Adam "Real American Hero" Jones

[PaulFolk]

Let's make sure this discussion stays on baseball. Thanks.

[Can_of_corn]

Just now, RZNJ said:

Hate to say it, but if foreign teams need AMERICAN players to fill out their roster, then maybe they shouldn't be in the tournament.    Hey, it's no big deal to me and I don't have a big problem with Machado playing for the Dominican but you can bet a lot more people would have a problem if this tournament was taken more seriously.   He is an American but he's playing for another country.    It's accepted because MLB has pretty much made it that way.

Guarantee you, that if winning this tournament was considered important, like on the Olympic level, and the Dominican Republic knocked out the U.S. on a Machado homer or great play, there would be a lot of stuff being said about it.

So teams like Italy and Israel shouldn't be able to participate?  How does that grow the sport?

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

I edited my post before I even saw this.  I said exactly that.    Then again, how did Australia, the Dominican, Panama. Columbia, the Netherlands, Curacao, etc. grow the sport long before the WBC was around?

It's an irrelevant point.

The stated goal of the WBC is to grow the sport.  If you make it functionally impossible for more than say 10 teams to field anything close to competitive teams it will fail in that goal.  I believe they use the same mechanism for deciding what teams a player can play for as the Olympics do.  Seems fair enough to me given their stated mission.

The WBC was never and will never be about the USA.

 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

It's about making money.   

Sure it is.  And having the US dominate isn't going to make the most money.

If the US had steamrolled the first three WBC would we have crowds for these games?

The US losing is good for the WBC.

[weams]

Just now, RZNJ said:

Let me ask it this way and this was the point I was trying to make.    Let's say Manny Machado is the fastest man in the world but at the next Olympics he decides to run for the Dominican Republic.   You think that's going to go over big?   Better yet, let's say the fastest man in the United States is born here but is grandparents are Iranian and he runs for Iran in the Olympics.   Think that's going over big?

Russians been doing that for years. 

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Let me ask it this way and this was the point I was trying to make.    Let's say Manny Machado is the fastest man in the world but at the next Olympics he decides to run for the Dominican Republic.   You think that's going to go over big?   Better yet, let's say the fastest man in the United States is born here but is grandparents are Iranian and he runs for Iran in the Olympics.   Think that's going over big?

I'm sure I wouldn't care at all.

It would be his choice and as long as it is within the rules I'm fine with it.

Can't speak for anyone else.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

You have no opinion on whether a lot of American's would have a problem with it?

I would think it would depend on how the information was presented to them.

[Spy Fox]

It's not rare at all for athletes in the Olympics to compete for countries other than their birth countries. Sometimes for pride in their heritage, sometimes because they've moved to a different country, and sometimes just because they can't make the team in their home country. Admittedly I'm not sure who the most prominent athletes are to have done so, but those stories are common in international competitions. I don't think there's usually much fuss over it, though I'm sure some people are occasionally bothered.

 

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, weams said:

I agree with all you have said here.  I also like that Manny is now done. 

I figure that for the position players, so long as they don't get hurt, the WBC probably accelerates their readiness for the season as compared to spring training.   

[OFFNY]

14 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

 

It's not rare at all for athletes in the Olympics to compete for countries other than their birth countries. Sometimes for pride in their heritage, sometimes because they've moved to a different country, and sometimes just because they can't make the team in their home country. Admittedly I'm not sure who the most prominent athletes are to have done so, but those stories are common in international competitions. I don't think there's usually much fuss over it, though I'm sure some people are occasionally bothered.

 

o

 

I remember in 1988, when Michael Bentt lost a decision to Ray Mercer in the Olympic Trials box-offs. He had the option of representing Jamaica instead, but declined. It wasn't so much a matter of national pride, but rather that Bentt wanted to "play it straight", so to speak. He felt that he got his shot to make the team with one country, was defeated, and left it at that.

Fortunately for him, he won the WBO heavyweght championship of the world when he knocked out Tommy Morrison in one round in 1993.

He was forced to retire shorty afterward, due to brain injuries that were discovered after a 7th-round TKO loss to Herbie Hide in 1994.

 

 

[Spy Fox]

36 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

If the U.S. and the other countries all had their very best players, I do not think the U.S. would steamroll their way through the tournament.   

I agree with you on this. There would be a more dominant upper tier of countries if everyone played, but the tournament format is too quick for any team to have a strong chance of dominating year after year.

I do think USA would be a consistent favorite if they had all their best eligible players. But they couldn't ever approach, say, USA Olympic basketball level of dominance.

[Can_of_corn]

3 minutes ago, Spy Fox said:

I agree with you on this. There would be a more dominant upper tier of countries if everyone played, but the tournament format is too quick for any team to have a strong chance of dominating year after year.

I do think USA would be a consistent favorite if they had all their best eligible players. But they couldn't ever approach, say, USA Olympic basketball level of dominance.

For the record the US steamrolling was a hypothetical not a prediction.

[LA2]

13 hours ago, Can_of_corn said:

Sure it is.  And having the US dominate isn't going to make the most money.

If the US had steamrolled the first three WBC would we have crowds for these games?

The US losing is good for the WBC.

You've nicely teed up a one-liner that no one's going to make!

[Frobby]

http://www.espn.com/blog/sweetspot/post/_/id/78158/the-catch-bringing-new-fans-to-world-baseball-classic

[Orsulak4Prez]

On 3/19/2017 at 1:11 AM, ChuckS said:

I'll remember that moment at approximately 1:00 PM EST for the rest of my life.  

Chills down the spine.  

Anyone who doesn't like the WBC.....doesn't like baseball.  Passion, energy, pride.  How can you not love it?

I have really been enjoying it this year. Previously I thought it was just an opportunity to invite more injury, but I'm glad I gave it a chance. These games are very entertaining.