Is The WBC Even Worth it?

[Dave Borton]

1 minute ago, h2oface said:

Yikes! I wonder how long ago the inspection was and whether there was time during the 4 plus months off season to address it. 
Great info about the survey, too. $$$

Last Spring, 2022. The D'Backs are arm-wrestling with the Maricopa County Stadium District, owner of the stadium over improving the stadium. Lease runs thru 2027. Rumblings of "move to Vegas."

https://arizonasports.com/story/3504499/diamondbacks-leaders-weighing-options-for-future-home-ballpark/

[Schmoeman5]

2 hours ago, Muppet said:

How about this for a proposal. Since USA baseball is so broken that they have to come up with new ridiculous rules (I'm looking at you ghost runners and tightly wound pitch clocks) every year to speed up the game (that is presumably so boring that nobody wants to watch). Why don't we finally break up the entire notion of what USA (and Toronto) baseball is all about. Let's truly acknowledge the global sport that it is. 

I'm not going to pretend I know how European, African, and South American footbal work, but I do like the excitement that comes when all of those teams play in the world cup. 

Let's open it up. I'd be super excited to have the chance to see the Twins play the Sultanas de Monterrey or the Leones del Caracas, or some team from Havana once in awhile. Far more so than I'd want to watch them play the stinking Royals 25 times a year.  

I'd much rather go back to an older era where four teams duke it out in the playoffs to see who goes to the world (or USA) series, but then get the chance to watch a wider playoff berth open up into a WBC that sends our best 4-8 teams. 

To be honest. Baseball is getting a little old, convoluted, and tired, no thanks to all the rule changes and extra teams. What do we have to lose? The Marlins? I'll take it.  

It is a global sport and every team is represented by teams made up from many nations. The Twins have players from multiple countries. Your idea won't work simply because of logistics ie travel time. From New York to Tokyo is a 15 hour flight. It could work but you'd have to shorten the season. And if you were to play a team from Caracas or Monterey or Seoul are you suggesting adding more teams or relegation like they do in Soccer 

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, TCSquad said:

If MLB ever decides against allowing its players to participate in the World Baseball Classic against teams around the world, then they need to rename the World Series (which sees 29 teams from the United States of America and one Canadian team.)

Why does it matter if they allow or don't allow the players to participate in the WBC to change the name? That doesn't change the fact were MLB teams are located?

[TwinsDr2021]

2 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I love it and I would remove the all-star game and put in a world classic instead.  Better time, more viewers and more fun that HR contests and All Star meaningless games. 

I like this idea and think it works great from an offensive perspective, but not so sure from the pitching side, unless everybody is OK with the pitchers being minor league pitchers. I know I wouldn't want any of the top Twins starters or Duran pitching in games at that point in the season, but would for some of the top prospects doing it.

[SF Twins Fan]

I'm 100% for anything Olbermann is against.  The guy's a clown.

[Jocko87]

Yes.

[GNess]

Keith Olbermann likes to share controversial opinions that will elicit a response - its his schtick and job so to speak.

Athletes in almost any sport risk injury at practice, workouts and competitions. You can't bubble wrap them although NFL quarterbacks and NBA stars seem to get protective treatment from officials and there is the load management deal in the NBA. But in the end, they must practice, workout and compete.

Baseball definitely needed some new ideas - the WBC has captured the attention of fans and most players seem to like it. No one is forced to play. These objections seem like nay saying for nay saying's sake.

 

[h2oface]

4 hours ago, mikelink45 said:

I love it and I would remove the all-star game and put in a world classic instead.  Better time, more viewers and more fun that HR contests and All Star meaningless games. 

That would be a great time. I like it in theory. Longer break for the injured to recoup and those that don't play. But a lot of action and no rest for the teams that play until the Semi's and Finals, especially. And those players would probably be many of the very best in MLB. 

But do you think that the "all -stars" egos could give up being all-stars and all the tradition and notoriety that goes with it? Perhaps contract bonuses. Interesting thing for the players to weigh in on.

[chinmusic]

4 hours ago, Schmoeman5 said:

It's been called the World Series since 1903 or somewhere in that time frame. I don't think we need to change the name to be "politically correct".

It's not a question of political correctness; it's simply a misnomer. 29 American teams and Toronto does not constitute the world. That said, the "World Series" is steeped in history, and for me (especially when I was a kid) it evokes a magical time of year. So keep the name, but be aware that World Series champs are actually winners of the MLB season. There's nothing global about it.

Nelson Cruz made a good point saying that the WBC is the real World Series. And by the way, hang on to that too. I think it has lots of potential to flourish.

[Schmoeman5]

37 minutes ago, chinmusic said:

It's not a question of political correctness; it's simply a misnomer. 29 American teams and Toronto does not constitute the world. That said, the "World Series" is steeped in history, and for me (especially when I was a kid) it evokes a magical time of year. So keep the name, but be aware that World Series champs are actually winners of the MLB season. There's nothing global about it.

Nelson Cruz made a good point saying that the WBC is the real World Series. And by the way, hang on to that too. I think it has lots of potential to flourish.

So Nelson Cruz made a statement. That's his opinion. Every MLB team is made up of players from all over the world. So IMHO that makes it a world series. They just happen to be based in the US and Canada. So let's just scrap the system. Form a league made up of all the Latin America countries. Have a US/Canadian/Mexico league. An Asian league and a European league. You'll be down to 12-16 teams in North America so you can kiss your Twins goodbye. And then you can have your REAL World Series. Top 2 teams and playoffs.

