I do understand there is a great element of baseball light - all the rules for pitch counts and pitching dates. And there are all the adverse affects for the MLB teams that are sending teams to the WBC.
But....
I like seeing players w/ different unis and teammates. I enjoy the spirit of the World Baseball Classic and it is cool to see a baseball event in March that isn't totally meaningless. I get the meh reaction by most fans, but I would like to see more fans become interested in the event - and I will blather on about it occasionally.
Here are some Phungo Cards from when Team Phungo checked out the WBC qualifer in San Juan.
2010 Phungo #21 Bernie Williams
Bernie was retired from MLB for three years when the 2009 WBC rolled around. He came out of retirement to represent Puerto Rico and he even threw out the first pitch prior to one of the games we attended.
This is one of the things I like about the event - it is an opportunity to bring back some players from the recent past. As far as I know this hasn't really occurred in 2013 - Johnny Damon represented Thailand in the Fall Qualifiers but that doesn't really count. Bobby Abreu and Jim Thome would be great guys to send out for the WBC.
Minor leaguers also can get mixed in as well. There really isn't a critical need for all the Major League stars to get involved. It only happens once every four years. If an all-star caliber player can represent his country once in his career it is a great opportunity.
The WBC does use a DH, but David Ortiz had to bring his glove and play first in 2009. This is because the Dominican squad was LOADED at shortstop. I think they had Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, and Miguel Tejada all manning the position. We ended up seeing the rare game where Big Papi played in the field and Reyes was a DH.
2010 Faux Phungo Sidney Ponson
I never really mentioned this, but several Phungo Cards end up on the cutting room floor. Sidney Ponson was one of those cards. He is to much of a jerk, and really lacks any hipness - I just couldn't give him a card despite having a fairly decent close up. Card #37 in 2010 was awarded to a combo card of Juan Pierre and Jeff Kent.
I will likely have a few more WBC ramblings over the next couple of weeks - just a warning.
Looking Back
2009 Travelblog San Juane PR and WBC
Roberto Clemente Retired Number at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan
1 comment:
I actually like the WBC too. I'm excited to see USA play tomorrow night. Also, even if it wasn't a close-up Ponson would fill up the entire card anyways. I'm not talking about his ego either!
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