World Baseball Classic Preview

            First of all, I would like to apologize for the lack of activity and new posts ver the past few weeks, however I have many new ones that will be coming to this blog and to mlbrandomfandom.com, so check them out, and enjoy!

            It goes without saying that the World Baseball Classic is by far the games best and most intriguing way to gain attention for the sport on an international level. When you have some of the games biggest stars playing and representing their respective countries, it’s a whole new ballgame (pun intended). I remember going to a few games back in 2009 WBC in Toronto and the electricity and diversity among the fans in that stadium (which was packed) was unlike anything I had and still have ever seen at an MLB game. This is not a knock on MLB by any stretch of the imagination, but naturally, you are going to get a whole new feel and attention level when you have baseball on the global stage versus essentially just North America.

            As always, there are players that cannot or won’t compete in the WBC for whatever reason (injuries, focused on upcoming season, etc.) which is always disappointing because you want to see the best that every country has to offer. But, the WBC manages to put on quite the show every time the tournament is played. From the star-studded lineup that the US has (although they seemingly never play up to their potential) to the surprises over the Pacific with Japan and South Korea to the talent the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico has to offer (among others) this surely is going to be a tournament for the ages.

            I remember going to a game between Team Canada and Team USA. This is when the likes of Brett Lawrie, Mike Trout and Bryce Harper were in high school, but nonetheless, it was the greatest baseball game I had ever been to. From the crowd that erupted every time their home team got a hit or made a play to the US side where the seemingly endless talent showed up inning after inning, the game was fun. And that’s what the World Baseball Classic is about, having fun.

Nicholas Bell