WBC Not a Top Priority for USA

Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Cole Hamels, David Price, Kris Medlen, Matt Harrison, Andrew McCutchen, Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Buster Posey, and Dustin Pedroia. Those are some of Major League Baseball’s best players, and all are United States’ citizens. However, none of them will be participating on Team USA during the World Baseball Classic this March. Whether it is because of recovering from an injury, personal issues, or contractual reasons many of our country’s most talented players feel that the WBC is not nearly as important as the MLB regular season. While I can’t say that I disagree with some of their decisions, American baseball fans will never take the WBC seriously unless the players do first. One could argue that American baseball players choose not to participate in the event because they feel obligated to get ready for the MLB season, but that argument is flawed when you realize that other star players from different countries are participating. For example the Venezuelan Team has Miguel Cabrera, Felix Hernandez, and Carlos Gonzalez all participating on their roster. If those star players can “risk” their MLB seasons', then I see no reason why the United States' best players can’t as well. As an avid baseball fan, I should be more excited about a competition involving the greatest players from various countries around the globe, but I’m not. For baseball fans in America, the MLB regular season and World Series are what matters most. On the other hand, baseball fans across the globe feel that international competitions such as the WBC are more important. Until the United States' players stop treating the WBC like an exhibition, it will never garner enough attention in our country. As a baseball fan, I am disappointed that my country’s players do not care about the WBC as much as they should. As a result, American baseball fans should feel cheated that their team is not as star-studded as it ought to be.

-Eric Tichelbaut

Update: Felix Hernandez has officially declined his WBC invite for Team Venezuela based on elbow issues that held up his 7 year $175 million dollar deal with the Seattle Mariners. Although Hernandez declined the invite, still more star players from the United States are declining invites than any other country. Hernandez has also apologized to his home country because he knows how much Venezuelan citizens cared about him participating.