Hump Day
Thought I’d give mention to Japan for winning the 2009 World Baseball Classic in this space, seeing how I have nothing prepared for the weekly Hump Day feature.
The WBC has taken a lot of heat through its run, many hammering it on the basis that if the American side didn’t take it seriously, why should the American public, the American media, and in a show of true Red, White, and Blue arrogance, the rest of the world?
Some even criticized it without even watching it. That’s good analysis there.
Just because the mighty USA, specifically the management group, didn’t treat it as a real event doesn’t mean it wasn’t a great tournament. Some players chose not to play and that’s fine, but what we saw is the guys who did want participate actually do care about playing for their country. That was easy to recognize and I bet there are more than a few star players telling their agents that they will not take a pass the next time the event comes up. Which will make the tournament even better in the coming years, regardless if the Americans take it seriously or not.
The WBC is not going anywhere. Not when the rest of the world is watching.
And don’t worry, Reon Kadena is 23-years-old. I checked.
