I was far too invested in this year’s World Baseball Classic, and as someone who was rooting for Team USA, I came away with one major question: Does it just mean more to other countries?
For the second WBC in a row, Team USA made it to the championship game. And for the second time in a row, they lost, this time in a 3-2 matchup against Venezuela.
Venezuela played a dominant tournament, dropping only one game to the Dominican Republic en route to their first-ever WBC win. Wilyer Abreu and Eugenio Suarez were the two heroes for the team; Abreu hit a two-run homer to get ahead early, and Suarez knocked in the game-winning run on a ninth-inning double. Team USA was outmanaged and outplayed (and it seems like outattended) in the final game and lost to a stacked Venezuela team.
One of the main gripes I had with Team USA was the players’ lack of commitment, most notably Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher on the planet, the man who has won two American League Cy Young Awards in a row. In his start against Great Britain, he threw three scoreless innings, striking out five in Team USA’s triumphant 9-1 win on March 7.
What did he do after that? He left Houston, Texas, where the games were being played at the time, to return to the Tigers’ Spring Training in Florida. Instead of making himself available to pitch for Team USA in the semifinals against the Dominican Republic — to possibly set up a championship game where National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes could throw — he pitched 4.2 innings in a Tigers Spring Training game against the Blue Jays. Instead of Skenes pitching with the tournament on the line, it was Nolan McLean, a very talented but inexperienced young pitcher.
If we as fans are to treat this tournament as serious, as an event that wants to live up to other tournaments like the World Cup, what are we to do when the best pitcher in the world decides to throw in a preseason game instead of the tournament? Why should I care if the players don’t?
Another complaint: Team USA’s manager, Mark DeRosa. My dad made this point while the tournament was being played: In a world where some of the best managers in baseball history are retired and American, why do we choose an MLB Network studio analyst with zero coaching and managing experience as the man to lead the way? Why can’t people like Dusty Baker or Joe Maddon take a month out of their year to manage the team? I have a hard time they would be averse to taking a month out of their year and get the competitive juices flowing to do what they poured their whole life into.
DeRosa’s sole job is to know and understand how to get Team USA to a championship win. Through three games, it looked like he was doing a fine job, as the squad was 3-0 headed into their matchup against Italy.
Then he decided to go on MLB Network the day of the game, where he said the following: “It’s weird. We want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”
The caveat? The USA’s ticket was not punched. Had Mexico gone on to beat Italy the next day and score four runs or fewer, the USA would be the odd man out due to having a worse runs allowed per defensive out rate. It’s one thing for the fan to not fully understand how the bracket works and be unaware of what’s needed to move on. It’s another issue for the man in charge to not only be incorrect about the status of the team but also to openly broadcast misinformation on national television. DeRosa also proceeded to manage the game as though it didn’t matter, most notably starting Paul Goldschmidt, a very solid but washed-up first baseman, instead of superstar Bryce Harper.
My other main issue with DeRosa was how he handled the bullpen. In the championship game, Bryce Harper hit an electrifying home run in the bottom of the eighth inning to even the game at two runs apiece. Having rested the day before, it seemed like the perfect place to put in Mason Miller, arguably the best relief pitcher in all of baseball, to shut down Venezuela and give the USA a chance to walk it off.
Instead, he went with Red Sox reliever Garrett Whitlock, a very solid pitcher, but not Miller. After the game, DeRosa stated that he wanted to “honor the Padres” by reserving Miller only for save situations. Hence, he didn’t want to throw him in a tie game. Here lies my issue: In a tie ballgame as the home team, you have the luxury of being able to end the game if you score a run. DeRosa could have pitched Miller for one inning — who likely would have shut Venezuela down — and kept the positive momentum going, telling the offense all they need to do is score one to bring it home.
Instead, Whitlock gave up a run, and we’re all left to question, “What if?” Yes, Miller did throw 22 pitches in his prior outing, but the USA had a day of rest, a privilege Venezuela did not have. Four of the relief pitchers in the final game pitched on back-to-back days, but Miller couldn’t throw in two of three.
I’m not advocating for reckless management, throwing arms until they fall off, or anything of the sort. But it’s hard not to get upset when you see a level of commitment from other countries that you’re not sure exists with the team you’re rooting for.
Three-time World Series champion Kike Hernandez of Puerto Rico said the following: “I’ve played in five World Series, and I don’t know if it’s because of what’s across my chest, but the [World Baseball] Classic feels above that.”
Willson Contreras of Team Venezuela added, “I think it’s the best experience of my life. I played in the World Series in ‘16, and it was big, but playing the WBC for your country, for 37 million people, means a lot more to me.”
I’m not here to say whether or not players should care about the World Series or World Baseball Classic more. What is clear to me is that there’s a different level of care and appreciation some other countries have and feel for the Classic than Team USA. How to fix that? I’m not sure. But I’d start with canning DeRosa.
Kailyn Collette