Bob Feller Dies at 92
Pitching legend Bob Feller has died at 92.
Bob Feller was a pitcher for the Cleveland Indians for 18 seasons and is one of the top 10 pitchers in baseball history. He ended his career with 266 victories and 2,581 strikeouts, and led the American League in strikeouts seven times and bases on balls eight times. He pitched three no-hit games and shares the major league record with 12 one-hitters. Feller was the first pitcher to win 20 or more games before the age of 21. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962, his first year of eligibility.
The Indians, the WBC, and the World
I was fortunate enough to spend the summer of 2006 traveling between Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, and Dortmund working for a friend of mine who did ticketing for the World Cup. It was my first time out of North America, and before I left I had virtually no knowledge of soccer (football, but I’ll comply). So I didn’t believe those that told me that the pride that each country has in their team trumps even the most die-hard of local fanbases in the United States. I didn’t believe that each World Cup game, even those in the earlier rounds, generate as much, if not more excitement than the Super Bowl. But then I witnessed it first-hand at the Germany-Sweden game (among others), and I’ve never looked at sports the same way again.
Unless you are familiar with the European soccer craze, the unity and the camaraderie that national sports can generate is simply unimaginable. Here’s where I’m going with this: the World Baseball Classic, if embraced universally, has this kind of potential.
Sure, the U.S.A. has a soccer team, but let’s face it: how many of us set our clocks for the wee hours of the morning to watch them when they take on a team halfway across the world? Baseball is America’s national pastime, and it has done nothing but gain momentum in the 21st century, complain though I will about player salaries. But while the love of the game itself is universal in the U.S., pride and devotion is divided into competing factions. Americans don’t realize, or at one point realized but have since forgotten, what it’s like to stand united behind a team. So there’s one reason that the opportunity the Classic affords ought to be appreciated.
A few years ago, the International Olympic Committee ruled that baseball would no longer be an Olympic sport after 2008. It became the first sport to be eliminated since polo in 1936 (though it is eligible to reapply for 2016). But, it was always hard for anyone to take Olympic baseball seriously anyways; it overlapped with MLB’s season, so the U.S.A team never consisted of the best American players. A fortunate coincidence is that the decision coincided, roughly, with the debut of the Classic. Yet despite the success of the first tournament, it has not been openly embraced by MLB players, management, and fans. There are all kinds of objections and frustrations associated with the event.
Some critics suggest that the constant travel tires players out just prior to the season. My gripe with this is that if these players can’t deal with the travel schedule, they shouldn’t be playing in the MLB. The Classic travel schedule is far lighter than it is during the regular season, and games aren’t even played on consecutive days.
The most vocalized concern, however, revolves around the potential for injury, or at least premature fatigue later in the season, as a result of playing in the Classic. But the fact that many players play in offseason leagues has never aroused as much “concern,” despite the fact that they demand much, much more of the players. Spring exhibition games and workout routines are probably more grueling than the Classic; even those teams that make it to the later rounds only play a handful of games. This concern makes a bit more sense for pitchers, whose workout routine changes in anticipation of the tournament, providing they take it seriously. Koji Uehara, the leader in innings pitched in the 2006 tournament, logged 17. Again, though, these pitchers would be pitching in spring games, anyways. Granted, they would want to be more competitive and less experimental in games that count on some level, but it seems the ultimate goal of shaking off rust and preparing for the season is intact.
On an Indians-related note–I suppose that’s what I’m here for, after all–Cliff Lee recently turned down an invitation to participate in the WBC, citing a career-high workload in 2008 and the desire to be there for the team. I’d rather he pitch in the WBC.
At least in the world of baseball management, the actual source of frustration is the relatively little control they have over their players’ desire to participate. They only have the right to prevent a player from participating if they missed a significant portion of the previous season due to injury. The Angels recently exercised this authority with John Lackey–the Indians probably will with Fausto Carmona, who is on the preliminary roster of the Dominican Republic.
I don’t mean to diminish the importance of training and practicing as a team in preparation of the season, but I believe it is a less worthy objective. Like it or not, it’s clear that, true to Bud Selig’s vision, the game is become increasingly internationalized. Almost every country that is participating is benefiting from increased interest in the sport (with the U.S. representing the least enthusiastic of countries). From an American standpoint, the Classic is just more baseball. American fans have, understandably, been trained to value a World Series ring over any other accomplishment within the sport. I know it is difficult to imagine how the expansion of the sport could enhance what it means to win the World Series, but I don’t speak radically when I say that the Classic could be a stepping-stone towards an eventual World Series that truly represents the world.
MLB’s scouting techniques and their ability to snag talent at will from across the world has met few barriers. I’m not sure how much longer the Japanese posting system that was created in 1998 (that prevents Japanese players from heading to the MLB without their team being compensated) can last, especially in light of the willingness of some Japanese players to skip their native draft altogether and head straight for the majors (and the apparent willingness of some teams to let this happen). It just seems as though a more comprehensive solution is on the horizon.
On Indians turf, Grady Sizemore has committed himself to playing under Manager Davey Johnson and Team U.S.A (the final 28-man roster won‘t be announced until Feb. 24, but I‘ll eat my shoe if Sizemore isn’t on it), a team whose first game will come against Team Canada at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on March 7. In addition to Sizemore and Carmona, a number of Indians players have shown up on the recently-released provisional rosters: Mark DeRosa (USA), Shin-Soo Choo (Korea), Rafael Betancourt (Venezuela), Jhonny Peralta and Rafael Perez (Dominican), and Masahide Kobayashi (Japan).
I guess the bottom line is that I believe all players should express interest in playing for their country; interest has to trickle down from the top. Players, coaches, and management have to take it more seriously in order for everyone to get behind it. But it is a great idea, ultimately it will change baseball as we know it. I know I’ll be watching.