THEY are building it, and people will come.
You can be sure of that.
Baseball’s best-kept secret is the upcoming World Baseball Classic that will take place this March. Sure, it’s not Red Sox-Yankees, but Cuba-USA in the finals would be something special.
That is, if the USA is good enough to get there. Same goes for Cuba, the defending Olympic champion.
“It’s not a shoo-in that the U.S. is going to win,” says former Yankees GM Bob Watson, who is in charge of building this new Team USA. “The Dominican is going to be tough; don’t sell Venezuela short. This is not going to be a cakewalk.”
One thing is certain: The 39-game tournament, which begins March 3 in Japan and ends March 20 in San Diego, is going to be a lot better than split-squad spring-training games between the Mets and Marlins, what we usually get that time of year. You can’t beat Major League Baseball’s promotion, especially when it’s done in conjunction with the Players Association.
“Yes, it’s going to be marketed in a big way, but the games will take care of themselves. They always do,” says Paul Archey, MLB’s senior vice president of international operations, the point man for the WBC. “We know we’re not creating a Super Bowl the first time out, but this will be exciting because natural rivalries are already in place.”
Especially between the Latin American teams – and everybody wants a piece of the USA. During the ALCS, White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen was telling anyone who would listen that Venezuela was going to “kick butt” in the tournament.
When Cuban officials, including Fidel Castro’s son Tony, met with Archey and other MLB honchos in Italy, they began, “Baseball is more than just a game to us. It is a way of life.”
We hear Pedro Martinez is going to pitch winter ball this year so he can be at the top of his game come mid-March. What impact that will have on the Mets’ regular season remains to be seen, but many players appear to be taking this tournament much more seriously than general managers, who have voiced some objections.
Their biggest and most legitimate concern is, what happens if a star player gets injured. Pitch counts will be enforced to ease the burden on hurlers.
MLB and commissioner Bud Selig are playing these games to promote the game globally, like David Stern did for the NBA. There is a world market out there waiting to be tapped. Billions of Chinese are potential customers.
The Olympics never worked for MLB because it clashed with the regular season. This is a whole new ballgame. It’s not just America’s pastime anymore.
“The impact that the Dream Team had for basketball and the NBA, we feel this will have a similar impact,” Archey says.
Baseball has all winter to get the spin cycle going, and come March, cabin fever has set in across the country; fans can’t wait to shake away the cold and watch a game. When a broadcast partner is named, most likely ESPN, momentum will take over.
Though rosters are not set, the stars will come out to play. Roger Clemens will be in the middle of the advertising campaign. Derek Jeter will be at shortstop, and you know Alex Rodriguez will be there one way or another, for the United States or the Dominican Republic. You have to figure A-Rod will choose the U.S. team.
Thirty-two players will be on each roster, 13 pitchers, three catchers and 16 position players. The Dominican bomb squad features a lineup of Manny (Maybe a Met) Ramirez, David Ortiz, Albert Pujols, Vlad Guerrero and Miguel Tejada.
Americans Barry Bonds, Johnny Damon, Jeter, A-Rod and Michael Young will have their work cut for them, but imagine Clemens starting a championship game, followed by Dontrelle Willis, Brad Lidge, Billy Wagner and Bobby Jenks.
“Putting this team together is a dream come true,” says Watson, who won a world-championship ring and an Olympic gold medal. “This is something we’ve been trying to do since the early ’90s.”
Archey says, “It’s like a fantasy league.”
Long ago, kids used to put trading cards in the spokes of their bicycles. Now they post their fantasy teams on the Web. If the World Baseball Classic was around 50 years ago, Willie, Mickey and the Duke would have been in the same outfield, not just in the lyrics of some song.
Jim Leyland probably would have been this U.S. manager, except he got the Tigers’ job. Buck Martinez could get the nod. Former Mets manager Davey Johnson is in the running, and other candidates include Don Baylor and Art Howe. The U.S. manager will be named before Thanksgiving.
Luis Sojo will manage the Venezuelan team, which is jam-packed with golden arms: Johan Santana, Freddy Garcia, Carlos Zambrano and Francisco “K-Rod” Rodriguez.
What’s a team like South Africa to do once you get past minor-league pitcher Barry Armitage?
Mike Piazza could catch for Italy.
“Michael hasn’t made up his mind yet,” says his father, Vince, whose father, Russell, was born in Sicily, making Mike eligible to play for Italy with the relaxed eligibility rules.
George Steinbrenner always supported the USA in the Olympics, but, according to his spokesperson, the Yankee Doodle Dandy does yet want to offer comment on this tournament, even though the original official vote came back 29-1 in favor of the tournament. You guessed the one.
Jump on board, George. The rest of the Baseball World is already there.
Kevin Kernan’s All-World Starting Lineups
USA
CF Johnny Damon
SS Derek Jeter
3B Alex Rodriguez
DH Barry Bonds
1B Derrek Lee
2B Michael Young
RF Ken Griffey Jr.
LF Lance Berkman
C Jason Varitek
SP Roger Clemens
CL Brad Lidge
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
2B Placido Polanco
SS Miguel Tejada
1B Albert Pujols
DH David Ortiz
LF Manny Ramirez
RF Vlad Guerrero
3B Aramis Ramirez
C Miguel Olivo
CF Alfonso Soriano
SP Pedro Martinez
CL Francisco Cordero
PUERTO RICO
SS Felipe Lopez
2B Jose Vidro
CF Carlos Beltran
1B Carlos Delgado
DH Jorge Posada
C Pudge Rodriguez
LF Bernie Williams
RF Luis Matos
3B Mike Lowell
SP Javier Vazquez
CL Roberto Hernandez
JAPAN
RF Ichiro Suzuki
2B Tadahito Iguchi
DH Nobuhiko Matsunaka
LF Hideki Matsui
C Kenji Jojima
1B Michihiro Ogasawara
CF Kosuke Fukudome
3B Makoto Imaoka
SS Kaz Matsui
SP Daisuke Matsuzaka
CL Masahide Kobayashi
VENEZUELA
SS Carlos Guillen
2B Edgardo Alfonzo
LF Miguel Cabrera
CF Bobby Abreu
DH Magglio Ordonez
C Victor Martinez
RF Richard Hildago
3B Melvin Mora
1B Roberto Petagine
SP Johan Santana
CL Frankie Rodriguez
