World Baseball Classic 2009 - Who's Going?

[Doug Miller]

World Series around the corner, then it's a looooooong 4 months. I registered awhile back on MLB.com for the "priority drawing" for World Baseball Classic tickets. Anyone else going? Anyone here go in 2006? I would have gone in 2006, but my wife was pregnant and didn't want me out of the state -- geez, you'd think she was worried she'd have the kid or something. :)

It will be interesting to see the build up from MLB along with who will be playing this year since it's not the novelty the first year was. I'm looking forward to seeing some younger talent this time through. This year really felt like a breakout year for talent, it's like the new crop is officially here!

Doug

[philkid3]

Sorry. I'm ill.

This post should be deleted. Or laughed at.

[SamtheBravesFan]

I seriously doubt we'll see much new talent. In fact, I'd wager that the usual suspects will be there (only older) and only a few "top young talents" will be sprinkled in among the rosters.

[philkid3]

Think Italy can get Piazza to play again?

[SamtheBravesFan]

Think Italy can get Piazza to play again?

That'd be a sight to see. :highfive:

[KevinWI]

I'm excited for the WBC, though most of my RL baseball friends think it's lame.

I always wanted one of those cool Team USA A-Rod jerseys.

[Lafferty Daniel]

Doug, I was at the semi-finals and championship game in San Diego. There were a ton of South Korean and Japanese fans there, which made it a lot of fun and totally different than a typical MLB crowd.

I can't wait to see the finals at Dodger Stadium in March.

[deadball-era-rules]

I think the WBC is dumb, but I am excited at the prospect of Albert Pujols playing for the United States this time, since he has gained his citizenship since the last series. Personally, I think the whole series is a joke because nearly all of the best players were actually coached and professionally trained in the US. It's basically a way to show off U.S. baseball talent and let other countries have the false pride in a player being 'theirs.' Piazza for example. Even the players from the Dominican Republic team who were born in the Dominican were trained and became good ballplayers in America. they wouldn't have become half as great without coming to America. Do you guys think that's a fair thing to say? That's just how I feel about it, but if someone has any other thoughts on the WBC I'd love to hear it.

[Berkman#17]

I think its about defending one's national pride and it's awesome. That's how I feel about it.

Plus, without it, we wouldn't have seen the catcher of PR (I think, if not correct me) jawing with D. Ortiz, only to have Ortiz drop a monster bomb, throw the bat to the dugout and jaw at him right back. I don't care, that was friggin awesome.

[G.Costanza]

I think the WBC is dumb, but I am excited at the prospect of Albert Pujols playing for the United States this time, since he has gained his citizenship since the last series. Personally, I think the whole series is a joke because nearly all of the best players were actually coached and professionally trained in the US. It's basically a way to show off U.S. baseball talent and let other countries have the false pride in a player being 'theirs.' Piazza for example. Even the players from the Dominican Republic team who were born in the Dominican were trained and became good ballplayers in America. they wouldn't have become half as great without coming to America. Do you guys think that's a fair thing to say? That's just how I feel about it, but if someone has any other thoughts on the WBC I'd love to hear it.

Since you would love to hear my contarary opinion I will appease you. I don't think that's a fair thing to say at all........THE TEAM THAT WON HAD ONE POSITION PLAYER THAT PLAYED IN THE MAJOR LEAGUES for god sakes how could you logically form that opinion!!! And the living legend Ichiro has anounced he will play again this year for Japon............................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .......I think it is anything but just a way to show off U.S baseball, its the exact opposite, its to get the "world" involved.......................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ......Piazza was not the common situation. As he played for a country even his parents are not from, let alone him, that was a disgrace in my opinion, Kobe has more place playing for Italy in the olympics.. Even Arod decided to play for the U.S.. And when he hit the walk off hit in the game vs. Japan we celerbrated like the world series( I don't want to hear this didn't mean anything to the United States after observing that) even though our umps openly cheated on three plays!!

[GordonGecko]

I refuse to watch anything less than a few years old that calls itself a "classic"

[G.Costanza]

I refuse to watch anything less than a few years old that calls itself a "classic"

What about the phrase "instant classic"??

