The 2013 World Baseball Classic began in Southeast Asia this past weekend. The North American pools begin play tomorrow. I’m a sucker for pretty much any international athletic competition, and baseball is my favorite sport, so it would seem only natural that I would be excited about the WBC. But that’s not quite the case. I will certainly watch it, but I will do so knowing that this is not the ideal way of crowning a true World Champion.
The flaws of the WBC are many, but #1 on the list for me is that a majority of the sport’s best players will not be participating, particularly those who could be representing the United States. I don’t blame any of the individual players for not participating and I’m not sure there is anything MLB or the tournament organizers could do to change this, but it certainly hurts the tournament.
Team USA suffered a blow yesterday when they lost their presumed starting first baseman, Mark Teixeira, to a wrist injury. He was replaced on the roster by Eric Hosmer. Due to the last minute nature of Teixeira’s injury, I realize the options were probably quite limited in finding a replacement. But if I were to compile a list of the top 10 American first basemen, I’m not sure Hosmer would make that list. Meanwhile, a player who probably would rank ahead of him, Anthony Rizzo, is competing for Team Italy. Don’t get me started on the ridiculousness of that… But the point is, Team USA is clearly not as strong as they could be. I decided to take a crack at compiling my ideal roster for the USA. This team would be prohibitive favorites to win the competition, rather than just one of several countries with a decent shot at it.
Players who are actually on the USA’s WBC roster are italicized.
My starting lineup:
1. Mike Trout, RF
2. Andrew McCutchen, CF
3. Ryan Braun, LF
4. Prince Fielder, 1B
5. Giancarlo Stanton, DH
6. David Wright, 3B
7. Troy Tulowitzki, SS
8. Buster Posey, C
9. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
Reserves:
Catchers – Joe Mauer
Infielders – Evan Longoria, Ben Zobrist (just so I have someone who can back up any position)
Outfielders – Matt Kemp, Josh Hamilton
Starting Pitchers:
Justin Verlander, Clayton Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg, David Price
Bullpen (I’ll use a couple regular SPs out of the pen):
Craig Kimbrel, Jonathan Papelbon, Jason Motte, J.J. Putz, Matt Cain, Chris Sale, Glen Perkins, Tyler Clippard, David Hernandez, Jonny Venters
No other country could come close to putting together a roster with that sort of depth. Not that it would guarantee victory in a tournament with so few games, but I’d take my chances with this squad. Only eight of my choices are on the actual team, and none of them are starting pitchers. No offense to Ross Detwiler, Ryan Vogelsong and Derek Holland, but they are quite a drop off from the rotation I compiled.