Despite the Injury Risk To Players, The WBC Should Be Embraced By Fans
The Mets organization and their fan base are at varying stages of grief following the season-ending injury to pitcher Edwin Diaz sustained last week during the World Baseball Classic Many are ruing the very concept of such a tournament which puts their top players at risk.
Never mind that the All-Star closer didn’t throw out his arm doing relatively pro bono work (championship team players will receive about $50,000 each; others less on a declining scale depending on their team’s finish, per Boardroom) for his native Puerto Rico; Diaz suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee while CELEBRATING after recording the final out of his club’s 5-2 pool play victory over the Dominican Republic, which sent P.R. to the quarterfinal knockout round.
Such a fluke injury, as any injury would, obviously put a damper on the proceedings, and, sure, the tournament should be moved to November/December to minimize the potential damage to Major League Baseball teams. But the big picture remains clear: The WBC has showcased the sport at its best, and thus should be embraced by anyone who reveres the game.
Baseball needed its version of a World Cup. There’s just something different about best-on-best competitions when the elite players represent their countries. No one wants to see a Diaz collapse, Paul George crashing into the basketball stanchion during a Team USA exhibition, or the hockey hit in the 2014 Winter Olympics that sidelined John Tavares. But these things can happen anytime. Kevin Durant slipped on a wet spot on the court during his warmup routine before a Suns regular season game and hasn’t played in two weeks.
Baseball is played in enough countries to hold a viable tournament. The only question is when. Olympic basketball is also played in the lengthier NBA offseason and MLB isn’t going to interrupt its 162-game campaigns to allow for Olympic participation the way the National Hockey League does.
So this is what they came up with. And this year’s event has shown that, other than the need to tweak the timing, it was by no means a contrived mistake.
The contests have been absolutely riveting, The players are bought in and playing with an intensity that, at minimum, matches what we see in postseason baseball. The fans are loving it too, creating electric atmospheres. Heck, given the state of the Miami MLB franchise, when was the last time that stadium sold out? For baseball, I mean. LoanDepot Park was filled to capacity for Team USA’s thrilling 9-7 victory over Venezuela on Saturday and its 14-2 rout of Cuba on Sunday that lifted the club into Wednesday’s final against Japan.
The energy from the Venezuela game, in front of the split allegiances in the crowd, made it feel like an NCAA Final Four event. Every result seemed to be punctuated with raw emotion. And when Team USA shortstop Trea Turner launched the game-winning grand slam in the top of the eighth inning, that was a goose bump moment.
Turner called it the “biggest hit I’ve had.” For those like me who don’t ordinarily follow MLB that closely, he has played in 43 playoff games and won a World Series with the Nationals in 2019.
Not to be outdone, Japan rallied to beat Mexico, 6-5, on Tuesday night in front of another packed house in Miami. Munetaka Murakami was Japan’s hero, blasting a two-run double to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth.
Angels multi-talented superstar Shohei Ohtani doubled to lead off the inning and scored the tying run. After his teammate Ukyo Shuto followed him home, Ohtani’s smile was probably as wide as he’s ever expressed on an American baseball field.
Wednesday’s final promises to be just as intense, as it features two of the past three champions (the D.R. captured the crown in 2013), not to mention the whole Ohtani versus Angels teammate Mike Trout sidebar. Team USA won the last title in 2017, beating Puerto Rico in the final after nipping Japan, 2-1, in the semis.
The COVID-19 pandemic was responsible for the ensuing six-year hiatus, but the next one will be played in 2026. Hopefully, the organizers will modify the schedule so that more of the top players won’t be spooked about participating. I’m guessing if they asked the current players—who knows, maybe even Diaz himself—the vast majority would say that the pure fun of playing for their countries makes it worth the risk.