Why The World Baseball Classic Matters
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Friends, The World Baseball Classic has become a polarizing topic. For those who aren’t paying attention, the WBC is a tournament put on by Major League Baseball. Teams from all around the world — USA, Japan, Venezuela, Australia, etc. — compete every four years to be crowned World Champion, just like the FIFA World Cup. The first edition of the tournament kicked off in 2006. And with baseball being dropped from the Summer Olympics in 2012, 2016, and 2024, the World Baseball Classic has quickly become the premier global tournament of baseball. But the problem is that players are getting hurt. Edwin Diaz, for example, recently signed a record-breaking $100 million contract with the NY Mets and will now miss the entire 2023 MLB season after tearing his patellar tendon. And Houston Astros all-star second baseman Jose Altuve was hit by a pitch just a few days later and will now miss at least two months after breaking his thumb while playing for Venezuela. MLB has an insurance plan for all WBC participants, so the Mets will be reimbursed for Diaz’s 2023 salary of $18.64 million. But still, they would obviously rather have baseball’s best closer healthy and ready to compete for a championship, not sidelined for 8+ months due to an injury from an exhibition game. And this dilemma has ignited a reaction on social media between people who favor the World Baseball Classic and those who are against it. “The WBC is a meaningless exhibition series designed to get YOU to buy another uniform,” Keith Olbermann proclaimed on Twitter, echoing the sentiment of others that believe the WBC is a “stupid, meaningless tournament played at a time when players should be getting in shape, not seriously competing.” But this hatred for the WBC ignores Major League Baseball’s current reality. Major League Baseball was founded in 1876 and is the world’s oldest major professional sports league. It’s commonly referred to as “America’s pastime,” and the sport has been synonymous with America since its inception 150+ years ago. But football became more popular on a national basis in the 1960s. Basketball then overtook baseball’s popularity in the 2010s, and soccer will soon do the same also.
This has led to a significant decline in attendance — MLB’s 2022 attendance was the lowest in 25+ years — and many people have confidently stated that baseball is dead. Now, this issue is slightly overblown. Nearly 65 million people attended MLB games last year (3.5x more than the NFL), and baseball is still America’s second most popular sport among children, behind basketball but ahead of flag/tackle football.
And while everyone has their own opinion as to why baseball has lost millions of fans — blackouts, pricing, talent, the pace of play, marketing, etc. — the reality is that the sport hasn’t done enough to maintain its place amongst other leagues. For example, Shohei Ohtani has 3.7 million Instagram followers. That’s nearly 2x more than anyone else in Major League Baseball — Mike Trout is second with 2 million — but it’s significantly less than athletes in other leagues, like Tom Brady (14 million), LeBron James (148 million), and Cristiano Ronaldo (563 million). And this is where the World Baseball Classic can help — not necessarily with Instagram followers, but with the sport’s global growth and popularity. The injuries to Edwin Diaz and Jose Altuve are unfortunate, especially with both teams being title contenders and Opening Day just ten days away. But injuries can also happen anywhere, like Spring Training, where Ken Griffey Jr. injured his hamstring in 2001 and set off a chain reaction of events that eventually ended his career. And injuries can also happen off the field, like when Aaron Boone tore his ACL during a pickup basketball game during the offseason after his home run in game 7 of the 2003 American League Championship Series. Does that mean we should also cancel spring training and all other athletic activities? Of course not — and we shouldn’t cancel the WBC either because it’s the single best product MLB has right now to grow the game of baseball meaningfully.
And maybe the craziest stat of them all is that WBC pool play had greater attendance (1.01 million) than all 81 of the Oakland A’s 2022 home games combined (788k).
And it’s not just fans that love the WBC; the players seem to love it too. Trea Turner has played in more than 40 MLB postseason games, including a World Series, and he said his grand slam in the quarterfinal game against Venezuela was the memorable home run of his career and the loudest crowd he has ever been a part of. 
“That was better than any home run I’ve ever hit in the big leagues. That was better than the home run I hit in the World Series. That catch was the best.” @RandyArozarena to @Ken_Rosenthal after Mexico’s win in the WBC quarterfinal 🇲🇽
So while I agree that you could potentially shift the timing of the WBC to avoid injuries happening right before the season, it’s clear that this tournament shouldn’t be canceled. The talent level is currently better than its ever been, and MLB has the unique opportunity to build the WBC into a premier event like the FIFA World Cup. That’s something worth trying — and it’s one of the few MLB initiatives that really has the opportunity to make a meaningful difference to baseball fans globally. I hope everyone has a great day. We’ll talk on Wednesday. Interested in advertising with Huddle Up? Email me. Your feedback helps me improve Huddle Up. How did you like today’s post? Loved | Great | Good | Meh | Bad Episode #128 of The Joe Pomp Show is now live. I discuss the importance of the World Baseball Classic, YouTube TV’s continuous price increases, and Michal Jordan’s potential $2 billion NBA sale. You can listen on Apple or Spotify. Huddle Up is a 3x weekly newsletter that breaks down the business and money behind sports. If you are not already a subscriber, sign up and join 95,000+ others who receive it directly in their inbox each week.
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