World Baseball Classic: Not the World Cup, but It Sure Feels Like It

My favorite sporting event is the FIFA World Cup.

Like the Olympics, the World Cup is truly a global event, bringing together nations that perhaps would never connect in a meaningful way but for the fact that they both love the sport of soccer and happened to play against each other in this grand event (recent examples include South Korea playing against Togo, or Mexico playing Iran in the 2006 World Cup).

Events like the World Cup offer a wonderful opportunity to discover new players, new teams, observe different playing styles, learn about distinct game philosophies, varied and often novel approaches and methodologies to the same fascinating game. Beyond the sport itself, it’s an opportunity learn about the countries being represented.

For example, the Ivory Coast’s participation in the 2006 World Cup encouraged me to learn about that country. I learned that the nation is a former French colony located in West Africa and that the government prefers to use its official French name at all times, Côte d’Ivoire.

I knew absolutely nothing about this nation before and would probably have never learned anything about it had it not qualified to play in the World Cup.

This brings me to the second edition of the World Baseball Classic, the new Major League Baseball competition.

Despite its shortcomings, the WBC serves as a terrific window for American fans to learn about the sport beyond our borders. Watching the World Baseball Classic makes Americans realize that we are not the only nation that loves the sport of baseball and can play it at the highest level. The WBC demonstrated once more that—surprisingly and disappointingly—we may no longer have the best baseball in the world.

Beyond the impact of the event in the United States, the WBC is certainly succeeding in growing the sport of baseball throughout the planet. MLB reports that the inaugural 2006 tournament was broadcast by 48 media outlets in 10 languages to 205 countries and territories around the world. News media members representing 25 different nations attended the 39 games. I would not be surprised to learn that this year's edition will surpass those already impressive numbers.

Sixteen nations passionately lived the event, play by play and pitch by pitch. The event also succeeded in sending the message that baseball is a global sport, and certainly no longer just an American and Japanese sport.

South Korea, Venezuela, and the Netherlands proved that they are emerging baseball powers demonstrating their abilities alongside established baseball nations like the highly respected Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican teams. Other countries, like Australia, Italy and Canada, are now surely more motivated to make strides forward to improve their game.

The critics will point out some flaws, like the fact many of the best American players chose not to play for Team USA, or that the event should have been scheduled in November right after the World Series. These same cynics also make the accusation that the event is simply a marketing ploy. They fail to see the big picture and are unable to appreciate MLB’s strategic imperative to grow its brand and the sport on a global scale.

Commissioner Bud Selig “hit the ball out of the ballpark” with the creation of the WBC. Selig's global perspective and assertive leadership led to the creation of this event. This "Grand Slam" event has sureley cemented Selig's legacy and will boost the sport for years and decades to come.

With time and continued dedication, the WBC has a terrific potential to grow and begin the process of gaining comparable stature and prestige alongside mammoth global events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics. This is a good thing for baseball fans.

It’s new, it’s a work in progress, and it's definitely not perfect. But the WBC is an international sporting competition worth following and enjoying as it builds a tradition and an ever larger global following.