As a baseball fan I get excited about the World Baseball Classic. The game of baseball has always been my sport of preference. It is the only game in the United States without a clock. Both teams get their chances over 9 innings. One player tries to hit a round ball with a rounded wooden bat squarely when another player is throwing it towards the plate at ridiculous speeds from 60 feet 6 inches. The odds of a successful hit lies between 20-30%. When the entire world engages in this sport for a short time, I enjoy the camaraderie and the passion all the players bring to the game.

Three years ago when I watched the tournament I loved watching Mexico, Japan, Puerto Rico, The Dominican Republic, and the United States. I didn’t care who won the games. I got to see the best players play the game with the cultural pride you don’t see in the MLB. The fans who traveled to the games from these respective locales brought their cultural practices with them. It was a blast to hear music, chanting, and the excitement we Americans take for granted. Seeing the players embrace the moments with some showboating or emotion was also a nice thing. It made the game more entertaining.

The greatest moment of the 2023 WBC was Shohei Ohtani’s strikeout of Angel’s teammate Mike Trout to give Japan the championship. Japan played a beautiful brand of team baseball. There was honor at stake for Japan. You could see how every player in that dugout wanted to beat the USA All-Star team. I want to see the Nippon Professional League Champion to be included in the World Series MLB Playoff format. The only thing I see holding something like that up is the salary differences between Japanese and American leagues. It would be really nice to have a real World Series, not just an MLB World Series.

This year’s WBC is off to a great start. I don’t get the FS1 or FS2 channels, and I refuse to pay for them. I dislike the Fox networks. Watching the highlights with my MLB app, and various other social media apps has been fun. I’ve watched the USA games only. The Brazil contest was a rough one with 17 walks. Despite that problem the Brazilian team stayed in the game until 9th inning. Their youngest players performed very well considering their opponents. Those were the moments I enjoyed the most. Seeing a 17 year old high school senior break Aaron Judges bat while forcing an inning ending double play was a memory of a lifetime for that young man.

I’m currently watching the Great Britain vs. USA game and I’ve enjoyed seeing the Royal team compete hard against the Americans. If the USA loses I’m okay with that. I want to see the other teams grow and gain confidence, so that one day we could see expansion in the MLB to include Asia, Europe, South America, or the island nations. There are a lot of great players out there. I want to see them all succeed. I just love watching a well executed baseball game. Good pitching, fielding, and hitting all make for great baseball. I love a good 4-3 game.

Whomever wins the WBC the game of baseball wins. This celebration of the game across the world is important. We need to grow this game here in the USA and around the world. It teaches patience, practice, persistence, and respect. In a lot of ways baseball’s skills mirror musical skills. The one difference is no one listens to a musician who only hits 20-30% of their notes.

I recommend catching a game or two. You will not be disappointed in the heart that is on display within the game. I’m all smiles watching every pitch… play ball…