[GordonGecko]

What about the phrase "instant classic"??

well, the instant classic isn't called a classic before it happens, and it's a one-time event :)

[G.Costanza]

I think the WBC is dumb, but I am excited at the prospect of Albert Pujols playing for the United States this time, since he has gained his citizenship since the last series. Personally, I think the whole series is a joke because nearly all of the best players were actually coached and professionally trained in the US. It's basically a way to show off U.S. baseball talent and let other countries have the false pride in a player being 'theirs.' Piazza for example. Even the players from the Dominican Republic team who were born in the Dominican were trained and became good ballplayers in America. they wouldn't have become half as great without coming to America. Do you guys think that's a fair thing to say? That's just how I feel about it, but if someone has any other thoughts on the WBC I'd love to hear it.

Oh yeah and the player with the most home runs in the whole tournament was not David Ortiz or Albert Pujols or Arod or anyother big major league star.........it was S Y Lee a Korean who plays in Japan and who was never "trained" or became a good player in america........................................... .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ...... Your take is way off base. How is that false pride in other countries? And a joke???? Your going off the way the American media mislead you.....for insatance the home run Ortiz hit against Venezuela were he tossed the bat and showboated was contiuosly shown on sportscenter, while none of Lee's homers were, even though he led the tournament in power IN MAJOR LEAGUE STADIUMS. Shows the proof in how perception is reality.

[Allie Fox]

I went to the Pool D games in Orlando in 2006. I got to see Venezuela v. Australia and Dominican Republic v. Italy.

I had a great time depite two fairly lackluster games. The Italians were able to hang on for a few innings but it ended up being all DR in the end. The AUS/ VEN game was alot closer and therefore a better game.

Being in the stands with the (mostly) Dominican and Venuzuelan fanbase was alot of fun. The atmosphere was alot different than a typical MLB game. The fans had ALOT more passion for cheering on their guys.

I might catch a couple of games in Miami next year but I'll have to see where the economy takes me. :(

[Honus Wagner Rules]

I think the WBC is dumb, but I am excited at the prospect of Albert Pujols playing for the United States this time, since he has gained his citizenship since the last series. Personally, I think the whole series is a joke because nearly all of the best players were actually coached and professionally trained in the US. It's basically a way to show off U.S. baseball talent and let other countries have the false pride in a player being 'theirs.' Piazza for example. Even the players from the Dominican Republic team who were born in the Dominican were trained and became good ballplayers in America. they wouldn't have become half as great without coming to America. Do you guys think that's a fair thing to say? That's just how I feel about it, but if someone has any other thoughts on the WBC I'd love to hear it.

Please remind me again what two teams played for the WBC championship in 2006? Was it Japan vs Cuba? Not one player on either team was "trained" in America.

[josh24]

I'm excited for the WBC, though most of my RL baseball friends think it's lame.

I always wanted one of those cool Team USA A-Rod jerseys.

You better buy 2006 jerseys. A-Rod is playing for Dominican Republic in 2009.:dance


I think the WBC is dumb, but I am excited at the prospect of Albert Pujols playing for the United States this time, since he has gained his citizenship since the last series. Personally, I think the whole series is a joke because nearly all of the best players were actually coached and professionally trained in the US. It's basically a way to show off U.S. baseball talent and let other countries have the false pride in a player being 'theirs.' Piazza for example. Even the players from the Dominican Republic team who were born in the Dominican were trained and became good ballplayers in America. they wouldn't have become half as great without coming to America. Do you guys think that's a fair thing to say? That's just how I feel about it, but if someone has any other thoughts on the WBC I'd love to hear it.

WHAAAT? Pujols for US???:confused:. Definitely not. It doesn't matter where you learn to do something, patriotism is first. I can't imagine Pujols, DOrtiz or Manny with a USA shirt. I would imagine A-Rod. If people do how you say, there will be no competition. Imagine all players who play in England premiership(soccer), playing for England; that's impossible. Or Maradona playing for Italy? I'm sure US want DR,Venezuela or PR players(a few) wearing US shirts, or European countries with Brazilians and Argentines playing for their teams, but that's not possible.

[Honus Wagner Rules]

If Pujols' elbow is healed by March he's definitely playing for the Dominican Republic.

http://www.sportsline.com/mlb/story/11051860

[wyk]

The WBC and the spread and support of baseball can only help baseball.

WYK
Spartans baseball Team - Dublin, Ireland

[Richard]

I live twenty minutes from the stadium in Miami. I'm there.

[Doug Miller]

I'll give the thread a bump.

Bought my tickets for the Finals in Dodger Stadium. Picked up Field Box seats in section 46. Tickets were pricey, about a 30% increase on regular ticket prices down there. Comparitively though, they were cheaper than the sections over and even the sections up. $165 for the 3 games.

