The WBC has so much potential, but it seems that, by being played in March, it is not allowed to fully develop. What if WBC were structured after ITF’s Davis Cup, instead? I. The whole tournament would be made only of knockout series (best-of-three), with one team being the series’ host. II. Series would be played solely during what today is the All-Star break. III. WBC champions would still be crowned every four years: Year 1 – Round of 16 Year 2 – Quarterfinals Year 3 – Semifinals Year 4 – Finals IV. The 16 teams would be: 8 winners in Round of 16; 8 Qualifiers winners. V. Qualifiers would also be played in best-of-three series, and would happen parallel to the main tournament. The main issue, for me, though, would be the necessity of a week-long break. Teams would need time to travel across the world and back. Imagine the US playing a series against Japan in Tokyo, for instance. Even though games 2 and 3 could be played in the same day, two days for traveling before and after the series would be required.
I think the current format for the WBC is fine. It just needs to be held after the World Series. It'll be in the off-season and will give players, especially pitchers, plenty of time to heal for the next season.
Interesting. But wouldn't they be too tired, though? Or beyond pitch count? Moreover, being Winter in the Northern Hemisphere, where WBC would be played?
Well, I am not much aware of how cold those places can be in December. I thought they could easily reach >40°F...
I think I like Buck Martinez's idea of holding it at the All- Star break every four years instead of the All- Star game. Have a two week break and hold it in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York. Preliminary rounds can still be in other parts of the World.
The only problem is that MLB doesn't want to lose a couple weeks of their season to do it. Having it after the season ends will neutralize all the excuses of the US players (especially pitchers) trying to avoid representing their country.
All Star break? No. It's fine exactly the way it is. You don't want a player getting hurt mid-season from the WBC. It's a great tune up for the MLB season. I just wished we had a few more stars from the USA give it the respect it deserves. We still won, though.
You don't want a player getting hurt, period. The WBC has such a risk, whether in March or June. In June, since players are used to a break, and in midseason form, competion could be respected as it deserves...
I don't get the "he can get hurt" theories. We have seen baseball players get hurt riding motorcycles, falling off the roof of barns and taking out drones from their freaking bags for Pete sake. Do you want baseball players to live in a bubble and never live life? Or do you want to see them play baseball? These players should be well conditioned athletes who are best suited playing baseball. Playing a few National team games every four years at the All-Star Break should not be that big of a deal.
Almost the worst thing that could have happened. Almost de-legitimizes it in the eyes of some American fans since we could be seen as having won it without maximum effort. This is despite the fact that we didn't really have the type of dominant run that Japan or DR enjoyed in the past. I think it would have been better for the tournament's growth for the US to have had a harder time winning it. The incentive to invest more interest is almost gone completely now and will take another and very lengthy period of futility to generate that anew. Not that it existed but it seemed to be growing somewhat in some of the baseball media if only due to the fact that alot of them had fun watching the interest from the fans from other countries.
For those who still take the World Baseball Classic seriously... Tim Tebow Taking His Talents International - N.Y. Post https://nypost.com/2020/02/26/tim-tebow-found-a-new-baseball-team/ Tim Tebow is taking his baseball talents international. The World Baseball Classic announced Wednesday that Tebow would play for Team Philippines in the tournament’s qualifying round. Set to take place from March 12 to the 25, the WBC qualifying round consists of two groups that have six teams each. Tebow will participate in the second qualifying tournament from March 20 to the 25, representing the Philippines and competing against Great Britain, New Zealand, Czech Republic, Panama and Spain. The WBC format is double-elimination. “I’ve just got such a heart for the Philippines,” said Tebow, a native of Makati, Philippines. “I’ve just really had a love for the people for a long time. To be able to represent them will be really cool — really, really cool. You don’t get a lot of chances to represent people or places that mean something to you.” Tebow’s parents were Baptist missionaries who moved from the Philippines to Florida when Tim was three years old. Tebow has slashed .223/.299/.338 in 287 minor league games with 18 homers and 107 RBIs.