Take a look at the roster of any Major League Baseball team and try to identify the major differences between now and say 10 years ago. Better yet, take a look at the major award winners for the last five years in baseball and identify any major trends.
Here's a hint: think globally.
Major League Baseball is going global. If you take a look at the MVPs and Cy Young Award winners from both leagues this season, three-fourths of the winners are of foreign decent. Albert Pujols, the NL's MVP, and Bartolo Colon, the AL's Cy Young, both hail from the Dominican Republic. Alex Rodriguez, the AL MVP, also has Dominican blood, even though he was born in the United States. In the last five seasons, at least one foreign born player has won an MVP or Cy Young award.
In 2000, former Red Sock and proud Dominican Pedro Martinez won his second straight AL Cy Young award. In 2001, Ichiro became the first Asian-born player to win a MVP award, much to the dismay of Rob Dibble. In 2002, Dominican-born shortstop Miguel Tejada won an AL MVP award with the A's. In 2003, A-Rod won his first MVP and Canadian-born closer Eric "The Goon" Gagne won the NL Cy Young. And in 2004, it was Venezuelan Johan Santana and free-swinging Dominican Vlad Guerrero who took home the AL hardware.
Baseball is following in the footsteps of other sports like basketball and hockey by seeking out talent throughout the world. Basketball has recently gained a lot of momentum globally through the successes of superstars such as Yao Ming (China), Dirk Nowitzki (Germany), Tony Parker (France), Pau Gasol (Spain), Peja Stojakovic (Serbia and Monenegro), and most recently, the number one draft pick out of Australia, Andrew Bogut. Many credit the international boom to the successes of the original 1992 Barcelona Olympic Dream Team to stirring up worldwide attention to the NBA.
The interest in baseball is growing at a similar rate due to the successes of their own foreign born phenoms. Asian players like Ichiro and Hideki "Godzilla" Matsui, and Hideo Nomo before them, have brought tremendous attention from the Far East. Latin-born players have dominated the game the past few seasons and in doing so have brought pride and joy to their home countries. Hitters like Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero, and Miguel Tejada strike fear into the nastiest of pitchers. And pitchers like Pedro Martinez, Bartolo Colon, Johan Santana, Carlos Zambrano, and Francisco Rodriguez have hitters knees knocking.
Rather than crying and moaning that America's pastime is being dominated by foreign-born players, Major League Baseball is embracing the recent influx of incredible foreign talent. In fact, for 17 days in the month of March, baseball will celebrate its popularity across the globe by putting together the 2006 World Baseball Classic.
From March 3-20, the best players from around the world will square off against one another in the World Baseball Classic. Tentatively, 16 teams will be involved in the first tournament of its kind.
Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, China, Puerto Rico, Panama, Cuba (maybe), Panama, the Netherlands, the U.S., Canada, Mexico, South Africa, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Australia, and Italy will all participate in the WBC. The Classic will be played in three different countries and seven different cities. The United States will get five different venues. Orlando, Phoenix, and Scottsdale will host preliminary rounds, with Anaheim (Angels Stadium) hosting round two, and San Diego (PETCO Park) hosting the finals. Tokyo, Japan (Tokyo Dome) will host a preliminary round, and San Juan, Puerto Rico (Hiram Bithorn) will host the first and second rounds of the Classic.
The dream teams that are being assembled will be the most exciting part of the WBC. The United States' team could be considered the favorite, but several of the Latin American teams will be forces to be dealt with.
The United States has some of the biggest names in the game slated to participate. Seven-time MVP Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens headline the outstanding group of talent. In addition to Clemens, the pitching staff will include World Series champion Mark Buehrle, Roy Hallady, Andy Petite, C.C. Sabathia, Ben Sheets, John Smoltz, Dontrelle Willis, and Barry Zito.
The bullpen will include Chad Cordero, Jason Isringhausen, Brad Lidge, B.J. Ryan, Huston Street, and Billy Wagner.
And in addition to Bonds, the lineup will include Lance Berkman, Eric Chavez, Johnny Damon, Adam Dunn, Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Derek Lee, Jason Varitek, Jimmy Rollins, Juan Pierre, Mark Teixeira, and Vernon Wells.
The team could undoubtedly be compared to the 1992 USA Basketball "Dream Team" that combined Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson together on one team.
But the Dominican Republic's team will be no slouch, either. Just imagine facing this four-man punch in the lineup: Albert Pujols, Manny Ramirez, David Ortiz, and Vladimir Guerrero. The four combined last year for 702 hits, 165 home runs, and 517 RBIs. And that was with Vlad being injured for over 20 games.
In addition to those four monsters, the Dominican lineup will also feature two of the best hitting middle infielders in the game in Miguel Tejada and Alfonso Soriano. Adrian Beltre, Willy Mo Pena, and Robinson Cano help make this lineup the most feared from top to bottom in the Classic.
The Dominicans' pitching staff will also be formidable with Bartolo Colon and Pedro Martinez serving as the aces. The bullpen will include some big names with Jose Mesa, Francisco Cordero, and Felix Rodriguez looking to close it down in the late innings.
Puerto Rico and Venezuela will also be tough to deal with.
Puerto Rico's lineup features the Met connection of Carlos Delgado and Carlos Beltran. Eleven-time gold glove winner Ivan Rodriguez will be the man behind the plate, and Jose Vidro, Mike Lowell, Bernie Williams, Alex Cintron, and Jose Cruz, Jr. will round out a very talented lineup.
The staff will most likely be headed by the newest White Sock pitcher, Javier Vazquez. Behind him will be Joel Pinero, J.C. Romero, Jorge Sosa, and Kiko Calero.
Venezuela will have some heavy hitters with last year's home run derby champion, Bobby Abreu, Melvin Mora, and Carlos Guillen. But the most impressive aspect of this team is their pitching. World champion Freddy Garica, Johan Santana, Carlos and Victor Zambrano, and Carlos Silva give this team a very deep staff. And they have K-Rod, Francisco Rodriguez, to shut the door in the ninth.
The World Baseball Classic should be a great opportunity for baseball to showcase its wide array of talent to the world. It is also an opportunity for baseball to show how far its come. For the game's sake, we can only hope that this tournament will help promote the game throughout the world and have more international players become involved with Major League Baseball. The next superstar of the league could be in the stands this March.
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