I am pissed though, I checked airfair with miles and it was 25,000 miles through Alaska Air when I checked on Monday. I checked again today and it's 40,000 now. Errrggh.... I should have made my reservation Monday.

Doug

[gojays]

I'm definitely going to 2 games in Toronto, my friend got tickets and I'm going with him to the Canada-US game. Cheap seats but still will be awesome to see Canada pull off a giant upset over the US. :cap:

[DownUnderDodger]

I refuse to watch anything less than a few years old that calls itself a "classic"

Does that mean you refuse to watch anything that involves purely USA (plus one from Canada) teams which is called a "World Series" and in which the winners are deemed "World Champions"??

The WBC allows players to represent their native countries in a competition which decides who is rightfully "World Champions". Regardless if many of the players play in MLB....which is the strongest club baseball competition in the world....most of these players were plucked from their home countries because they showed enough talent to be able to cut it at the MLB level. They were not "trained and became good ballplayers in America", they were talented ball players before MLB, who became better ball players while playing MLB.

[GordonGecko]

Does that mean you refuse to watch anything that involves purely USA (plus one from Canada) teams which is called a "World Series" and in which the winners are deemed "World Champions"??

The WBC allows players to represent their native countries in a competition which decides who is rightfully "World Champions". Regardless if many of the players play in MLB....which is the strongest club baseball competition in the world....most of these players were plucked from their home countries because they showed enough talent to be able to cut it at the MLB level. They were not "trained and became good ballplayers in America", they were talented ball players before MLB, who became better ball players while playing MLB.

"World Series" has nothing to do with the World (even though teams do have the best players in the world). The World newspaper was the original corporate sponsor of the pro ball championship.

[Doug Miller]

Was happy to see the airline miles back at 25,000 for my flight to LA. Yeah! Made sure to reserve them this time.

In regards to the validity of "classic", I look at the WBC this way: What the WBC is basically an All Star exhibition. It's a chance to see some of the games biggest "stars" while at the same time being introduced to players we haven't seen before. Cuba - Japan final last time was the first time most of us saw those players, but those were Nipon League All Stars and Cuban Olympians. Look at the US/Dominican/Puerto Rican teams, they were pretty much full of All Stars.

The thing I'm looking most forward to is the fan reaction. I was really impressed watching it last time (from home since my wife was expecting) with the size of the crowds from other countries, especially in the finals. I hope the other countries and/or immigrants travel as well this time around. Should be interesting to see, especially with the state of the economy. The WBC could complete fail this time around -- I hope not, but it could.

Doug

[spark240]

"World Series" has nothing to do with the World (even though teams do have the best players in the world). The World newspaper was the original corporate sponsor of the pro ball championship.

No, that's a myth (http://www.roadsidephotos.com/baseball/name.htm). (See more on this here (http://www.snopes.com/business/names/worldseries.asp).) The World Series is called that because it is the highest-level championship in the sport, in the world. In the days when NL and AL teams were almost entirely Americans, hardly anybody else was playing high-level baseball. Now that great baseball players are coming from many countries, all of those countries are represented on MLB teams. In both cases, it is not particularly unreasonable to say that the World Series winner is in fact the best team in the world at that particular moment.

That said, I love international baseball--both club competition and national-teams competition. I would be entirely in favor of postseason arrangements which pitted MLB teams against club teams from foreign leagues, such as the Japanese leagues; we may indeed be close to the time when the champions of foreign leagues can legitimately (in a sporting sense) demand to be included in the tournament which culminates in the World Series.

[Doug Miller]

Cool! My World Baseball Classic tickets arrived today! I'm surprised at the number of players that have been pulling out these last few days, but am still super excited to head down to LA for the few days.



Doug

[Doug Miller]

Pumped up for Sat-Mon! I'm disappointed in the attendance at the games to date. There will be a big portion of fans that say it's because people "don't care" about the WBC, but I think this is more about the economy. I think this is the first glimpse of the impact the economy will have on baseball attendance this year.

It's been interesting, I picked up Cards/Cubs tickets for May with little trouble. I'm on the email list for the Cards (traveling there this summer, so did it for the presale, not a Cards fan) and I've got four different emails in the last two weeks advertising games at half price. For a team with the All Star Game this year, they seem pretty desperate for attendance. (Although $50 for outfield tickets is pretty steep -- I'm curious where their prices compare.)

