideal sport for this type of tournament, but while the WBC receives plenty of interest in Asia and Latin America, it hasn’t totally caught on in the United States — where soccer’s World Cup, the Olympic basketball and hockey tournaments and even golf’s Ryder Cup usually draw a decent amount of anticipation.
“I would like to get the WBC to the point where everyone views it as a premier international event,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said a few weeks ago at a spring training event.
“I’m going to both Korea and Japan. One of the reasons I’m making that trip is, in those countries, tremendous support and interest in this event, and we need to make sure we get the same kind of interest and support here in the United States. I think the key to that is having a competitive, successful team from the United States.”
In Tokyo on Tuesday, Manfred pushed back against the idea that the WBC’s future is shaky, pointing out how popular the event is around the world. Perhaps it would be taken more seriously in the U.S. if the Americans fared better — they’ve never finished higher than fourth.
This year’s U.S. roster, managed by Jim Leyland, includes big names such as Andrew McCutchen, Giancarlo Stanton and Paul Goldschmidt. The pitching staff, however, is lacking quite a few stars.
“We’re missing a lot of the best pitchers that we have,” said U.S. second baseman Ian Kinsler of the Tigers. “You look at (Clayton) Kershaw and David Price and Chris Sale and Rick Porcello and (Justin) Verlander. You could go on and on.”
Some have wondered about playing the WBC in the middle of the season, with the major leagues taking time off the way the NHL has done for the Olympics. Max Scherzer, who was supposed to pitch in the WBC this year but had to pull out because of a knuckle injury, figures that’s unlikely.
“The only way to actually make it more popular is if you were to pause the actual MLB season. That’s the only way to have all the best players playing at the same time for their countries,” Scherzer said. “But given the format of the season, no one is going to agree to that, because you’re going to have to take 25 days off to be able to do that.”
CANADA 7, JAYS 1
DUNEDIN, Fla. (CP) — Justin Morneau hit a two-run single off J.A. Happ in the second inning and Canada’s World Baseball Classic team cruised to a 7-1 win over the Toronto Blue Jays in an exhibition game Tuesday.
Canada’s Dalton Pompey had two hits and scored a run against his major-league team, and shortstop Jonathan Malo went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.
The Blue Jays’ sole offence came from an Anthony Alford sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Canada plays its first World Baseball Classic game Thursday against the Dominican Republic in Miami.