Team USA, "playing its own style of baseball, and expressing itself in its own fashion, won the country's first World Baseball Classic championship" last night, "routing Puerto Rico, 8-0, in front of 51,568 zealous fans at Dodger Stadium," according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. Team USA "hoisted the decorative bald eagle mascot on their shoulders, ran around the outfield carrying the American flag, sprayed champagne in the clubhouse, and came back onto the field to celebrate the glorious moment." Nightengale: "You try telling Team USA they don’t show enough emotion as they lowered their heads, with gold medals hanging down from their necks, standing proudly on stage on the Dodger Stadium infield while the crowd chanted, USA-USA-USA." U.S. P Danny Duffy said, "Everybody has a different way to celebrate, a different way to show their passion. That’s what made this tournament so fun." Nightengale writes the U.S. win will perhaps change "what this tournament will mean to future generations." U.S. C Jonathan Lucroy said, "I can’t see anyone turning this down again, not after seeing what we did. I think we’ve changed how everyone will look at the WBC." U.S. manager Jim Leyland said, "Up until this point, the other countries were probably into this event a little bit more than the United States." Nightengale writes when the WBC rolls around again in four years, it "won’t be known as just a traveling show that breaks up spring training" (USATODAY.com, 3/22).
PARTY TIME: In California, JP Hoornstra writes what the U.S. accomplished by winning the WBC was "less cliché and more tangible: It compelled fans and players alike to care about a tournament that began, for the U.S. at least," as a mere exhibition when it debuted in '06. In the end, the U.S. "did not need all of its best players to win the tournament, or even to fill Dodger Stadium to the top of the upper deck in March" (INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN, 3/23). In N.Y., Billy Witz wrote it turns out the U.S team was just "saving their fun for last" (NYTIMES.com, 3/22). In Toronto, Richard Griffin writes the WBC -- "in spite of obvious flaws, despite its uncertain place on the sporting calendar, and battling clear North American fan apathy -- finally has earned its chance to be respected via its dramatic results" (TORONTOSTAR.com, 3/22).
COMMISH A FAN: MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred spoke before the WBC finale, addressing issues related to the tournament. He said of WBC attendance, "It's always good news when you come to the final round and you’ve already set an attendance record. ... But more important than the numbers, I think the passion that has been in the crowds -- and I was in Seoul, I was in Tokyo, I was in Miami, I was (in L.A.) -- just been absolutely unbelievable.” He said of this year's event, "2017 is kind of a point where we really got traction with the event. Each time it’s gotten better. ... You have to understand how people see baseball in the other counties, how people see this event in other countries to fully appreciate the progress we’ve made with the event." Manfred said of the event's future, "We'll sit down after this tournament and look hard at everything from calendar to format, tie-breaking rules, the extra pitcher pool. We’ll look at all the issues in an effort to make the tournament not only the best baseball on the field, but a tournament that can attract the very best players” (“MLB Tonight,” MLB Network, 3/22).
UNION JUNCTION: MLBPA Exec Dir Tony Clark said of the WBC, "The entire tournament has given everybody an opportunity to engage in the game in spring training at a level you rarely see. ... I'm thankful for the opportunities and the memories that they've given us. That is more my takeaway than anything else, just being able to see in the middle of March the kind of play we’ve seen." Clark said of the coordination that it takes to pull off the event, "There's a lot of work that’s done, a lot of relationships that are called into play in order to make sure this thing goes off as much without a hitch as possible. It is one of those things where you wish it happened all the time; you’re kind of glad it only happens (every) four years" ("MLB Tonight," MLB Network, 3/22).
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| A crowd of 51,568 watched Marcus Stroman and the U.S. defeat Puerto Rico in the final |
FOUR MORE YEARS: THE RINGER's Zach Kram writes under the header, "The World Just Got A Baseball Classic." After "two-plus weeks of play that celebrated on-field passion and multicultural expression," the WBC "came to a fitting close." Kram: "Let's hope we can do it again in four years" (THERINGER.com, 3/23). YAHOO SPORTS' Mark Townsend writes there has been "a lot of talk about the stars that didn’t suit up for Team USA." Hopefully the "focus will turn to those who did, because many of them shined brightly" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/23). BLEACHER REPORT's Danny Knobler writes for a tournament "'nobody cares about,' there sure was a lot of buzz." This was the fourth edition of the WBC, but it was the year the tournament "grew up." MLB is "looking for ways to appeal to the next generation of fans, and what we saw over the last three weeks" in Miami, South Korea, Mexico, Tokyo, San Diego and L.A. "provides a map toward baseball's best possible future" (BLEACHERREPORT.com, 3/23). In California, Jeff Miller notes the WBC win for the U.S. "didn’t count, but it certainly didn’t lack meaning, the victory as real as the American high-fives and chest bumps that punctuated it." But cramming a 17-day tournament into a "calendar year that already includes a 162-game regular season, a month of playoffs and six weeks of spring training is about as logical as trying to fit a Buick inside a batter’s box." Miller: "There’s still the matter of trying to persuade our best players to participate in an event of supposedly profound international standing, knowing baseball’s global status is such that the sport can’t even consistently remain in the Olympics" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 3/23).
STILL ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: In N.Y., Joel Sherman writes under the header, "World Baseball Classic's Biggest Problem Is Spring Training." Sherman: "We must come to peace with there being no perfect time to play the tournament." The success of this year’s WBC "means the tournament is going to continue as a tool to try to grow the game worldwide ... with the financial benefits that would bring franchises and players." However, if Spring Training camps "were not open from early February to mid-March, there would be no camp to disrupt." The WBC would be the "only game in town" (N.Y. POST, 3/23). The INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN's Hoornstra writes it is "too early to define the full legacy" of the '17 WBC, but a "tweak to the tournament’s tiebreaker procedures might be part of it. Manfred: "We’ll sit down and ... talk about the event, talk about the way we broke ties, talk about the format, see if there’s something you can do" (INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN, 3/23).
