Remembering a star-studded letdown
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — How could a team featuring Derek Jeter, Ken Griffey Jr., Chipper Jones, Roger Clemens and Alex Rodriguez be so mediocre?
We’re defining a 3-3 record as mediocre.
Team USA’s roster in the 2006 World Baseball Classic was star-studded, even if at least a couple of those stars were beyond their primes. Griffey was 36, Clemens 43.
Still, Griffey had hit .301 with 35 homers the previous season, and Clemens had led the majors in ERA.
That team was upset by Canada in the first round and got eliminated in the second with losses to Mexico and South Korea. Japan beat Cuba in the final.
“The simple reason is the other team played better than us,” said Randy Winn, the only Giant on that U.S. roster — Barry Bonds took a pass. “Japan was in midseason form. I was in early spring training form.
“And if you check my record, I’m not a good spring training hitter.”
Winn recalls having just five plate appearances in spring training before Team USA began training, which didn’t exactly provide momentum for an international tournament in which other teams had trained for months.
It was the inaugural WBC, and the setup was foreign to players who were asked to be in midseason form in the middle of their respective training camps.
“I don’t think we were gameready,” Winn said. “Our hearts were in it. Our minds were in it. We just weren’t game-ready yet.”
Organizers have tried to tweak things over the years to help players be better prepared. The latest Team USA members were given a bit more time than the inaugural bunch. Brandon Crawford got 19 plate appearances in Giants camp. Buster Posey got 13 and would have had more if not for a stiff neck.
This year’s U.S. team advanced past the first round, beat Venezuela in the secondround opener, and lost to Puerto Rico on Friday. It faced the Dominican Republic on Saturday night with a spot in the semifinals at stake.
Creating immediate team unity can be tough when a roster of players from across the league is assembled. Egos and playing time need to be considered, but Winn doesn’t recall chemistry being a problem in 2006.
“The chemistry thing came naturally,” Winn said. “Everybody was excited to be there, including the big-name guys. The personalities of the Juniors and Jeters made it easy for everyone, including young guys like Chase Utley and Matt Holliday. I remember a lot of laughing, joking and storytelling.
“The chemistry was the easy part. The hard part was we didn’t have the game reps.”
Even so, it was surprising when the U.S. fell behind Canada 8-0 and lost 8-6. Dontrelle Willis and Al Leiter surrendered seven runs in the first four innings at Phoenix’s Chase Field.
“(Steve) Nash was sitting right above our dugout rooting against me,” Winn said of the Canadian basketball player who was a Phoenix Sun and Winn’s teammate at Santa Clara back in the day.
In the next round, in Anaheim, the U.S. lost to South Korea 7-3 — Willis scuffled again — and was eliminated in a 2-1 loss to Mexico in which the Americans got just three hits.
It was the first time Winn represented his country on a baseball field, and the emotions ran high, especially during the national anthems.
“I stood on baseball fields and heard the anthem many times. There are two that stood out for me. The one after 9/11 at Yankee Stadium and my first one in a USA uniform,” said Winn, who was at Yankee Stadium (as a Ray) for the Yankees’ first home game after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“The first time it was played in the WBC, it came all of a sudden for me: OK, these games are different.”
That was at the Americans’ pretourney exhibition against the Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. The WBCers won 12-7, and Jeter and A-Rod interrupted their pregame infield practice to run off the field and meet Willie Mays, who emerged from the Giants’ clubhouse.
“Hello, Mr. Mays,” A-Rod said.
“Man, you guys are tall,” Mays said.
Despite the team’s disappointing finish, Winn said, “I loved every minute of it. Every minute.”
Maybe next time: Heralded infield prospect Christian Arroyo is learning a lot in the Giants’ camp, but imagine the education he would have received if he had played for Puerto Rico in the WBC.
Arroyo heard from the Puerto Rican team last season about possibly playing. He would have been eligible because his grandparents were born in Puerto Rico.
That was before Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez committed.
“They have a really good infield anyway — three of the young studs in the game playing for one team,” Arroyo said. “They were trying to put a tentative roster together. It was more of an ‘I’ll let you know’ on their side. I thought it was pretty cool.”
Perhaps Arroyo, 21, will get a chance in the next WBC. He’ll make the jump to Triple-A this year. Around the WBC: It’s one thing for Magic Johnson to make a pass without looking. That’s taught. But who would teach a no-look tag? Baez victimized the Giants in the fall and the Dominican’s Nelson Cruz on a stolen-base attempt in the WBC, taking it a step further by looking at (and pointing to) catcher Yadier Molina to congratulate him for the throw that hadn’t been caught yet. Ridiculous. … Angel Pagan hasn’t signed anywhere and was quoted in The Chronicle saying, “I just want to earn the respect that I deserve.” He wants a big-league job and hasn’t been open to signing a minor-league contract at 35. He should be. It’s not a sign of disrespect. That’s the path old-timers Jimmy Rollins, Aaron Hill and Michael Morse are taking. … The timing of the WBC isn’t great, but there aren’t good options. After the World Series? “If that were the case,” A’s manager Bob Melvin said, “no one would play.”