With the World Baseball Classic coming up, it’s almost time for the Baseball Continuum to kick back in gear. Here’s what you can expect in the next few months:
So… stay tuned!
I don’t have time to create a full preview like I did with Taipei, so here is a mini-preview of the Tucson region of the 2026 WBC qualifiers. This is sort of a potpourri group that is unlikely to draw as large of crowds the other qualifier, but should still be entertaining.
Overall, I feel like Colombia is by far the favorite in this group, with Germany and Brazil the top candidates for the second spot. China may be able to surprise but has an uphill battle.
The qualifiers for the 2026 World Baseball Classic are about to begin, with one starting in Taiwan on Feb. 21 (although the first game will technically be Feb. 20 in North America) and another next month in Arizona.
The qualifiers this time around are a bit smaller than previously. While in past WBCs there were two pools of six or four pools of four, this time there will just be two pools of two. The four teams in each qualifying pool will play three games (one against each other opponent), with the top team at the end of the round robin automatically qualifying for the final tournament. The second and third place teams, meanwhile, will play a play-in game for the other spot in the final tournament. It’s unclear why it’s smaller this year, but it likely has to do with a mix of cost and the fact that the previous tournaments at times had some teams that were such long-shots (Pakistan went 0-4 and was outscored 4-43 in its qualifying history, for example) that perhaps organizers decided to just keep it a bit smaller this time around.
The first qualifier, as mentioned, is in Taipei, Taiwan. Go below the jump for more.
Continue readingI’ll admit, I have been neglectful over the last few months in sharing some of my work. So here’s a bit of a catch-up.
I, of course, wrote plenty of Rochester Red Wings articles for Pickin’ Splinters and the Nats Report. They included a look at the career of Wings play-by-play man Josh Whetzel, the team’s off-season planning, and an off-season visit by Rochester-area professional players Ernie Clement and Casey Saucke.
In addition, I briefly wrote for a YouTube channel called East2WestBaseball. While the assignment was ultimately cut short when the station’s runner decided to do other things, it still saw two videos (mostly) written by me go up: one was a video on the tragic tale of Hideki Irabu and the other was a video about the robberies of Shohei Othani.
Hopefully more will come to the Baseball Continuum in the coming weeks, especially with World Baseball Classic Qualifiers coming up!
Over at The Nats Report, I have a look at some memorable moments in Dylan Crews’ Rochester Red Wings career ahead of his MLB debut.
Over at The Nats Report, I have a look at some mid-summer awards for the Rochester Red Wings.
Over at The Nats Report, my latest update on the Rochester Red Wings.
Over at Pickin’ Splinters, my story on how Darren Baker walked off the Buffalo Bisons to give the Red Wings their fifth straight win…. on a day where he wasn’t even supposed to be playing!
Head over to The Nats Report for a look at my first Rochester Red Wings Report of the season.
I have not one, not two, but three articles up on Pickin’ Splinters about last night’s historic game between the Rochester Red Wings and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Gerrit Cole was there on a rehab assignment, the game drew a record crowd, and it came down to the final inning.
First off, there’s the game story focused on Gerrit Cole’s rehab start and the Red Wings’ walk-off win.
Also, there is a story about Denard Span’s return to Rochester, as well as his participation in Negro Leagues celebrations.
Finally, you can read Cole’s comments on the ABS challenge system in this article.
The Baseball Continuum 