Baseball is a strange sport from the git go, all starting and stopping One of the unique idiosyncrasies of baseball, and part of what make Back in our baseball youth, everyone knew they played in Japan. We had As Latinos flooded into the majors we debated and compared Dominicans, Now we finally have one. It is great baseball and in the best spirit But there are plenty of other story lines to follow, and despite the The 800-lb gorilla in all this is Cuba. Cuba has been playing baseball So it’s a big deal. If they pass the first round the Cuban’s have to So for some great baseball with a dash of international intrigue, Events like this are about the only decent excuse to even have old-fashioned Don’t know if any of the rest of you gives a damn, but the Dowbrigade has been really enjoying the World Baseball Classic now being played out on diamonds in the America’s and Asia. It is sports at its best … Continue reading ![](\"http:\/\/cyber.law.harvard.edu\/blogs\/static\/dowbrigade\/bazebull.jpg\")
Don’t
\n know if any of the rest of you gives a damn, but the Dowbrigade has
\n been really enjoying the World
\n Baseball Classic<\/a> now being played
\n out on diamonds in the America’s and Asia. It is sports at its best –
\n thrilling competition destined to settle long-standing arguments, and
\n spawn generations more.<\/p>\n
\n and endless untimed situations<\/em>, and as homegrown export of
\n American culture it
\n has taken root in Latin America, Asia, Australia, South Africa, and other
\n pockets of American influence or empire.<\/p>\n
\n it so American, is its fascination and infusion with statistics, which
\n in turn make it possible
\n to compare players, not only from team to team, but from one level to
\n the next. For fans, obsessed with baseball and with time on their hands
\n during the long northern winter, these statistics
\n allowed them to transcend time and space, and to compare athletes from
\n different eras and different continents.<\/p>\n
\n heard of the great Sadaharu Oh being compared to the incomparable Babe
\n Ruth,
\n and
\n argued
\n about how
\n many
\n homers he would hit in the American League (not as many as in Japan).
\n We heard the stories about Fidel Castro terrifying out for the New York
\n Yankees as a
\n pitcher,
\n and getting rejected. We even heard
\n that
\n sometimes, in the late inning, on hot Havana nights, Fidel would slop
\n into left field for the Havana Sugar Kings of the AAA International League,
\n which also featured our hometown Rochester Red Wings and three teams
\n from Canada.<\/p>\n
\n Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. We would argue about whether Latin players
\n could hit home runs. They
\n were so small and wiry. We argued whether a Japanese all-star team could
\n take the US All-star team (No Way). We fantasized about a true World
\n Baseball championship.<\/p>\n
\n of international sport. In a familiar storyline lately, the Americans
\n are
\n on the verge of elimination in the first round. Why do get the
\n feeling that the cult of individuality is bearing its bitter fruit in
\n the performance of US national teams in team sports it used to dominate?<\/p>\n
\n notable drop-outs (Manny, Pedro) the far majority of the best players
\n in the world will take the field, with a smattering of minor leaguers
\n and recently retired stars. Do the upstart Canadians, who surprised the
\n US, really have a chance to beat the Latinos? Can Venezuela repeat their
\n victory in the Caribbean World Series? Will the Italians score even
\n one run?
\n Can
\n Roger Clemens pull one more big win out of his cap, perhaps his last
\n one ever? Will Vladimir Guerrero, who skipped the initial round after
\n three of his cousins were killed in an automobile accident in his native
\n Dominican Republic, be back now that the DR has qualified for the next
\n round.<\/p>\n
\n for a long time. The first organized league outside of the United
\n States was started in Cuba in 1878. There have been Cubans in the
\n major leagues since 1911. But US players have not faced Cuban players across
\n a diamond in almost 50 years, and the only Cuban players American fans
\n have seen are defectors like Luis Tiant, Orlando Hernandez and
\n Jose Contreras.<\/p>\n
\n travel to San Diego and all hell is going to break loose. How many will
\n defect?
\n The Las Vegas over\/under is at 7. The New York Times is already profiling
\n likely prospects to jump the wire. Agents are circling like sharks.<\/p>\n
\n check out the World Baseball Classic. Orders of magnitude better than
\n that watered-down pap being doled out in preseason Florida. <\/p>\n
\n countries anymore…<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"