United States wins World Baseball Classic Championship

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The eagle statue, which represents the United States, is placed on the pitcher’s mound to celebrate the U.S. victory over Puerto Rico in the final for the World Baseball Classic. The 8-0 victory for the U.S.  marked their first World Baseball Classic Championship. (Mark J. Terrill/AP Photo)

The World Baseball Classic finished up its fourth running on March 22 with a United States victory. The U.S.’ 8-0 victory over Puerto Rico in the championship game gave the U.S. their first World Baseball Classic championship.

For the first time, the total attendance at the WBC rose to over 1 million attendees this year. The final between the U.S. and Puerto Rico—and its 2.3 million viewers—was the second most watched telecast on Major League Baseball Network ever. It was also streaming on ESPN2 in Spanish, which drew about 800,000 viewers, making a total of roughly 3.1 million viewers.  

The last final in 2013 between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic only drew about 1.1 million viewers. 

We have now seen four World Baseball Classics since its debut in 2006—each one being better than the last. Just looking at its television rankings can prove this. Hosted all around the world in cities like Seoul, Tokyo and Miami, the tournament provided a great foundation for baseball to reach an international scale that anyone can enjoy.

When many thought that this year might be the last WBC due to its low viewers and low ratings, the world of baseball turned it around with what turned out to be a great tournament for all who participated and watched. Thus, it’s hard to believe that there won’t be another until 2021.

Focusing on this year and not the future, however, the U.S. started off with wins in two of their first three games in group play. This included victories against Colombia and Canada. In that span, they also lost to defending champions, the D.R.  

The U.S. followed up with the same record in the next round. With a victory over Venezuela to start off the round, the U.S. then lost to Puerto Rico 6-5—making their next game against the D.R. a must-win to get into the single elimination championship rounds.

The U.S. came from behind against the D.R. and in the bottom of the fourth took a lead they would not relinquish. The 6-3 victory over the D.R. was capped off with an impeccable catch by U.S. outfielder Adam Jones to rob D.R. infielder Manny Machado of a homerun.  

The win secured the U.S. a spot in the semifinals and a matchup against powerhouse Japan.  

With a great all around pitching effort, the U.S. secured a 2-1 victory over Japan and advanced to the finals, where they faced unbeaten Puerto Rico.  

There, the U.S. showcased a stellar performance by Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman, who pitched a no-hitter into the seventh inning, struck out three and only walked one hitter. Stroman—who decided to pitch for the U.S. instead of Puerto Rico—led the U.S. to the WBC championship and was named tournament MVP.  

The 8-0 win gave the U.S. its first WBC championship. It is not only a stepping-stone for baseball in general, but also for baseball in the U.S.

Club baseball excited for spring season

 With spring just around the corner, America’s pastime is in full swing. Coming off a 6-3 2016 season, Geneseo’s club baseball team, the Mudcats, are looking to build off their success. With series scheduled against St. Bonaventure University and Niagara University to start off the season, the men are excited to get back into the swing of things.

“We’re excited to have everyone back from last season as well as a new incoming freshmen class this year,” senior co-captain Adam Murray said in an email interview.

And with club baseball being such a large team and organization, Murray describes the upperclassmen as having an essential role in making sure the club runs smoothly. 

“We have a core group of upperclassmen that will be graduating this year,” he said.  “These guys have really kept the team together and have developed it into what it is today.”

These upperclassmen and co-captains have had a significant part in picking which players are to play in the games. Roster construction tends to be a difficult process because of the amount of players participating—but they do their best to pick a fair roster that can compete, according to Murray.

“With so many players on the team, it can be difficult to make sure that everyone is able to get in a fair amount of playing time,” Murray said. “We generally prioritize players that attend practices frequently, as well as put forth a considerable amount of effort. At the end of the day, if you show us that you want to be here and want to play hard, that speaks volumes to our coaching staff.”

Even though baseball is a club sport, the Mudcats are here to compete. Over thewinter months, the team is able to pick time slots in the Kuhl Gym for practices to prepare them for the upcoming season. When the season shifts to spring and warm weather ensues, the team likes to take advantage of the weather by practicing outside as soon as possible.  

“Although the weather in Geneseo doesn’t generally lend itself to an early spring season for baseball, we make the best of it,” Murray said.  

The one thing that is unfavorable for the baseball team is that Geneseo’s campus does not have a full-size regulation baseball field. The team tends to hold outside practices at Highland Park on what Murray described as, “less than adequate facilities.”  

Not having a regulation-sized field prompts the team to play their home games at Livonia High School as their adopted home field. Nonetheless, the team is looking forward to a great season no matter where they are playing, especially for the seniors and upperclassmen.  

“For a handful of us, this semester will be the last time we step on the diamond while playing competitive baseball,” Murray said.  “The time and commitment that these gentlemen put forth is encouraging, and I look forward to seeing this trend of growth continue for years to come.”

