MIAMI — The Marlins’ loanDepot park is on loan for the World Baseball Classic, and nice to see America’s coolest ballpark finally is being put to good use. Energy and excitement are possible here, after all.
The WBC is everything regular-season Marlins games here are not. Exuberant fans have replaced the silence.
It’s unfortunate the event is understandably under some fire after injuries to a couple stars. But don’t count the participants among the critics. The players are as into it as the fans.
“I love this tournament,” Mets star and Team USA player Pete Alonso said. “This is one of the most incredible experiences of my life.”
Mets fans have other thoughts after seeing star closer Edwin Diaz rupture the patellar tendon in his right knee and likely go out for the season while celebrating Team Puerto Rico’s stirring win over the Dominican Republic. And Astros fans are surely having similarly negative thoughts after Jose Altuve went out for up to two months after suffering a broken right thumb on a hit-by-pitch.
Pete Alonso of Team USA celebrates after hitting an RBI single in the third inning against Team Cuba during the World Baseball Classic Semifinals at loanDepot Park.Getty ImagesI get it, those two injuries provide a tidy case against. But let’s not forget Gavin Lux, the Dodgers’ promising young shortstop, tore up his knee while running the bases in a spring training game. Players get hurt. Alonso and Mets teammate Jeff McNeil, who feel that Diaz injury personally, don’t see the WBC as the villain in this story.
“Injuries can happen at anytime,” McNeil said. “They can happen on the back fields at Port St. Lucie. They can happen here.”
“Once the umpire says ‘Play ball!’ there’s always a risk,” Alonso said. “Anything can happen at any given moment.”
No one saw the Diaz injury coming, of course, and no one has really figured out how it happened, even on replay. It was unfortunate but it was a fluke. It shouldn’t be a referendum on the WBC, which is exciting folks in countries where baseball is king, and also in countries where it’s still a curiosity.
The games played here are nothing less than a happening, which is how baseball should be in Miami, a melting pot of great baseball cultures. The WBC isn’t perfect, of course. It’s unbalanced. The original field here contained three great teams. Another pool contained no great teams. I’ve heard complaints Team Japan had a free ride into the semis. But the reality is their pitching staff is probably better than any MLB team, anyway.
Edwin Diaz of Puerto Rico is helped off the field after being injured during the on-field celebration after defeating the Dominican Republic during the World Baseball Classic Pool D.Getty ImagesIf baseball wanted to showcase what this tournament could be by putting Puerto Rico, Venezuela and the Dominican together and telling the trio that one of them would not survive it, well chalk it up to good marketing. When Diaz made sure that wouldn’t be Puerto Rico, an on-field celebration started for them before it was quickly aborted following the freak accident. That didn’t stop Team USA from going nuts after Trea Turner’s grand slam Saturday night put them into the semifinals.
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said he thought the atmosphere matched the World Series. He generally loves the passion — though he did admit to reading some negative fan reviews before falling asleep around 4 a.m.
“I was reading how terrible a manager I was on social media,” DeRosa said.
Venezuela second baseman Jose Altuve reacts after getting hit by a pitch during the fifth inning against the USA at LoanDepot Park. USA TODAY SportsThat’s the job of the WBC manager. DeRosa did admit he might have gone one batter too long with Daniel Bard, who was wild, but that’s DeRosa, ever the optimist. He’s a believer.
There’s not much a manager can do. They can’t use pitchers two days in a row. Their pitch limits are severely limited. Teams are constantly in their ears. And those are the teams that allowed their players to play. Let’s not forget almost all our elite in-their-prime starters (Jacob deGrom, Max Scherzer, Gerrit Cole, Max Fried, Dylan Cease, etc.) aren’t here due to a variety of worries, mostly from team executives and agents.
The ones who are here are loving it.
USA shortstop Trea Turner celebrates hitting a grand slam during the eighth inning against Venezuela.USA TODAY Sports “If you’re not in this, you don’t get it,” DeRosa said.
I’d amend that slightly. You don’t have to be a player or coach or manager to feel the excitement. If you’re here, you get it.
