David Wright, Derek Jeter and J.J. Putz helped their team defeat Puerto Rico in a 9th inning comeback to advance to the semi finals of the World Baseball Classic
As I was watching the game last night in the top of the 9th, I actually felt a sensation of worry in the pit of my stomach. Had the seed planted by the MLB finally sprouted? Did I care about the World Baseball Classic?
I will be honest and say I didn’t watch any of the 2006 WBC, especially after the United States lost. I felt it was nothing but a glorified spring training created by Bud Selig to make the MLB seem less full of itself and crown a “true” world champion outside of the World Series. It didn’t have the buzz of the world cup and it didn’t seem to get the media attention.
However, this year felt different.With football leaving a bad taste in my mouth and the NBA trudging on at a slow methodical pace where the same teams controlled the top spots, I urned for baseball more than usual. With the creation of the MLB Network, I was thrilled to watch old games, shows on baseball and hear about the upcoming season every night from Harold Reynolds, Al Leiter and Matt Vasgersian. Part of that was hearing about the sophomore World Baseball Classic and how Team USA was taking it seriously this year. I also looked into the other countries involved and the talent they were all advertising. How, as a baseball fan, couldn’t I be interested now.
So the games started and I was more and more intrigued. From a one run defensive duel between Asian rivals Korea and Japan. To a stunning upset of a somewhat cocky Dominican Republic team by the Netherlands of all places (note that this upset is nice, but it is not as big as people are making it out to be. The Miracle on Ice this is not.) I was hooked.
Then earlier in the week, Team USA, who was playing strong up to that point, was throttled by Team Puerto Rico in a game that was ended courtesy of the mercy rule in the 8th inning (11-1 Puerto Rico.) That placed them in an elimination game with the Netherlands (which they won easily) and another game against Puerto Rico which was do or die for each team.
Last night as the score started climbing for both teams, I knew we had a classic game. Tied at 3-3 in the 5th inning, Carlos Beltran stole a home run in center field which lit a fire for Puerto Rico to pull ahead 5-3 in the coming innings. It was at that point I started thinking about the defeat of Team USA the year before. The country that spawned the game of baseball was knocked out before even reaching the semi finals.
Now I don’t mean to lessen the achievements of the other countries involved in the World Baseball Classic. It’s well known that every country is filled with it’s own Major League talent and play just as hard as they can to win. I just need to root for my team though. Tommy Lasorda may be crazy with his old age, but he is right to say you should take pride in rooting for Team USA if you’re an American.
So I was a little worried when we were down by two runs in the bottom of the ninth. But what an amazing bottom of the ninth inning. Shane Victorino and Brian Roberts singled to get on base. Then Jimmy Rollins worked himself into a walk. This set the stage for Kevin Youkilis (who I am beginning to like! It’s like the Grinch who stole Christmas around here!) who was also walked allowing Victorino to score and bring the game to 5-4. With only one out (courtesy of Derek Jeter who I was praying to not hit into a double play like normal) David Wright came to bat.
My heart was beating and I was tense. It literally felt like a playoff game in March and I don’t know why. Then Wright hit a bloop single just shy of the right field foul line and the winning runs came running into home. The tense feelings were gone and replaced by a happy feeling. This was the second time I felt this way during the WBC (the first was when the Netherlands beat the Dominicans for the second time) and hopefully it won’t be the last.
I want to see how far the USA will go and I am fully interested in it. It’s not just some sort of glorified spring distraction anymore to me. Sure it’s not at the level of the Olympics yet…but I think this year is showing that the WBC is something that can grow and be a major part of baseball. People may complain about the tournament setup and about players working so hard in the early parts of the Major League season, but this will work out in the long run.
Enough of my long winded and probably pointless rant. How do you feel?
