By Jordan Long
The World Baseball Classic is back. The first game was early this morning with team Israel knocking off South Korea 2-1 in Seoul, South Korea. The United States won’t play until Friday when they face Colombia.
This is the 4th time for this tournament. The others were in 2006, 2009, and 2013. The US has never won this event. The first winner of the World Baseball Classic was Japan who beat Cuba 10-6 in Petco Park in San Diego, California. In 2009 Japan successfully defended their title knocking off South Korea 5-3 in Dodger Stadium. There was a new winner in 2013. The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico at AT&T Park in San Francisco 3-0. This year’s final will be at Dodger Stadium on March 22nd.
The US roster is stacked with talent. This team should be able to hit the ball and drive in runs. The infield includes catcher Buster Posey, first baseman Paul Goldschmidt and Eric Hosmer, second baseman Ian Kinsler, third baseman Nolan Arenado and short stop Brandon Crawford. In the outfield Adam Jones, Andrew McCutchen, and Giancarlo Stanton have strong arms to prevent runners from advancing and trying to score.
The starting pitching will be the weak link for this team. Chris Archer went 9-19 last season with an ERA of 4.02 for Tampa Bay. Tyler Clippard’s record was 4-6 with an ERA of 3.57. Danny Duffy is the ace for this team. His record was an impressive 12-3 last year with an ERA of 3.51. The key for the US is to strike batters out. All of these pitchers have the ability to do so. They can’t walk batters because a hit could drive in the base runner. The US will have a chance to stay in most ballgames because of their offensive lineup.
The World Baseball Classic uses international rules. Starting in the 11th inning, the team batting will have runners on first and second base. This is to try to limit the long inning games. There are pitch limits. Pitchers can’t throw more than 65 pitches in the first round and only 80 pitches in the second round. Once they reach the final, 95 pitches are the limit.
This should be an exciting tournament. The US is primed to win it since this might be their best team. Hopefully they will. Enjoy watching this years’ Baseball Classic and see the drama unfold.
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