world-baseball-classic Page 4 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Sonny Gray Pulled From World Baseball Classic Over Insurance Issues
Oakland A’s pitcher Sonny Gray has been pulled from next month’s World Baseball Classic due to an oddly specific clause from the tournament’s insurance carrier. ...
Here Are The World Baseball Classic Rosters
A snowstorm is blanketing the Northeast, but baseball is oh so close. Pitchers and catchers start reporting next Tuesday, and this is a special spring: It’s almost time for the quadrennial World Baseball Classic....
Shohei Otani Won't Pitch In The WBC, But He Might Get A Chance To Smash Dingers
Unfortunately for Team Japan, who have won two of the first three World Baseball Classics, Shohei Otani won’t be able to pitch in this year’s tournament due to a sore right ankle. He was scheduled to start the team’s first game on March 7 against Cuba but recently told reporters in Arizona, where th...
Jung Ho Kang's Off-Field Issues Likely To Cost Him A WBC Roster Spot
Major League Baseball has yet to issue a ruling on the potential suspension of Pirates’ third baseman Jung Ho Kang following a series of incidents including a sexual assault allegations and a DUI. But it seems increasingly likely that his off-field issues will cost him playing time at least in the W...
Pakistan’s National Baseball Team Just Wants You To Know They Exist
This past weekend, Pakistan competed against teams representing Brazil, Great Britain, and Israel in World Baseball Classic qualifiers at MCU Park in Coney Island, Brooklyn. They were swept in the double-elimination tournament, losing to Brazil on Thursday afternoon and Great Britain Friday night, b...
Hanley Ramirez Is The Latest Star To Get Injured In The WBC
The Dominican Republic beat Puerto Rico 3-0 last night, to become the first non-Japanese team to win the World Baseball Classic. That's great for them (these fans sure were pleased), but the regular season is 11 days away, and yet another MLB star could find himself on the shelf come the games that ...
Italy's WBC Run Ends In Tears And Errors
Italy's unlikely run at the World Baseball Classic is over. As against the Dominican Republic, Italy jumped out to an early lead on the Puerto Rico. And, as against the Dominican Republic, they gave it all back late. And though baseball is a team game, it's hard not to pin the blame on two shortstop...
Here's A Japanese Announcer Calling The Netherlands' Upset Over Cuba, Because International Baseball Is Awesome
I will admit to having been a WBC Doubting Thomas. Even as the first two editions produced their share of exciting moments, there was no lasting image, or huge shake-up of the baseball hierarchy. This year, though? I take back every use of the word "exhibition." Between the U.S.'s two stirring comeb...
"Is It Me Or Has ESPN Been Taken Over By Wetbacks?" Viewers React To Tonight's WBC ESPN Deportes Simulcast
MLB Network has exclusive U.S. rights to broadcast the World Baseball Classic, but those rights begin and end with the English language. Lacking compelling content for a slow Sunday night, ESPN elected to use its loophole in owning Spanish-language rights to simulcast its ESPN Deportes feed of toni...
Google Translating WBC Coverage: The Medieval War's Pitchers Can Not Stop Cuba's Gunfire
Cuba demolished Chinese Taipei on Saturday, eliminating Taiwan from the World Baseball Classic, by a score of 14-0. three Cuban pitchers held Chinese Taipei to just three hits. The game ended under the mercy rule in the seventh, following an eight-run sixth inning for Cuba. According to Google Tran...
WBC Brawl Caused By Written Rule That Flies In The Face of Baseball's Unwritten Rules
Baseball, am I right? The cause of yesterday's brawl between Mexico and Canada is being laid at the feet of the tournament's tie-breaking procedure, specifically run differential. Because of the rules, as Canada manager Ernie Whitt said, the game is always played as though it's 0-0. So when Canada ...
Massive Bench-Clearing Brawl Erupts At Mexico-Canada WBC Game
So far, the World Baseball Classic has been everything the quadrennial tournament is expected to be: irrelevant, uninteresting, and disruptive to MLB teams' Spring Training plans....
Google Translating World Baseball Classic Coverage: "The Shortstop, Jimmy Rollins Hit Embazó With The Forest Law"
Last night, the U.S. played its first game in this year's World Baseball Classic, and we learned a number of things: 1. America's official language is English, 2. The best the U.S. can do for an ace in an international competition is a kuckle-balling 38-year old, and 3. "With people on the pads, Lui...
The United States Does Not Have An Official Language, No Matter What The MLB Network Tells You
The establishment of an official language has long been a political flashpoint. Though it was once a favored cause for Presidents of generally good repute, it's now mostly a topic invoked to effortlessly rile up nativists and a touchstone for people hell-bent on alienating furr-uh-nurrs. Ordinances ...
Google Translating WBC Coverage: Jason Grilli Is The Author Of Our Salvation
The World Baseball Classic is well underway, which means that the eyes of the international media are fixated upon the games. It also means that we have the opportunity to run game recaps from foreign media outlets through Google Translate for the sake of our own amusement....
Fernando Rodney's Cap Alignment Status Shows He's Already In Regular Season Form
The World Baseball Classic is underway, and while the quadrennial exhibition tournament of pre-authorized or discarded players has featured a few upsets (Italy beats Mexico! Holland beats Cuba!) there are, fortunately, a few things you can rely upon....
Spring Training Long And Boring, Baseball Players Report
Baseball! It's the perfect sport for a laid-back afternoon, but it can drag. After what seems like an eternity of game after game, inning after inning, baking under the hot sun and trying not to get injured, you finally power through the dog days and arrive at the games that really matter: opening d...
Russell Martin Leaves Canada's WBC Team Because They Won't Let Him Play Shortstop
Pirates backstop Russell Martin doesn't want to be a catcher. It's boring. You have to crouch all game. You never get to run around. You rarely get to throw the ball beyond returning it to the pitcher. Rather than getting to enjoy a sunny afternoon on the diamond, you have to spend every moment goin...
South Korean Pro Team Cancels WBC Exhibition Against Cuba Because The Cubans Brought Weird Balls
Mildly scandalous behavior continues to plague the run-up to the World Baseball Classic. Yesterday, we had Taiwanese scouts disguising themselves as umpires and infiltrating a South Korean exhibition, and today we have a South Korean pro team refusing to play against the Cuban national team because...
Ahead Of The WBC, Taiwan Sends Scouts Posing As Umpires To Spy On South Korean Team
You might not realize it from the USA's roster, but many countries think the World Baseball Classic is important. One of those is Taiwan, which is expecting big things. After failing to get out of a group of death in the 2009 tournament, they enter this year's WBC ranked fifth in the world—just a sp...