World Baseball Classic: Good or Bad?

(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)

With the 2009 World Baseball Classic finally at a close, lets take a trip down memory lane and review.

Baseball fans all over the world experienced many new sensations.

The fall of a baseball powerhouse (Dominican Republic), the rise of a relatively unknown baseball country (Netherlands), and a very memorable championship game.

Throughout the tournament we also saw  many rising stars, but perhaps none as big as Yu Darvish of Japan.

In five games, Darvish had a 2-1 record, with 2.08 era. His twenty strikeouts led all pitchers in the tournament. 

So is the World Baseball Classic good for the sport? The answer is yes. Although Darvish's teammate Daisuke Matsuzaka was named MVP, Darvish earned something more than awards. He grabbed the attention of baseball fans and general managers everywhere.

The Classic gives players that aren't in major league systems a chance to prove that they are worthy of playing on the world's grandest stage. It also gives baseball fans the opportunity to watch games that have meaning. 

Although the USA did not reach the finals for the second Classic, we should all be excited for 2013. Who knows,  maybe Japan will three-peat. Maybe the Netherlands will make more noise and take out more teams other than the Dominican Republic. Will 2013 be USA's moment in the sun? All we can do is wait.

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