[Doctor Gast]

Players get hurt and worn out during the All-star game. Should we discontinue that? WBC goes beyond the US, it grows the game in the world which is great. It probably grows the sport inside the US, especially with generational immigrants. Precautions are taken, so IMO it's well worth it.

[rwilfong86]

Absolutely 100% worth it and I hope more stars participate in 2026.

[Old Twins Cap]

20 hours ago, TCSquad said:

If MLB ever decides against allowing its players to participate in the World Baseball Classic against teams around the world, then they need to rename the World Series (which sees 29 teams from the United States of America and one Canadian team.)

Little known fact:  the derivation of the name "world series" was from the New York World newspaper which was a popular paper in its day.  They sponsored or at least the series was named for that newspaper -- not because the series was a "world-wide" event.   One of the biggest mis-impressions in sport IMHO. 

[Shobae]

I am genuinely unable to fathom how any actual baseball fan would be anti-WBC at this point. The last tournament was absolutely amazing baseball to watch, high energy environments, big swings in win probability, big homers and outstanding defense and pitching. If you don't like watching those games I seriously question whether you like watching any baseball games at all. The pundits who come out with these rage bait takes I highly doubt are regular baseball fans and if they are then it's either a bit or they're just clouded by ignorance, bias and an engagement incentive.
As for the tournament itself it will continue in 2026 and it absolutely should. Baseball is played globally and I think therefore needs a premier international competition like any other big sport. Just because it's not a big deal in the US, I'm sorry to say, doesn't mean a whole lot because the US is 1 out of 20 teams there and it's not even the biggest market for the tournament (that would be Japan). So the massive hype around the WBC in other countries is reason enough to keep it going for the MLB because you've got dedicated and large scale interest there.
Finally, I think we can all agree that the WBC is good for baseball. As someone who watches rugby union purely on the national level the world cup is the biggest event. The same goes for the number 1 sport football. I see no reason why this shouldn't also be the case for baseball, which would help grow the sport to countries where baseball has either a minor or non-existent foothold. I think the onus is on MLB to try and market it better to the US audience, many of whom probably didn't even know it was happening (can't really blame them).

[chpettit19]

16 hours ago, Schmoeman5 said:

So Nelson Cruz made a statement. That's his opinion. Every MLB team is made up of players from all over the world. So IMHO that makes it a world series. They just happen to be based in the US and Canada. So let's just scrap the system. Form a league made up of all the Latin America countries. Have a US/Canadian/Mexico league. An Asian league and a European league. You'll be down to 12-16 teams in North America so you can kiss your Twins goodbye. And then you can have your REAL World Series. Top 2 teams and playoffs.

I'd absolutely love that. I'd trade the Twins for an actual world league in a heartbeat.

[chpettit19]

39 minutes ago, Old Twins Cap said:

Little known fact:  the derivation of the name "world series" was from the New York World newspaper which was a popular paper in its day.  They sponsored or at least the series was named for that newspaper -- not because the series was a "world-wide" event.   One of the biggest mis-impressions in sport IMHO. 

I think they've actually debunked this. The newspaper never sponsored the event, or had any official tie to it. It was known as the "World's Championship Series" early on, and eventually shortened to "World Series" over the years. It really was named for the idea of being the baseball champions of the world.

[TaterTot]

If this could become the World Cup of baseball in 10 or 20 years, it would be a wonderful thing for baseball. Has anyone pointed out that if they were at spring training the Would also be playing BASEBALL?

[Schmoeman5]

7 minutes ago, TaterTot said:

If this could become the World Cup of baseball in 10 or 20 years, it would be a wonderful thing for baseball. Has anyone pointed out that if they were at spring training the Would also be playing BASEBALL?

???

[Joey Self]

I'm one that didn't care about the WBC, didn't watch any of it except a couple of innings of the US/UK game and maybe 6 innings of the final.  I don't mind that others liked it, but I was more interested in the NCAA tourney. 

I think the jury is still out as to the effect it will have on attendance and viewership for MLB this season.  I'll ask because I don't know:  Is there an uptick in track meet attendance in the USA after the Olympics?  Do more people watch soccer on TV after the World Cup in America in the months after that exhibition is over?  

JcS

[Squirrel]

That was some of the best, most exciting baseball I’ve watched in a very, very long time. I equated the Mexico v Japan game to game 7 of the 1991 WS. I was an initial ‘poo-pooer’ of this, worried about the affect on players at the start of the season, but have since changed my mind 180 degrees. I hope it’s bigger in 2026, and maybe do the semis and finals instead of all-star week.

[notoriousgod71]

Show me a baseball game prior to September 30 that has the same player and fan reactions.

Clearly the WBC means more than 99.9% of regular season baseball games to those participating in it.

[Melissa]

On 3/25/2023 at 10:35 AM, Squirrel said:

That was some of the best, most exciting baseball I’ve watched in a very, very long time. I equated the Mexico v Japan game to game 7 of the 1991 WS. I was an initial ‘poo-pooer’ of this, worried about the affect on players at the start of the season, but have since changed my mind 180 degrees. I hope it’s bigger in 2026, and maybe do the semis and finals instead of all-star week.

I loved the WBC, too. The enthusiasm and excitement were so stirring!

I agree that having early rounds in March and then the “Final Four” during the All Star week would be fun. Less competition from other sports, too.