Competition or exhibition? WBC’s pitching rules loom large

PHOENIX – Mark DeRosa said last week that one of his most important jobs as United States manager during the World Baseball Classic is making sure his players understand the tournament is a competition, not an exhibition.

Just two games in, he sort of undercut his own message.

“Obviously, I want nothing more (than) for these guys to repeat as champions and hold up the trophy,” DeRosa said following Sunday’s 11-5 loss to Mexico. “But I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize these guys’ big league careers.”

Those two sentences are a good encapsulation of what makes the WBC such an intriguing, but frustrating endeavor.

Sure, it’s cool to have an Olympics-style tournament in baseball. But no matter how much players and coaches say they want to win, there are limits to that competitiveness.

Lots of limits, actually. Particularly when it comes to pitching.

DeRosa’s comments came in the aftermath of a U.S. pitching meltdown against Mexico. Brady

Singer and Daniel Bard both got hit hard and struggled with their command. In a normal, competitive setting, DeRosa probably would have pulled each pitcher before the damage could get worse.

But the U.S. manager’s hands were tied. The tournament’s rules – along with directives from MLB clubs – make pitching decisions the toughest part of the job for all skippers in the WBC.

Pitchers for all countries are limited to 65 pitches per outing in the first round. If a player throws more than 50 pitches in an outing, he can’t pitch for the next four days. If he throws more than 30, he can’t pitch the next day. Finally, if he throws on backto-back days, he must sit out the next day.

And that’s just the official rules of the WBC.

Major League Baseball teams – who are allowing their high-priced pitchers to play in the tournament while risking injury – often have even tighter requests of managers.

Some MLB teams don’t want their pitchers throwing on back-to-back days. Others don’t want them to come into the game in the middle of an inning. Still others don’t want them to pitch multiple innings.

GABRIEL PONCE PHOTO Holtville High Viking Kamryn Walker (right) attempts to steal second base during a non-league softball game against the Coronado Islanders on Monday, March 13, in Holtville.

AP PHOTO/ United States pitcher Nick Martinez (left) exits during the third inning of a World Baseball Classic game against Mexico in Phoenix on Sunday.