The World Baseball Classic was just that in so many ways

The World Baseball Classic is not a new event, yet this was the first year that I watched several games. I'm not sure why that is, but I am likely to be tuning in the next time the event is held. Baseball is a great game and if nothing else, taking in the World Baseball Classic allowed you to see some of the best players in the world. Whether they performed up to their capabilities or not is debatable. Some did and some did not. If you have ever played the game, you know that it is not uncommon to have 0-3 or 0-4 nights. It is no wonder that hitting a baseball is considered one of the most difficult feats in sports. As is always mentioned, a good (.300) hitter fails 7 of ten times he goes to the plate. Of course that doesn't stop the critics from pointing out player shortcomings. Similar to the Olympics and the Ryder Cup, I personally don't need the United States to win for it to be a successful extravaganza. I want to see some good plays and exciting finishes. This year's World Baseball Classic provided that in spades. Here then, are some random thoughts from this writer about the just finished event. VENEZUELA'S MOTIVATION. As every baseball fan knows Venezuela beat the USA 3-2 in the finals. But let's address the elephant in the room. Do you suppose the Venezuelan players had more motivation to want to win given the relationship between the two countries politically in the last year? I guess you would have to ask the individual players that question if you really want to know. Given the enthusiasm shown by other teams in the tournament, I'm not sure that it was a major factor. Then again, if a team was looking for bulletin board material... Venezuela certainly had it. STELLAR DEFENSE. Many people think that for a baseball game to be really enjoyable, there has to be plenty of offense. I'm not one of those. I can appreciate good pitching and incredible defense. It was the American team that provided my defensive wow moments. Two players in particular had key plays in the field. Aaron Judge threw out two runners trying to go from first to third on a single to right. Those cannon shots were right on the money and Yankee fans have to smile knowing that the arm injury that plagued him last season is a thing of the past. Bobby Witt, Jr. made two scintillating defensive plays in one game. He dove both times and got to his feet to throw out runners. I must admit that the only player he could have thrown out on the one play was the guy that hit it. Alejandro Kirk is not the fleetest of runners, but still it was an outstanding play. BROADCASTERS. A lot of people have problems with certain broadcasters. I don't know if I understand that. I've even had people say they won't watch a game if a certain person is doing the play by play. You do know there is a mute button on your TV, do you not? I don't care who the announcer is. I'm going to watch the game and don't need any commentary to enjoy it. In the WBC I was pleasantly surprised as one announcer made me laugh out loud… more than once. Let me explain. In the semifinal game between Italy and Venezuela the announcers were talking about Italy's manager Francisco Cervelli. The former major league catcher grew up in Italy and remembered going to his grandmother's house on Sundays for a feast. According to Cervelli, there would be some 50 members of his family present for those occasions. He got wistful while reminiscing saying he could smell the Ragu! It was then that announcer John Smoltz pointed out that he too had an Italian grandmother. He remembers those Sunday meals and suggested that he had trouble maintaining his weight as a youngster and his grandmother would be shoving plate after plate of pasta at him. I wonder what is like to not be able to maintain weight! Smoltz went on to suggest that Italians seldom go to Italian restaurants when they dine outside the home. The restaurant food could never compare to grandma's! I saw that first hand recently when I dined at an Italian restaurant with a couple with an Italian heritage. They ate very little. It wasn't real Italian food in there minds. John Smotlz then went on to suggest that the amount of pasta served at his grandmother's house was enormous. Then he had this gem. "I'm telling you, that Thanksgiving turkey was just an appetizer." That's funny stuff. His best story came later that game and it did not have anything to do with food. Yes, food does get my attention, but baseball stories are even better. As the cameras panned to the dugout, Italian players were watching some kind of technological devices to get an idea of what the pitcher was throwing. Smoltz suggested that when he came up to the big leagues those devices were not available. What his team did however was to check with the lead off hitter after his first at bat. Hopefully he would see enough pitches to tell his teammates what to expect. He then related the story of former Atlanta Brave Ralph Garr (remember him?) who led off a game against Nolan Ryan. When he came back to the dugout his teammates said well... and Garr says "boys, this game is over."