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Baseball Goes Worldwide
Topic Started: Thursday Mar 2 2006, 02:36 PM (262 Views)
WeatherManNX01
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The Yanks are coming!

From the MLB:
Quote:
 
Baseball has officially become global
World Baseball Classic marks the internationalization of game


Phil Garner, now manager of the National League defending champion Houston Astros, predicted the internationalization of baseball years ago.

The fully-internationalized game, Garner said, would be so big that you would not even be able to call it "global baseball." It would have to be "galactic baseball."

Baseball may not yet be quite at the galactic level. But this year, it is officially global, with the first World Baseball Classic.

You have heard the critics. Somebody might get hurt. Well, somebody might get hurt in an exhibition game, too. Somebody might get hurt during morning calisthenics. Somebody might get hurt driving from his afternoon round of golf to his rented Spring Training condo. It's life. Somebody might get hurt. It is not a reason to avoid celebrating and promoting the internationalization of baseball.

Some Major League teams have privately urged their players not to participate. This might be due caution. This might also be treason. No matter how you view it, it could be expected. No change occurs easily in baseball. And the World Baseball Classic is undoubtedly a change, although some of us would see it as progress.

Opposition to this tournament reminds you that night games were once supposed to be the death of baseball. And televising home games would kill attendance. And the introduction of Interleague play would diminish the integrity of the game.

All of these notions were dead wrong. But baseball, a game built on its own history and traditions, never ushers in innovations without the accompaniment of predictions of doom.

In the case of the World Baseball Classic, one change that is not easy for Americans to accept is that baseball is no longer "our" game in the narrowest sense of that term. Certainly, it is still our game in the sense that we invented it, nurtured it and loved it longer than anybody else.

But it is bigger than that now. It is also the national pastime in Japan and a major obsession in the nations of the Caribbean. You can tell, because these very same nations are the ones who are sending terrific baseball players in ever-growing numbers to play in the Major Leagues. And these players are making the American game better.

This is what the Classic recognizes. A mere glance at the rosters tells you that somebody other than the good old U.S. of A. could win this tournament. Look at the Dominican lineup. Look at the Venezuelan pitching staff. But the issue is even bigger than that.

Baseball has become an international game. It is more of an international game than basketball. It is more of an international game than football. It is not as big internationally as soccer, but you cannot win them all. And besides, baseball is just starting its version of the World Cup.

The World Baseball Classic is both good and inevitable. It had to happen, as recognition of what has occurred in the game and as a hope for what can occur in the future. This is merely a starting point; 16 nations now, maybe 32 later, then 64. There you are with brackets as big as the NCAA basketball tournament, but with more languages spoken.

There is plenty of evidence to suggest that there may be more excitement per capita in other competing nations than there is in America. This is fine and it is also understandable. Maybe it will catch on immediately with the American baseball public, or maybe it will catch on later. But it is a question of when, not if, because this is a concept too solid, too progressive, and eventually too compelling to go quietly away.

And no, this won't change or damage the importance of the World Series. The World Baseball Classic is not a substitute. It is an addition. It is an addition that reflects the reality of baseball in 2006. That reality is a game that is drawing from an ever larger pool of talent and fans.

We have not yet achieved galactic baseball. But we have finally closed in on global baseball. Here comes a tournament for the baseball world, the world's best in the world's best game. There will be some kinks to work out, no doubt of that. But this is where baseball has been headed for some time. Now is the time to understand and appreciate how good this direction has been for the game and how good it will continue to be for the game. Let's play global ball.
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PSUSyr5
The Board Idiot

There are some things that should be changed.

Group A finishes before the other 3 groups start...seems odd.

Other than Italy and Netherlands, there are no Euro teams...let's get the UK, France, Spain and Germany in this!

Some teams get 2 "home" games, while others get just 1. Also, seems to be a little odd.

Obviously, nothing works completely well the first time. It's a great idea that needs a few touch-ups.
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