Article by Matt Larson. Photo by Matt Larson.
The sixth installment of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) saw Venezuela hoisting the trophy after their thrilling 3-2 victory over the United States. The win gave Venezuela its first WBC title ever.
From crazy bat flips to electric fan atmospheres in Miami and Houston; to Tokyo, Japan; and San Juan, Puerto Rico, the tournament lived up to the hype and created some great memories for baseball fans. With this in mind, it begs the question: Is the World Baseball Classic better than the World Series? My short answer, yes.
For quick background, the World Baseball Classic started in 2007 and is played every three years, creating that wait and anticipation for the next tournament. The World Series is played every year (pending a lockout) with the Dodgers winning the last two World Series, and likely going to win more in the future.
The big reason the WBC has been entertaining for years is getting a bunch of players together to play for their country. Getting a sense of a country’s culture, pride, and love for the game of baseball during these two weeks is what makes baseball great. For these players, including Venezuelan outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., winning this tournament is the biggest accomplishment of their career.
“This is a No. 1 for me in my career,” Ronald Acuna Jr. said after winning the championship. “I love Atlanta a lot, but before I played in Atlanta, I was born in Venezuela. Venezuela made Ronald Acuna Jr.”
Bryce Harper, who almost played hero with his game-tying home run in the 8th inning, echoed the same sentiment as Acuna.
“It’s America’s pastime, but that’s the greatest thing about our game,” Harper told ESPN. “We can share it with all these different countries as well and bring it all together and be part of this. And it’s awesome. It’s really awesome.”
Aaron Judge, Team USA’s captain for the World Baseball Classic, having played in both the WBC and the World Series, favors the WBC atmosphere.
“I’ll say, (the WBC has) been bigger,” Judge told reporters earlier this week. “The World Series I was in versus the crowd here and the one we had against Mexico, it’s bigger and better than the World Series… The passion that these fans have representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there’s nothing like it.”
Former Yankee legend Derek Jeter, who also played in both the WBC and the World Series, took exception to Judge’s comments.
“I think the people that say it’s bigger than the World Series never played in a World Series,” Jeter said during the pre-game show before the WBC final.
Aaron Judge did play in a World Series prior to competing in the WBC, so Jeter’s argument does fall flat. I feel it comes down to the person and what they value most, playing for their MLB team or representing their country.
The last thing that I feel makes the WBC better is that this tournament decides a “World” champion. The World Series only decides who the best team in one baseball league is; granted, a lot of players all over the world make up MLB rosters. The WBC is made up of players representing their country, battling it out to decide which country is the best in the world at baseball.
Maybe I am salty that the Dodgers are a powerhouse, and can sign whoever they want to create the dynasty they are today in the MLB. The World Baseball Classic is a breath of fresh air to see different countries come together and play in the great pastime that is baseball, which is why I favor the World Baseball Classic over the World Series.
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