The World Baseball Classic is a plea to pay attention.
Believe it or not, there's some important stuff happening beyond America's borders.
Dear readers,
Last week, you were all treated to a vintage Calder McHugh exclusive while I was traveling for work. This week, though, Calder’s the one galavanting around the globe on vacation, so you’re stuck with me. Let’s get to it.
-Ian
Baseball might be America’s pastime, but this month, as the World Baseball Classic kicks off, it’s also the world’s sport.
For those unfamiliar with it, the WBC is a month-long baseball tournament hosted by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) that features 20 teams from around the world in a World Cup-style tournament. The tournament, which was founded in 2006, typically takes place every four years, but the 2021 edition was delayed due to the pandemic — and then further delayed by Major League Baseball’s lockout last year — meaning that the tournament is now returning after an extended six-year hiatus.
Right off the bat, we’ll say this about the tournament: It’s a lot of fun, and if you haven’t gotten a chance to watch it, you should. This year, the squad from the ol’ U.S. of A features a truly stacked lineup with some of the most exciting names from the Major Leagues: future Hall of Famer Mike Trout, JT Realmuto and Trea Turner from the Philadelphia Phillies, L.A.’s Mookie Betts, St. Louis’s Nolan Aronado and Paul Goldschmidt, and several other big-name starts. The Dominican Republic has put together a predictably star-studded roster that includes Juan Soto, Manny Machado, and Rafael Devers, and the Angels’ phenom Shohei Ohtani is leading Japan’s team. All in all, the games are a significant step up from the lackluster baseball on display at MLB’s spring training in Florida and Arizona.
That said, the tournament is not entirely free from political baggage. This year’s tournament features eight teams from Latin America and the Caribbean at a moment when those regions are grappling with serious political and economic crises. Venezuela, whose team is a perennial contender at the WBC, is suffering through a dramatic economic downturn, as runaway inflation and widespread food shortages force hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans to flee in search of better conditions. On top of that, the country’s public school teachers, who are paid around $20 a month, have taken to the streets to demand higher wages and better working conditions — protests have been met with silence from the Maduro administration.
The Dominican Republic, meanwhile, is under fire internationally for deporting over 100,000 Haitian citizens who have entered the D.R. fleeing political and economic instability in Haiti, a policy that the U.N. condemned last year. Human rights groups in the country say the migrant crisis has exacerbated tensions around colorism, or racism against darker-skinned Dominicans by their lighter-skinned peers.
In Cuba, which is also beset by food and medicine shortages and worsening political conflict, migrants are also leaving by the tens of thousands in search of better conditions.
And lest we forget that the United States is also caught up in these overlapping crises, the WBC’s championship game will take place in Florida, where Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has harnessed fears about the influx of migrants from Latin America and the Caribbean to pass draconian immigration policies and further inflame the racial tensions that fuel the Republican Party’s entire governing agenda.
What does all of this have to do with baseball? On the surface of things, not very much. The tournament is not a serious material driver of inequality or political instability around the world, and there’s even some evidence to suggest that it’s an economic boon for the countries involved.
But what the tournament really offers is an opportunity — and, in some senses, an obligation — for baseball fans in the U.S. to pay attention to the political situation beyond American borders. And while the WBC may not draw the same sort of international attention that the World Cup or the Olympics warrant, that may actually be a good thing, as Axios’s Keldy Ortiz pointed out this week, since its relatively low profile allows fans “to step outside [of the supporter mentality] and to be politically critical” of the countries involved. “It'd be much harder, for example, for a lifelong Venezuela soccer fan to not root for the team in the World Cup, a massive global event,” Ortiz noted.
So far, the tournament's political undercurrents have remained just that — undercurrents. And to be honest, we’d be surprised if they burst into public view through some sort of on-field protest or demonstration. But fans shouldn’t need a high-profile political demonstration to take the political situations in these countries seriously. The mere fact of the tournament is reason enough.
RODNEY’S ROUNDUP
Do you want to read about . . .
. . . a political brouhaha at the BBC? “Soccer hero’s tweet on asylum kicks up huge culture war and BBC boycott,” by Adela Suliman in The Washington Post (March 11, 2023).
. . . the invisible workers who allow an NBA team to function? “The behind-the-scenes team that keeps Wizards players happy and safe,” by Ava Wallace in The Washington Post (March 7, 2023).
. . . a very stupid online fight over a youth basketball game in Alabama? “Innocent Misunderstanding Turns Youth Hoops Trophy Presentation Into Hell Of Online Outrage” by Chris Thompson in Defector (March 8, 2023).
. . . big money in women’s tennis? “WTA Receives $150 Million Private Equity Investment,” by Chris Clarey in The New York Times (March 7, 2023).