Mr. Selig, this time, you got it right.
In the recent past, you were dumbfounded at the All-Star game in Milwaukee when you elected to call it a day after nine innings.
The lack of a salary cap continues to be an annual issue. Baseball right now is boring. The season is 100 games too long, half the teams are mathematically eliminated by June and the statistical records, which baseball prides itself on, should now have an asterisk next to them, indicating either the post or pre-steroid era.
Finally, you have to concoct a way to deal with Barry Bonds that is both appealing to baseball and the public. And now, Alfonso Soriano refuses to play the outfield! What else could go wrong?
But you did it. You assured the fans and the world from the very beginning the World Baseball Classic would be a success. While A-Rod pledged allegiance to 12 different countries, and random players pulled their name from the field, you remained adamant in your push for world-wide competition.
When all was said and done, it was not the world powers, U.S. and the Dominican Republic, battling for the title, but rather Japan and Cuba vying for the top spot, neither of which featured a stacked line-up of household names.
The game was similar to Little League World Series, where 12-year-olds, (or sometimes 14-year-old lefty hurlers from New York) compete for their city, state and later, their country. No one knows who those kids are when they first begin pool play, but by the end of the week in Williamsport, Pa., stories unfold and legends are made, even if they last for only a brief time.
The critics argued the stars were being taken away from spring training. The cities hosting spring ball were worried fans would not show up if the big names were playing somewhere else. At the same time, owners and coaches were worried the athletes in which they had so much money invested, they would get hurt in the process. And of course, many worried the Cubans would neglect to cash in on the second half of their round trip back to the land ruled by Fidel Castro.
At the end of the day, there were no major injuries to report, no major losses of revenue in Arizona and Florida, and no word on how many Cuban phenoms will be in pinstripes come opening day.
What these same people failed to see, was that the WBC is not about individual players, but rather about the name, tradition and colors reflecting off the uniform. This tournament resembled competition on the high school or collegiate level, where max contracts and uncoachable egos are not an issue, and the only thing athletes play for is their team and pride.
While I think it was a bit sacrilegious that I was eating a burrito in a Mexican restaurant, watching while the U.S. got bounced by our neighbors to the south in the second round of pool play, the fact was, I, like many others, was watching. If Major League Baseball could draw at all on the enthusiasm the WBC generated, it would be highly beneficial.
A pat on the back is due to Commissioner Bud Selig. For a man that is more criticized than any other high-ranking official in this country, he deserves credit where credit is due. While he now has the pleasure of dealing with Barry Bonds and the collective bargaining agreement when he returns to his office, at least he had a few weeks to watch a project he pushed for shine.
All in all, the WBC was pure. Steroids took a back seat to filled stadiums, fans rallied around their country and the Cuban players ... well they do have to return to Cuba.
Baseball was baseball again, if only for a few weeks.
Jon is a senior majoring in English and journalism. He can be reached for comment at jrmcnamara@wisc.edu.
