[DISCLAIMER: I go into some...unconquered, on purpose, territory with this post, talking about current events. If this one isn't to your liking in that respect, I apologize. This had just been on my mind.]
I can't think about what the U.S. team is thinking about heading into the WBC. It's the most high-stakes low-stakes tournament possible.
Like, say you're Bobby Witt, or whoever. You're a charter member of the US team, a mid-lineup star, and you are being tasked with performing to the best of your ability, for your country, and then after winning this you have to immediately go back and perform to the best of your ability for the Royals in both what could be the last full season for a little while AND the a season that coincides with the 250th anniversary of the country. There are a lot of people who would really like the US to win some sports tournaments this year, considering the WBC is happening, and then the World Cup is happening in North America. And being very honest, there's more of a chance of a WBC Championship title than a FIFA World Title this year.
Now, the US team has won a WBC before, in 2017. But the stakes were lower, this was before everyone knew who Ohtani was, and this was before it became the tentpole that it is now. Now you've got more of a drive for players to participate, and more pressure for the greats of the game to do it, even if it risks injury. And there's already been nonsense about insurance, teams not sending players out cause they worry they're gonna get hurt, and that's already lightened some roster loads. Yet I think that this is a point where, for some reason, some indistinct reason that isn't coming to mind somehow, the US needs a pride boost. And I think these guys have taken it to heart to embody the sort of patriotic, 'I love America' sensibility to capture the nation. Like apparently they're playing Toby Keith on busrides, going heavy on the patriotism and all of that. And...I say this respectfully, but...I dunno if that's the move, especially when a team that's supposed to reflect the sum of the nation's best ballplayers only has Byron Buxton and Aaron Judge as nonwhite representatives.
I think this tournament happening right after the Olympics has added more pressure as well, cause there was something where people were representing the country on the world's stage and you saw a contrast of the ways that can be done. You had people all over looking at people like Alysa Liu or Jack Hughes and going 'why aren't they representing America the way I want them to?'. I think both the figure skating win and the hockey wins were good for the country for different reasons, but I think some wins were more reflective of the potential of the American experiment than others. And how that ties into patriotism, especially at this moment, made some wins easier to stomach than others. The immediate contrast between how someone reacts to winning an Olympic medal and then how they rationalize this as a degree of American patriotism could be stark at points. Because it can be argued that representing the country, and all that comes with it, means something different now.
And so that informs a lot of forethought about the WBC, and how a winning US squad will look now, after the Men's Hockey Team's win, in an era where not only is the US team evenly matched in this tournament but there is also the idea of a forthcoming women's baseball league, which will lead to an even larger conversation. What does it mean if this team wins now? Does it mean anything? Is it good for the game, for the country?
I suppose the upside of this is you get people from the deepest reaches of the country. I think about guys like Mason Miller, who's a local hero in West Virginia for his time as a college athlete there. An old friend who grew up in that area followed Miller to the majors and cheered him on as he became the best relief asset in baseball. Everywhere you've got pockets of people who must have known one of these guys as they came up and got to see them make the majors. That is the American dream, to come from anywhere, from anything, and succeed on the world's stage.
It's just very difficult to be all 'rah-rah, America's the greatest' right now. Even if there's enough people like Bryce Harper and Cal Raleigh and Bobby Witt trying to craft the story of an American monolith that takes down any country in its path...I'm not entirely sure that's an especially helpful narrative at the moment. I'm not saying they should punt the World Baseball Classic, just keel over against the Czechia team or something, but...if they want to look like the heroes this tournament, they need to keep their perception in mind. The 2017 team was exciting because they represented the state of the game, and the country, in an optimistic way. If there's a way for the US team to do that now, they need to figure it out. Because right now, Japan winning is a better story, the Dominican Republic winning is a better story, Puerto Rico winning is a better story, even Czechia and their plumbers and dentists would be an unbelievable story.
All of those teams don't dream about giving up a home run to Aaron Judge, they think about striking him out. So if we're gonna be the heroes again this time around, we're gonna need to earn it.
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