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The World Baseball Classic is the world cup of baseball, the premier international baseball competition. It also completely rules. This is the first WBC since 2017, because of Covid (it's usually every three years). Here's a quick rundown on the charm of the WBC for aspiring baseball sickos: -Anyone can win a game of baseball. You might look at the rosters of teams like the DR or even the USA and think how the hell can anyone beat them, but it's baseball and even the shittiest loving team you've ever seen wins about a third of their games in MLB, so anything is possible in a single-elimination tournament. In 2009, the Netherlands knocked out a superstar-laden Dominican Republic team. -The Dutch word for baseball is Honkbal -Pretty much every other country that plays baseball has a way more fun baseball culture than our red-assed anti-celebration goobers. -Middle-aged Guys or even retired players come out of nowhere for their teams, it's always cool to see some like 39 year-old pitcher is still pitching in the Mexican League. -Teams from places where they don't really play baseball are filled with American players with extremely tenuous connections to those places-- I am pretty sure you are eligible for Team Italy if your name ends in a vowel. Players can also switch national affiliation pretty easily. For example, Marcus Stroman, who led the USA in 2017, is now pitching for Puerto Rico. -Extremely Cool Players Not Yet in MLB: While the draft/international signings suck most of the best players from Latin America into the MLB pipeline, the arcane posting systems used in Korea and Japan mean that this is the best place to see some extremely cool players before they make their way to MLB (if they choose to) unless you stay up on KBO/NPB highlights. THE TOURNAMENT The WBC finals have 20 teams in 4 pools of 5 teams. The top two teams from each pool advance to the quarter-finals with single-elimination games to the championship. This is an insane way to actually play baseball, so the strategy of allocating pitchers in elimination games is vital. This is also because this is taking place concurrently with MLB's spring training, so there are limits on pitch counts because if a pitcher blows his arm out in the WBC, MLB teams will freak out and they basically own the tournament. THE TEAMS POOL A  NOTES: -None of these teams have much of a chance of winning. -The Cuban team is a mix of Cuban league players with Major Leaguers. -Italy is managed by Mike Piazza, let's hope he manages it better than that Italian soccer team he ran into the ground. -The Netherlands boasts probably the biggest star of this group, Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts - POOL B  -Japan is a powerhouse in the WBC. Keep your eye on Roki Sasaki, who threw a perfect game last year in NPB with 19 strikeouts including 13 in a row. He's only 21. Plus the coolest baseball player on the entire planet Shohei Ohtani will be pitching and hitting for Japan. -Korea might not have the flashiest roster but they have traditionally done very well in WBC play. Korea might also have the most fun baseball culture on the planet. -The Czech Republic is a team of actual Czech amateurs who miraculously qualified for the finals and are the sentimental favorites of the tournament. Oh and also Eric Sogard, lmao. POOL C  -The Team USA lineup is genuinely insane, easily the second-best lineup of the tournament. But a bunch of the old-rear end star pitchers opted out and the rotation looks pretty mediocre (still probably better than most teams but then again the average WBC team is made up of AA guys). -Canada has an absolute galaxy of Guys. And Joey Votto. -Today I learned that Vance Worley is still playing for the Kane County Cougars. And also Team GB. Britain also has a guy literally named Scrubb. -41-year-old Oliver Perez is playing for Mexico. Mexico always feels like it should do better in the WBC, there's some good major league talent there. POOL D  -The Dominican Republic team is the favorite because look at their roster. They have a star at virtually every position and an opposing pitcher will somehow have to navigate a lineup consisting of Manny Machado, Rafael Devers, Juan Soto, and Julio Rodriguez. Robinson Cano is there for vibes. Every WBC it is almost impossible to imagine how the Dominican team can lose, but it's single-elimination baseball. -Puerto Rico is also a very strong team, though Yadi Molina is managing it now. The Lindor-Baez infield lost some luster with Javy's down year, but I'm predicting that Javy will have a very strong WBC since he is not playing in depressing Detroit. -Don't sleep on Venezuela! They've got Jose Altuve, Ronald Acuña, Salvy Perez, and even the remains of Miguel Cabrera. Edwin Diaz looms as a trumpeting omen in the 9th. -Team Israel is mainly Jewish American ballplayers, headlined by Joc Pederson. -I've heard of one guy on the Nicaragua: it's Yankees reliever Jonathan Loáisiga. RULES The WBC doesn't have a pitch clock or shift ban like the new rules debuting in MLB this year. I'm not sure if they have the normal or larger bases. Games start tonight with Cuba/Netherlands at 11:00pm Eastern (US). Let's watch some actual competitive baseball!
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Mar 8, 2023 03:13
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| # ? Apr 29, 2024 16:21 |
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oh man
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Mar 8, 2023 03:14
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