Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

World Baseball Classic 2

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) had an uneasy genesis in 2006. A year earlier, baseball, along with softball, was voted out of the Olympics, ordered to make its last appearance at the Beijing Games. Baseball became the first sport to be dropped since polo was banished after the 1932 Olympics.

Baseball responded to the vote by saying, “Fuck you, we’ll make our own party.” And that, boys and girls, is how the WBC came to be.

TV didn’t know what to do with it. ESPN paid $5 million for the broadcast rights and wound up televising most games on their Spanish-language channel, ESPN Deportes.

ESPN’s guy for programming and acquisitions, Len Deluca, told The Wall Street Journal, “We did this on three months’ notice; we did it with no chance to sell it; we did it with barely a chance to schedule it.”

MLB owners were not happy about having a tournament in the middle of their spring training. Athletes were not happy about risking injury for an attaboy and a medal nobody cares about.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Big-deal baseball statistician, newbie political blogger, and cable-news guest Nate Silver did a study on the 2006 WBC. He came to the conclusion that pitchers, particularly starting pitchers, were less productive back at their day job after playing in the tournament.

And the inaugural tournament was not that interesting. The U.S. was bounced out of the WBC after the second round. Japan won, but backed its way to the top. Nothing special.

WBC 1 was ignored by the media and despised by team owners. Big picture: not so good. Baseball-business picture: not so bad. Referring to the Wall Street Journal again, the 2006 WBC turned a profit of between $10 million and $15 million, had a total attendance of 740,000, and raked in pretty good TV ratings.

WBC 2 kicks off on March 5 and ends with a championship game on March 23. The extravaganza is produced by Major League Baseball/Major League Baseball Players Association, “supported by” all their partners, sidekicks, co-conspirators, and sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), whoever that is.

So, 16 national teams in four pools:

Pool A: China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea; Pool B: Australia, Cuba, Mexico, South Africa; Pool C: Canada, Italy, United States, Venezuela; Pool D: Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico.

Major league professionals can play. Please.

Rule changes for Round 1 and Round 2: each pool will feature a six-game, double-elimination format. The first two teams in each pool to collect two losses will be dropped; the other two move on.

Round 1 games will be played in the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo; Estadio Foro Sol, Mexico City; Rogers Centre, Toronto; Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan. Round 2 games will be played in Dolphin Stadium (Miami) and Petco Park. Finals will be played at Dodger Stadium.

I’m beginning to understand why owners, players, and fans say that nothing can kill baseball. To wit, the Black Sox Scandal. Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series. The Dead Ball Era. Babe Ruth hit 29 home runs in 1919. The average number of runs scored per game was 3.4 in 1908. The Pittsburgh Drug Trials of 1985, starring cocaine. Eleven players were suspended, said suspensions were waived for community service and money. Pete Rose. Owner collusion. Steroids. Taxpayer subsidies. Constantly rising ticket prices. A national economic meltdown whose bottom no one sees. And baseball is making more money than ever.

Baseball’s spring-training leagues, Florida Grapefruit and Arizona Cactus, have seen $250,000,000 in new-stadium construction. The Chicago White Sox, moving into a new ballpark in Glendale, Arizona, said their ticket sales are up over 50 percent. The Cleveland Indians moved into a new $115 million ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. Their sponsorship is up 20 percent, and they sold 45,000 tickets before their box office officially opened.

Major League Baseball hides its numbers as well as any mob-run casino did in Vegas during the 1950s. Still, it’s possible to get a hint of how well they’re doing. Forbes.com reports baseball earned a half-billion dollars in 2006 through ticket sales, merchandising, and blah, blah, blah. But the key stat belongs to commissioner Bud Selig. He makes $17 million per year. That’s a number that screams, WE HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY!

So, if baseball wants to run a tournament with the likes of South Africa, Italy, and the Netherlands as co-equal participants, well, who’s going to stop them?

MLB Network will televise 16 World Baseball Classic games. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes will televise 23 games, including the Semi-Final and Final Games. And $19.95 gets you Round 1 and Round 2 live on http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Centennial Salute to San Diego’s Military, East Village Block Party, Birding Basics Class

Events March 29-March 30, 2024
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) had an uneasy genesis in 2006. A year earlier, baseball, along with softball, was voted out of the Olympics, ordered to make its last appearance at the Beijing Games. Baseball became the first sport to be dropped since polo was banished after the 1932 Olympics.

