WBC Attendance, Ratings Up Over '06 Edition; Event Mostly Praised

Attendance At '09 WBC Games Almost 9% Higher Than At Inaugural Tournament

GRAND SLAM: In DC, Tim Lemke writes with Japan's win over Korea Monday in the final, the WBC "established itself as one of the more compelling events in the sports landscape, surprising many fans with its level of intensity and quality of competition." The WBC "proved it's a viable event with some genuine drama." ESPN Senior VP/Programming & Acquisitions Len DeLuca: "The buzz meter and the intensity of the feeling in the park in the final game when Japan beat Korea is something that this observer has only felt at ground level at an Alabama-Auburn game, a (North) Carolina-Duke game at Cameron (Indoor Stadium) or at a Yankees-Red Sox LCS. That feeling is special." Lemke writes the ratings for the event are "solid for this time of year" with the NCAA men's basketball tournament currently running. Meanwhile, it is "unclear whether ESPN will have the rights to show" the WBC in '13, but DeLuca said that there "likely will be talks with baseball officials about tweaking the format or finding a way to condense the tournament into fewer days" (WASHINGTON TIMES, 3/26).

MISPLACED CREDIT: Longtime MLB reporter Murray Chass wrote, "I have long liked the idea of a world baseball tournament, like soccer's World Cup, and I believe it was overdue." But MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "has been accepting, if not taking, credit for the WBC," and that is "misplaced." The MLBPA was "well out in front of Selig and the other club owners in proposing and pushing for such an event." Chass: "I don't know what Selig's view was on a world tournament when the union initially proposed it -- I'm sure he would say today that he always favored it -- but he didn't do anything to arouse interest among his fellow owners. So maybe one or two Classics were missed because the owners weren't interested and didn't recognize the potential revenue to be generated, one or two Classics that could have enabled the union and the commissioner's office to iron out the kinks that still must be smoothed out. However, better late than never" (MURRAYCHASS.com, 3/25).

Fehr Applauds Atmosphere For Championship Game, International TV Ratings

LEAVING IT ALL ON THE FIELD: MLB President & COO Bob DuPuy said he would like to "make sure that we get as many of the premium major league players as we can to participate" in future WBCs ("Baseball Tonight," ESPN, 3/25). Selig said of Team USA, "We need to really pick up the intensity and do everything the way that the other teams are doing because you can see the dedication" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 3/25). Selig added, "We have to pick up the selection process. We need, as the other countries do, to get the very best players we have." But Lilly disputed the "assertion that the United States needs to 'push up the intensity' and get better players to participate in the tournament." Lilly: "There were a lot of good players on the team. There's no guarantee you're going to win" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/25). Team USA and White Sox P Matt Thornton said of Selig's comments, "For someone to say that, and I heard other people say that, no one was in the dugout but us. And our team was into it, every single game. Everyone was prepared, ready and battling" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 3/25).

WHAT BASEBALL SHOULD BE: In N.Y., Kevin Kernan wrote the WBC "broadened our baseball horizons, and it showed that the way they play the game in the major leagues is not really how the game was intended to be played." Kernan: "For the most part, defense, strategy and unselfish hitting have been lost in the majors. But the Asian teams, particularly Japan, have shown us once again what a beautiful game baseball can be when it is played properly" (N.Y. POST, 3/25).

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