A Classic

The World Baseball Classic sort of snuck up on me. I did not think I would pay a lot of attention to it, then I saw an early round game and realized that these were All Star games. The Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the U.S. were loaded with major league talent. The games were played with a high level of intensity. It certainly was not spring training for these guys.
In the end however, it was the game with very few major leaguers that was really the best. Japan vs. Korea. Sure, there were a few players I recognized. Ichiro has made his mark here in the states.
For the most part however, it was a lot of guys I had never heard of and probably will never see play again, yet the final game was gripping. It was tight throughout. The crowd of over 50,000 at Dodger Stadium was loud through the whole game. Korea tied the game in the 9th inning to send it into extra innings. Japan won in the 10th on a hit by, guess who, Ichiro.
You just don't see games like that in March. Frankly you rarely see games like that in any month other than October. What was great was the joy in the players and the fans. This was truly baseball for love of the game. It may be America's national pastime, but I would be hard pressed to argue that America has more passion for the game than Japan or Korea, at least based on what I saw over the last weekend.
The American team once again did not win. I commend many of the guys for giving up their spring training to be out there. I have a new respect for David Wright who played through an injury, and a potentially serious one at that, for his country. Chipper Jones, for his whining about the format, has gone down a few notches in my esteem.
The World Baseball Classic is a good event. I am looking forward to seeing it again. Bud Selig has done a lot of things wrong, but this event is not one of them.