Baseball responded to the vote by saying, “Fuck you, we’ll make our own party.” And that, boys and girls, is how the WBC came to be.

TV didn’t know what to do with it. ESPN paid $5 million for the broadcast rights and wound up televising most games on their Spanish-language channel, ESPN Deportes.

ESPN’s guy for programming and acquisitions, Len Deluca, told The Wall Street Journal, “We did this on three months’ notice; we did it with no chance to sell it; we did it with barely a chance to schedule it.”

MLB owners were not happy about having a tournament in the middle of their spring training. Athletes were not happy about risking injury for an attaboy and a medal nobody cares about.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Big-deal baseball statistician, newbie political blogger, and cable-news guest Nate Silver did a study on the 2006 WBC. He came to the conclusion that pitchers, particularly starting pitchers, were less productive back at their day job after playing in the tournament.

And the inaugural tournament was not that interesting. The U.S. was bounced out of the WBC after the second round. Japan won, but backed its way to the top. Nothing special.

WBC 1 was ignored by the media and despised by team owners. Big picture: not so good. Baseball-business picture: not so bad. Referring to the Wall Street Journal again, the 2006 WBC turned a profit of between $10 million and $15 million, had a total attendance of 740,000, and raked in pretty good TV ratings.

WBC 2 kicks off on March 5 and ends with a championship game on March 23. The extravaganza is produced by Major League Baseball/Major League Baseball Players Association, “supported by” all their partners, sidekicks, co-conspirators, and sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF), whoever that is.

So, 16 national teams in four pools:

Pool A: China, Chinese Taipei, Japan, Korea; Pool B: Australia, Cuba, Mexico, South Africa; Pool C: Canada, Italy, United States, Venezuela; Pool D: Dominican Republic, Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico.

Major league professionals can play. Please.

Rule changes for Round 1 and Round 2: each pool will feature a six-game, double-elimination format. The first two teams in each pool to collect two losses will be dropped; the other two move on.

Round 1 games will be played in the Tokyo Dome, Tokyo; Estadio Foro Sol, Mexico City; Rogers Centre, Toronto; Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan. Round 2 games will be played in Dolphin Stadium (Miami) and Petco Park. Finals will be played at Dodger Stadium.

I’m beginning to understand why owners, players, and fans say that nothing can kill baseball. To wit, the Black Sox Scandal. Chicago White Sox threw the 1919 World Series. The Dead Ball Era. Babe Ruth hit 29 home runs in 1919. The average number of runs scored per game was 3.4 in 1908. The Pittsburgh Drug Trials of 1985, starring cocaine. Eleven players were suspended, said suspensions were waived for community service and money. Pete Rose. Owner collusion. Steroids. Taxpayer subsidies. Constantly rising ticket prices. A national economic meltdown whose bottom no one sees. And baseball is making more money than ever.

Baseball’s spring-training leagues, Florida Grapefruit and Arizona Cactus, have seen $250,000,000 in new-stadium construction. The Chicago White Sox, moving into a new ballpark in Glendale, Arizona, said their ticket sales are up over 50 percent. The Cleveland Indians moved into a new $115 million ballpark in Goodyear, Arizona. Their sponsorship is up 20 percent, and they sold 45,000 tickets before their box office officially opened.

Major League Baseball hides its numbers as well as any mob-run casino did in Vegas during the 1950s. Still, it’s possible to get a hint of how well they’re doing. Forbes.com reports baseball earned a half-billion dollars in 2006 through ticket sales, merchandising, and blah, blah, blah. But the key stat belongs to commissioner Bud Selig. He makes $17 million per year. That’s a number that screams, WE HAVE TOO MUCH MONEY!

So, if baseball wants to run a tournament with the likes of South Africa, Italy, and the Netherlands as co-equal participants, well, who’s going to stop them?

MLB Network will televise 16 World Baseball Classic games. ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes will televise 23 games, including the Semi-Final and Final Games. And $19.95 gets you Round 1 and Round 2 live on http://web.worldbaseballclassic.com

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Best Sports Betting Sites - 10 Online Sportsbooks Ranked for 2024

Best Sports Betting Sites (2024) - Reviews of TOP Online Sportsbooks
Next Article

Making Love to Goats, Rachmaninoff, and Elgar

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.