[dropcap]D[/dropcap]onald Trump is right. America doesn’t win anymore, and it hasn’t in a long time. But I’m not talking about defeats in trade, wars or border security; I’m talking about the very essence of America itself.
I’m talking about baseball.
This week marked the beginning of the fourth installment of the World Baseball Classic, WBC, an international tournament featuring teams from around the globe duking it out in what was once considered the most American of pursuits. And if past results are any indication, it won’t be the good old USA on the gold medal stand when all the dust finally settles.
Don’t get me wrong, the past three winners of the WBC have their own proud baseball traditions. Japan won the first two, in 2006 and 2009, and the last title belongs to the Dominican Republic, a nation that supplies its fair share of stars to the major leagues.
But why has America, the nation in which the sport was birthed, lagged so far behind?
It’s certainly not for lack of talent. This year’s iteration of Team USA, while lacking a few big names like Mike Trout and Bryce Harper, certainly has enough bats—and arms—to compete. Buster Posey, Daniel Murphy, Nolan Arenado and other perennial All-Stars are all aboard, which puts the Americans squarely ahead of teams like Israel, which features a few MLB re-treads like Ike Davis and Jason Marquis among a slew of minor league talent.
But Israel has gotten off to a hot start, beating both South Korea and Chinese Taipei in pool play and it’s certainly not due to its abundance of star power.
For teams like Israel, and even clubs with established MLB talent like the Dominican Republic, the WBC just seems to mean more. Minor leaguers jump at the opportunity to play on the big stage, and the sluggers from the Dominican Republic—players like Robinson Cano, Adrian Beltre and Hanley Ramirez—speak time and again about the honor of representing their home countries in the classic.
Noah Syndergaard, the Mets’ flamethrower who would probably be the best starting pitcher on Team USA’s roster, declined an invitation, saying, in no uncertain terms, that the WBC was simply not as important as getting prepared for the MLB season.
And I can’t say I necessarily blame him. Playing in the major leagues is a full time job, and I can’t begrudge someone for opting to save himself for Opening Day at the expense of what happens to be an exhibition tournament.
I don’t know how this gets fixed, whether it is by moving the dates of the WBC or increasing pressure from the MLB Players Association to get our best and brightest on the field, but one thing is clear.
Until we, as a nation, decide that the WBC matters, we are never going to make America—or at least our American team—great again.