Anyone have pics from any games they've been to? I'm going to try and post from my hotel as I have time this weekend. I want Japan to make it today for one reason -- Fan participation. I want Dodger Stadium rocking, I want people dressed up and carrying flags, facepaint, etc. Korea, Venezuela will represent, it's a tough call on what kind of interaction or turnout that Cuba would get on the West Coast, and let's be honest, I'm not counting on a lot from the US for the fun. I want a carnival atmosphere, loud, fun, and exciting. So I'm rooting Japan tonight.

If the games are anything like they've been the last few days, it should be a good time!

Doug

[DownUnderDodger]

I just printed the copies of your tickets, now I am going to jump on a plane to LA and get to the games really early and steal your seat!! :laugh

If I was living in Vegas at the moment I would certainly have obtained seats and gone to the games. Unfortunately it is a long way from Australia to Dodgers Stadium.

Have fun at the games Doug and may the best teams win. I am sure you will witness some exciting and quality baseball!!

[Doug Miller]

Woof! That was one ugly game. A few things that stood out. #1 - Korea is super aggressive on the bases. Venezuela didn't help their own cause tonight, but Korea forced a lot of the errors. (They couldn't field the ball if it had been sewn in their gloves!) The double steal call up 7-0 was a wow moment. If this were a "regular" game, people would be whining that they were running up the score. No, they were just taking away any doubt. #2 - Venezuela weren't taking losing well. Throwing up and in during the later innings, hitting a batter, the Cabrera face tag at 1st. Way different than playing to score at every opportunity vs being a poor sport about it.

Here's a few pics:

It was a cloudy afternoon, none of the exterior color shots that I took really jump out. I think the black and white actually looks better.


I don't know why they don't make t-shirts with this logo on them, I'd buy one!


One of two Dodger Dogs for the day. My last trip to Dodger Stadium I thought they were pretty bland, but today's tasted pretty good! Ketchup and mustard, washed down with a cold Coke.


Koreans were out in force. The game itself was a total blowout. Venezuela had 5 errors and just got crushed from the start. Too bad, it would have been awesome if both sets of fans had the energy the whole game. Maybe tomorrow.


Oversized Korean flag passing over my seat. Flags were everywhere. Stadium was about 70% full. I'd bet it will be packed tomorrow and Monday. I'm rooting for the US tomorrow, but if Japan wins, Monday will be a MAD HOUSE. The Korean/Japan games have been full of drama!




Doug

[DownUnderDodger]

Thanks for sharing the photos Doug......I could demolish a Dodger Dog right now! Those Koreans love the thunder sticks. They were very prominent at a Handball match I attended during the Sydney Olympics.
Do you believe Korea will win it all?

[Doug Miller]

There was a definite contrast to the style of play and the fans for Korea vs Japan. Korea was forcing errors yesterday while today Japan just benefited from them. I was a little surprised at the fan response today. Korea's fans were way louder and more into the game than Japan, I guess Japan is saving their energy for tomorrow. <shrug> Records aside, I'm going to give Korea the edge for tomorrow. I just hopes it's a good game, because other than 4 innings today, the two games have been awful!

Here's some pics from today:

Started the day at Pinks. Stretch chili cheese dog with rings and a nice cold root beer! I know it looks heinous, but it tasted great. The chili makes it!


Thumbs up approval!


I'm hoping for an even better turnout for tomorrow's game. I want loud, I want banners, crazy fans, and oh yeah, a great ballgame!


Tie run is up to the plate. Whoops, nevermind. We lose.








Doug

[Doug Miller]

Wow. Just wow. That was one of the most fun games I've ever been to. The crowd was unbelievable, especially the Koreans. I had decided to root for Korea after watching them against Venezuela. They played hard, and the fans were rowdy. Japan's win today is even more impressive when you look at the crowd -- This felt like an away game for Japan. Fundamentally sound, some great defense for both teams, and clutch drama for both teams in the later innings. This is just the kind of game that the WBC needs. These teams care who wins, these fans care who wins. I hope the game translated the same way on TV, because it was start to finish loud.

Here are a few pics:

I just like the angle of this shot.


Final prep for the field.


Pre-game reminded me a lot of the 2001 All Star Game.


Japan's victory lap, they did a stadium walk around with the flag and trophy.


Even in defeat, the Korean fans were fun. The Korean contigent at the game made it one of the most fun games I've been to.


Doug

[brewcrew82]

Awesome pictures Doug. Thanks for posting them.

Watching the game on TV, the atmosphere at the stadium looked like it would have been a blast to have witnessed in person.

[DownUnderDodger]

Hold the root beer, but the dog, and onion rings look awesome! You really got into the spirit Doug. Great shots. I an envious of you!!