New rules in MLB to speed up game

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Nathan Karns, starting pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, throws a pitch during the first inning of a game against the Chicago Cubs during spring training on Wednesday March 1. (Charlie Riedel/AP Photo)

Major League Baseball spring training is now underway after exhibition games began on Feb. 22. Fans are excited—as always—for baseball to be back after another long winter without it, but not without some controversy.

One of the biggest stories around the league at the start of spring training does not involve a certain player or team; it involves the intentional walk. Yes, those four intentional balls that a pitcher throws to strategically put a man on first base. 

MLB has approved a rule change that eliminates the need for those four pitches to be thrown to intentionally walk a batter. Instead, the manager simply needs to make a signal from the dugout that they would like to do so and the batter will be awarded first base automatically. 

The rule change is one of many efforts that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred is considering to make the game of baseball faster. Since taking over as commissioner of baseball in the 2015 season, Manfred has shown he is no opposition to the idea that baseball needs to change with the times. 

As a younger generation with a shorter attention span grows up with more entertainment options than ever in the palms of their hands, baseball needs to adjust in order to stay relevant. Some managers around the league don’t seem to be phased by the rule change, including New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi.

“I don’t think that’s a big deal,” he said. “For the most part, it’s not changing the strategy, it’s just kind of speeding things up. I’m good with it.”

It will do away with a play that has virtually no action without any consequence or change in the result of the play. So why is it controversial?

Traditional baseball fans may grasp for an argument against it by saying it eliminates the chance for error on those four pitches. Some pitchers do struggle to accurately lob balls out of the strike zone and with this rule, the off chance of a wild pitch is eliminated. Games have been lost because of situations like this, but the reality is that this rarely happens and it is not the real issue.

The rule change eliminates a physical aspect of the game. While in this instance the elimination is inconsequential and few will miss it, it shows a willingness of the league to do away with parts of the game before trying to make the game we already have faster and more exciting.

MLB should give more consideration to rule changes that reduce the amount of down time in a game before they start eliminating actual plays. Does a pitcher need to take over 30 seconds between pitches? Does a batter need to step out of the box to adjust his gloves after every pitch?

This is what the league should be looking at to combat the unfortunate number of natural breaks that exist in baseball. Limiting the time it takes to make a pitch, conducting a replay review and making a mound visit are steps in the right direction and the league has shown progress on all three of these examples. 

The pitch-less intentional walk will prove, however, to be nothing more than a ceremonial move. Intentional walks happened just once every 2.6 games in 2016, meaning the rule change would shave about one minute off of every three games. It likely won’t make the game faster. 

Changes of this nature on a bigger scale could make baseball a completely different game than the one it is now. For example, it was announced in the offseason that a rule—where a runner will be placed on second base to start extra innings—would be tested in the minor leagues. 

Rules like this are gimmicky and will accomplish very little at the expense of those who already love the game of baseball. 

Baseball's biggest trophy comes back to Kansas City

In a surprising twist, a rally in extra innings gave the Kansas City Royals a 7-2 win over the New York Mets on Sunday Nov. 1—and their first World Series title since 1985. The Royals took the series from the Mets 4-1, outscoring their opposition 27-19 through the five game series.

Utility man Christian Colon appeared in just 43 regular season games and was an unlikely hero for Kansas City in the late innings of Sunday night’s game. Colon singled home the tiebreaking run in the 12th inning, sparking a five-run rally for the Royals. While Kansas City’s championship does not come as a complete shock, the team's postseason dominance is a testament to baseball's uncertainty.

To peg the Royals as postseason underdogs would be revisionist history, but they weren't favorites either. Going into the postseason, they certainly weren't favored over the Toronto Blue Jays—a team whose extraordinary second half surge and potent offense led many to crown Toronto the team to beat. The Royals were able to handle them, however, in a 4-2 series win—outscoring the Blue Jays' dominant offense by 12 runs in all.

The Royals may have lacked dominant starting pitching and hitting, but they won with sound fundamentals. The team’s ability was greater than the sum of its parts. Combine elite relief pitching with consistent, above-average starting pitching, hitting and defense and you have a winning formula. It only took a few adjustments for the franchise to go from losing the 2014 World Series in seven games to winning it in five the following season.

The Royals unquestionably had to work hard for their victory. Their last win against the Mets was the team's eighth come-from-behind victory in 11 postseason wins. Then there's the plight of starting pitcher Edinson Volquez, who mourned the death of his father while he was asked to perform on baseball's biggest stage. For Volquez—who honored his father by inscribing his initials into the mound before his game five start—perhaps the victory was bittersweet.

For the team as a whole, however, now is a time to rejoice. The Royals will be presented with their championship rings on opening night of the 2016 regular season. Coincidentally, that game will be against the Mets.