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The 2023 World Baseball Classic was amazing to attend and be at. For what ended up being a win for Japan, we need to remember how important this was for the game of baseball beyond MLB.
Several games ended up being fun and entertaining from Taiwan to Miami. With the spirit of the game in full blast while in the month of March, there was nothing like it seeing a team celebrate a Little League style HR from Francisco Lindor and team Puerto Rico.
In a lengthy post, here are some observations and trip report I'll make in lieu making up for all the lack of coverage on the WBC:
Japan's pitching can hang with the rest
An excuse that's been used over and over again is how Japan has a smaller baseball than MLB. This competition was played with a Major League baseball and NPB pitchers had to adjust in practice, but the games showed it wasn't an issue, aside for maybe Yu Darvish? (Just kidding)
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The 2023 WBC championship has more value than 2006 and 2009
While many will argue a championship is a championship and they call count the same, this one has more weight to it beyond recency bias. Factor in who took this competition seriously from a USA offense with multiple MVPs on it to the entire Group of Death (Group D) being a blood bath and full of Major League players, this title means more.
The World Baseball Classic was in it's infancy stages in 2006 and 2009 where many saw this as an ambassador opportunity to grow the game, but several player treated it like like another exhibition or didn't take it as seriously. Dominican Republic could've easily been a theater in those years yet found a way to be bounced early.
Jim Allen has even mentioned how Sadaharu Oh won as a manager of this tournament in spite of making mistakes on the field. Back then, only Korea and Japan took this competition to the fullest and laid it all out.
While an argument can be made how USA didn't have great pitchers available, they still had an offense.
The 2017 USA championship carries plenty of weight as well having wins over Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Japan and Puerto Rico all in consecutive games.
When you can defeat some of the best, you deserve to be called the best.
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Yu Darvish and father time?
For all the talks about being the veteran presence on Samurai Japan, Darvish looked old when pitching and he coughed up at least 1 HR in each outing. He took majority of spring training off away from the Padres to train with Samurai Japan only to struggle in the tournament.
The San Diego Padres just rewarded him with an excessive contract extension which will take him into his early 40s. Was that really a smart call to go long term on any pitcher?
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Murakami was humbled
For a player who had all the hype entering the tournament as a two-time MVP, this wasn't his greatest outing but was able to redeem himself with two swings. With two runners on base, manager Hideki Kuriyama was about to pinch-hit him for a bunt until it was obvious Mexico pitcher Giovanni Gallegos was struggling with command.
Turned out to be the right call as he nearly hit a HR, a ball that went off the wall for a sayonara double. He later hit a solo tying HR off Merrill Kelly.
Despite finishing strong, pump the brakes on Murakami for now and let the next couple years play out. Major League pitching is still an obstacle for many position players coming from Japan.
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Yoshida is riding momentum
Masataka Yoshida was surprised at his own contract he signed with the Boston Red Sox not thinking he would be so valuable. This tournament? He lived up to the hype and carried Japan's offense in the semi-final game against Mexico. Boston fans haven't felt happy over this off-season as a whole, but Yoshida could be a nice consolation through it all as a reason for hope.
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Mexico didn't win the tournament, but their run was a success for baseball
The World Baseball Classic setup is a reason why anything can happen and games aren't played on paper. Many thought Mexico may not have had the firepower to hang around with other teams, but their upset over Puerto Rico in the quarterfinal will easily inspire many in a later generation to play baseball. Credit to Benji Gill for leading a group of men to a deep run.
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The atmosphere was unique, making baseball something fun
The noise, the crowds and the chants is what makes baseball refreshing. While the Ouendan style of songs in Japan is already documented and nothing new, hearing how things are done in Taiwan, or even the fans in Miami made this tournament great.
Miami has a dark fair weather sports reputation for plenty of apathy, yet we saw a packed park when it doesn't involve the Marlins as Venezuelans, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans and even Mexicans were making noise in the tournament. It was icing on the cake when Cuba made the semi finals and many residents of South Florida had the chance to see the country of their heritage on stateside soil after the team was in Asia the entire tournament prior.
There are clearly baseball fans in Miami, just not Marlins ones.
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Japan brings out the best in people
What made the game of Mexico and Japan special and being there was how respectful everyone was towards each other. Soccer games in Mexico have had crazy and even scary stories as has much of sporting events in the world.
However, those who made the trip to Miami were all kind towards the Japanese even in defeat, even having a bow gesture and wanting to take pictures with whoever was nearby. Maybe it's the reputation Japan had for cleaning up the stadiums during the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but it was a pleasant site to see.
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Tetsuto Yamada isn't done
When Samurai Japan's roster came out, some may have though taking Yamada coming off a down season was a head scratcher, yet his presence on defense was vital when it mattered most. He even stole two bases in the championship game against USA, something he has lacked in Japan since his Triple-3 days.
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Kuriyama won a chess match in the championship game
When Japan was forced to burn their two best starting pitchers available in Roki Sasaki and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, it was concerning what would happen against a USA offense that was tearing it up for the tournament knowing Shohei Ohtani wasn't allowed to pitch more than one inning per team agreement with the Los Angeles Angels
Kuriyama went with a bullpen plan knowing almost everyone was available and tactically caught USA hitters off guard. It was rather gutsy to put in a young Hiroto Takahashi and Hiromi Itoh for high leverage, yet they got it done. Itoh especially had lower velocity, but this was about outsmarting the opposition than using force and strength.
This sums up Japanese baseball as a whole, where things are more technical than powering. Samurai Japan's pitchers got the ground ball and let Sosuke Genda/Yamada do the rest on the infield.
While it's easy to say the final inning stands out for the casual viewer, this game as a whole was a team effort and well-executed madness from the manager.===
The Angels are the biggest losers of the World Baseball Classic
It's been elephant in the room for a whole decade before Ohtani even signed with them in 2018, but the Los Angeles Angels time is ticking when it comes to international recognition.
Seeing Mike Trout face Shohei Ohtani for all the marbles was fun as a baseball fan, but as an Angels fan it's a harsh reminder the organization hasn't done anything relevant in a long time.
There are many arguments both players are currently the best in the game yet they still haven't had a winning record together while on the Angels. The worst case scenario happened in this off-season when owner Arte Moreno announced he pulled back any sale of the team.
Ohtani has made it clear he wants to win and with this being a contract year, he can leave and teams can make a case to bring him over. If the Angels were smart, they needed to sell earlier to get a better compensation package, but Moreno likes the cash flow Ohtani brings. Being in Miami, plenty of Japanese visitors had Angels-related Ohtani gear on. Next year we could see people wearing another MLB team shortly.
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WBC Trip report
I made the trip to Miami for the second consecutive WBC Finals appearance having been to Los Angeles in 2017.
To put it in short, it was worth every penny. Here's some extra photos of the trip.
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