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World Baseball Classic Was A Purist's Dream

The Associated Press

Japan's Hiroyuki Nakajima, right, is forced out at second as South Korea's Ko Young Min turns a double play.

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By SCOTT BUTHERUS | TBO.com

Published: March 24, 2009

Say what you want about the World Baseball Classic.

Say the timing of the event is horrible and the format is less than desirable and creates far too much downtime between games.

Say that the tournament that claims to be "worldwide" effectively excludes 180 other countries from competition.

Say it doesn't elicit the greatest fan reaction here in the states.

Say that the best players aren't always showcased because of their commitments to their "day jobs."

Say the players sometimes treat their nationality as if it were free agency.

You could say all of these things and more, but there is another thing you have to say about the WBC.

It was good baseball.

During a time of year when baseball fans are accustomed to watching minor league roster hopefuls boot groundballs around the infields of Florida and Arizona and the games themselves take a backseat to the act of playing hooky from work to have a few beers at the ballpark, the WBC was giving baseball purists perfectly executed hit and runs.

Fundamental baseball, situational hitting and polished pitching performances in the middle of March? No wonder American fans had trouble wrapping their heads around it.

It was exciting even before the extra-inning thriller finale between the defending WBC champion Japan and the 2008 Olympic champion Korea in front of a new WBC-record crowd of 54,846.

It was exciting when the Korean team put up 10 runs against a Venezuela team that looked pretty much invincible just to get into the final game.

Did you know that Thundersticks were invented by the Koreans?

It was exciting to see Italy upset a Canadian team that featured Jason Bay, Russell Martin and Justin Morneau in the middle of their order.

It was exciting when the Netherlands team beat the Dominican Republic squad filled with some of Major League baseball's biggest names, not once but twice

Most of all, it was exciting to see baseball played the right way. Good pitching and defense, fundamentals and fervor. A venue in which the 'organizational philosophy' of the ballclub is guided by genetics and culture rather than market size and draft strategy.

National pride was spilling over from the bleachers AND the dugout.

It was all baseball. And it was good.

The WBC won't return until March of 2013. But if the then-tournament record 43,630 fans that turned out to watch the semifinal matchup between Team USA and Japan in Los Angeles is any indication, the event might finally be catching on in the states.

Whether that means we will see an intoxicated middle-aged man in a Speedo, circling the stadium concourse carrying an American flag and screaming Bruce Springsteen lyrics has yet to be determined.

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