A World Cup of Baseball?
According to the folks at Baseball America, it's a very real possibility.
The timing of this - during spring training for the 2006 season - makes sense. Even the locations of pool play - one in Japan, one in Puerto Rico, one in the Grapefruit League and one in the Cactus League make sense.
One issue that still seems like a thorny one is dealing with teams that don't want their player to participate because of a risk of injury. According to a union official mentioned in the article, teams won't be able to block players from playing. Still, if your employer, the one that's signing your very large paychecks, says it would really prefer that you not play in the World Cup, what would you do? Could create some tense situations.
On the bright side, it could make for a heck of a tournament. I'd have to doublecheck on the nationalities of various players - does Manny count for the D.R. or the U.S? - but I'd have to think that the U.S. and the Dominican Republic would be the early favorites.
Another intriguing sidelight - if Cuba is allowed in to the tournament, would it be willing to have defectors like Livian and Orlando Hernandez play for it?
http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2057633
Comments (3)
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Seriously doubt that they would let the defectors play. Do you think Steinbrenner would allow Matsui to play for Japan?
Posted on May 12, 2005 8:53 AM
Apparently, according to the article, Big Stein won't have a choice. If a player wants to play in the game, the team's won't be able to block them.
I've got to imagine Matsui would get tremendous pressure from both sides. On the one side would be millions of Japanese who want him to play for love of country. On the other side would be the millions of dollars that the Yankees are paying him. While Steinbrenner couldn't take any overt punitive action, it's never a good idea to tick off the most powerful - and most volatile - owner in baseball.
Posted on May 12, 2005 2:18 PM
This tournament is a great idea - this MUST happen!!
Jim, I'm with you on the U.S. and D.R., but I'd add a third team to your favorites list: Venezuela.
They can match anyone in starting pitching, with A.L. Cy Young winner Johan Santana at the top of the rotation and quality hurlers like Carlos Zambrano, Kelvim Escobar, Carlos Silva and Freddy Garcia. The Venezuelans also have some pretty good bats: Bobby Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, as well as a ton of established major leaguers at every position. And current White Sox skipper Ozzie Guillen is a natural pick to manage this squad.
Posted on May 16, 2005 4:33 PM