MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred yesterday stressed the league "remains committed" to the World Baseball Classic, but he sounded "less optimistic" about the chance MLB will send any of its players to the '20 Tokyo Games, according to Jason Coskrey of the JAPAN TIMES. Manfred: "There have not been any substantive discussions with the baseball and softball confederation about participation of major league players in the 2020 Olympics. I'm sure that those conversations will take place." The commissioner was in Japan to attend the Japan-Cuba WBC Pool B opener at the Tokyo Dome. He was in Seoul for the tournament opener on Monday and also "plans to attend a game in Miami." Manfred said of the WBC, "We believe this event is the premier international baseball event and will continue to grow in popularity over the years." Manfred said that the WBC's popularity around the world is "probably highest in Japan." The commissioner added that in places such as the U.S., "it would take time to reach a similar level" (JAPAN TIMES, 3/7).
LACK OF STAR POWER: ESPN.com's Howard Bryant noted the WBC is the "closest thing to a global presence baseball has, but privately, unwilling to cross the commissioner, people in the game are ambivalent about it." The "tension of an international tournament without national stars exposes baseball's true vulnerability, regardless of how much money is rolling in." The game "thinks it can be hipper, faster, sexier without marketing hip, fast, sexy players, evidenced in spring training when MLB's Twitter account spent several posts trumpeting the arrival of low minor leaguer Tim Tebow, who has no chance of making the majors." Bryant: "If baseball doesn't want to be swept into oblivion, its biggest stars need to be where the lights are brightest. Forget the rule changes. MLB has stars, but what it really needs is star power" (ESPN.com, 3/7).
TIMING IS EVERYTHING: FOXSPORTS.com's Ken Rosenthal noted more Americans "need to care about the WBC for the event to stand a chance of serving as a unifying force." It also would "help if Team USA won the championship for a change, or reached the final for the first time in four tries." The U.S. roster, while "composed of players from many different backgrounds, does not completely reflect the nation’s diversity -- most Latin-American players, for example, are competing for their countries." The "intensity of the competition indeed rivals the postseason," as fans of foreign teams "display passions rarely seen in American ballparks." But the "timing of the event is problematic" (FOXSPORTS.com, 3/7). In Philadelphia, Sam Donnellon writes he "can't recall one great moment from" the WBCs of '06, '09 or '13, as they "just didn't register much here in the continental U.S." Donnellon: "The WBC isn't made for us. It's made for them, and for fans in the Far East, as well. Boiled down, it's about increased international exposure." The "trouble with the tournament is the timing sucks." The WBC "could be played from late November into early December." Donnellon: "Again, timing, not talent has been the major obstacle in creating interest" (PHILLY.com, 3/8).
THE W COLUMN: In Ft. Lauderdale, Craig Davis notes WBC fervor in the U.S. has been "tepid, at best." But that "could change if the U.S. team can make a run to the championship round." The upcoming U.S.-Dominican Republic sellout at Marlins Park "already eclipses the top crowd of 34,366 when the teams met last time" (South Florida SUN-SENTINEL, 3/8).
