WBC is a Classic

Now I don't know where this even gets off naming itself a "Classic" seeing as it was only founded in 2006 but nonetheless it has been exciting stuff and is fast earning the name Classic.  I love any event in which nations are pitted against each other and its about time that baseball got involved in this.  I guess football is the only major sport left without an international event but then it wouldn't really be fair as the US would stomp everyone else out hard.

Back to the WBC though.  When Canada played the US it was a real rivalry game as Canada had upset the US at the last WBC and the Skydome (I refuse to call it the Rogers Center) was sold out with 55,000 fans cheering.  Although the rivalry in baseball for the two countries is young the fans were cheering as hard as if it were a hockey game or to a lesser extent a basketball game.  Props to all the fans who went out and supported this thing.

I also love how the WBC helps gain publicity for the Canadian National Team and people learn how many quality Canadian baseball players there are out there.  I feel like it gives more legitimacy to Canadian baseball programs as they have shown that they can produce top tier players in the MLB.

Unfortunately for Canada we lost our first two games and were eliminated after a 6-5 thriller loss to the US on Saturday and a 6-2 beatdown courtesy of the Italians on Monday night.  Really though I wasn't too surprised as Canada's pitching sucked because our best pitchers were hurt and didn't participate.  Rich Harden, Jeff Francis, and Ryan Dempster all couldn't play due to injuries and the fact Dempster is a dirtbag and refused to play cause he cares more about the Cubs.  Also not surprised we lost considering Italy has Mike Piazza on their team (seriously I thought he was dead).

This was not the only upset however as on Saturday the Netherlands, led by royal duster Sidney Ponson, beat tournament favorites the Dominican Republic 3-2 scoring all their runs off of infield singles.  This was seen as one of the biggest upsets in baseball history and it was only made possible by the WBC.

Now a lot of people are down on the WBC because many top names don't participate due to inures, contract restrictions, or cause they don't laugh their country (Dempster) but I think no matter who is playing its a great event.  It's nice that baseball players can put on a Canada uniform and represent their country.  Now not just hockey and basketball players can represent Canada as baseball is finally an international sport too.

The WBC also helps confuses the hell out of me as guys who I thought were American turn out to be Latin.  It goes to show you how ethnically diverse baseball is as many of the top performers are from outside the US.

The WBC is a great idea and should be held annually as it gives these players a chance to represent their country and gets them into a competitive spirit before the season starts forcing them to get into better shape and be more ready for the regular season.  Even though Canada lost I will still continue to watch and enjoy.  

Note: There is a man on team Canada named Stubby Clapp. Seriously.  This is no joke.  Best name...EVER.

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