Miss my WBC Pool Previews? Here they are below:
My WBC Pool Previews
Reply
Category Archives: Baseball
2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D Preview: Miami
We continue our WBC Pool previews with Pool D: Miami.
About the Venue: LoanDepot Park, formerly Marlins Park, opened in 2012 and seats 37,422. Generally regarded as more of a pitcher’s park, it will also host the knockout rounds of the WBC this time around.
About The Pool: In sports, the best and toughest pool to find yourself in is called the Pool of Death or Group of Death. This is the WBC’s group of death. It has three teams with legitimate shots at winning the tournament, another that has made it past the first round before, and a fifth that comes from a country with a long baseball history. Only two teams can get through.
Go below the jump for the full preview.
Continue readingOne final delay
Aside
On Friday, the final WBC pool preview will be up. Apologies again for the delays- real life and other distractions get in the way sometimes and I want to make sure it meets my standards.
2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C Preview: Arizona
We continue our WBC Pool previews with Pool C: Arizona
About the Venue: Chase Field, formerly known as Bank One Ballpark, is the home of the Arizona Ballpark. It has a retractable roof, seats for over 48,400 people, and a pool. While long considered a hitters park, the introduction of a humidor has led it to be a bit more pitcher-friendly.
About The Pool: This is the North America pool, more or less, with three of the five teams coming from the continent. The Great Britain team will also have plenty of North Americans. The fifth team is Colombia. The USA, even after losing two of its top pitchers, must be considered the favorite to win the pool, but at least three of the other teams could beat them on any given day. Canada, Mexico, and possibly Colombia will fight for the other spot out of the tournament.
Go below the jump for the full preview.
Continue readingThe new schedule for the remaining WBC Pool Previews
Aside
Here’s the deal:
Pool C’s preview will be out on Sunday or Monday.
Pool D’s preview will be up on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Update on Pool Previews
Aside
I’m holding off on writing the next player pool (Pool C) until we learn more about who may be replacing Clayton Kershaw on Team USA after insurance issues kicked him off.
2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B Preview: Tokyo
We continue our WBC Pool previews with Pool B: Tokyo.
About the Venue: The Tokyo Dome is the largest baseball stadium in the largest metropolitan area in the world and the go-to place for MLB events in Japan. Holding over 45 thousand fans for baseball, the air-supported dome is normally home to the Yomiuri Giants, the most successful team in Japanese baseball. The “Big Egg” has symmetrical dimensions (329 to the corners, 375 to the alleys, 400 to center) and has over the years also played host to concerts, boxing (including Mike Tyson‘s infamous defeat at the hands of Buster Douglas), professional wrestling, NFL exhibition games, and mixed martial arts. It is also the location of Japan’s Baseball Hall of Fame.
About The Pool: It’s not quite accurate to call this the “Pacific pool”, since the Czech Republic is there, but it’s pretty close: four of the five teams are on the Pacific Ocean. Japan and Korea are definitely the big names here, but Australia is always scrappy and could pull an upset. China and the Czech Republic will likely prove canon fodder to the larger teams but should still be interesting to watch given how rarely we see their players against top competition.
Go below the jump for the full preview.
Continue readingUpdate on pool previews
Aside
The pool previews are taking longer for me to write than expected, so as a result I’ve updated the schedule for them. Starting with tomorrow’s entry (originally scheduled for today), you’ll see pool previews every other day.
Thank you.
2023 World Baseball Classic Pool Previews: Introduction/Glossary
We are less than a month from the start of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and this week I’ll be doing pool previews.
But first, an explanation of what will be included in each pool’s preview.
First off, each pool will have the following:
About the Venue: Info on the stadium where it will take place. Pretty self-explanatory.
About The Pool: A general overview of the pool. Summing up the basic storylines to keep an eye on.
Pool Outlook: My outright predictions for the pool.
For every country, there will be these bits:
About The Country: Again, largely self-explanatory. Just a bit about the country, its history, etc. Probably will include a fun fact, as well!
Baseball History: The history of baseball in that country. Needless to say, this can vary greatly.
International Baseball History: The history of the country in the WBC, Olympics, and other international play.
Road to the WBC: How the team qualified for this WBC. For most countries, this will basically be “did well enough in the last WBC.”
(Insert Country Name Here)’s Baseball League: Info on the current structure of baseball in that country- what their top league is, etc.
(Insert Country Name Here) MLB Players: A look at MLB players from that country through history as well as how many (if any) are on the team.
Notable names: The most notable players on the team.
Highest Achievers: Other notable players who have reached highest in the continuum of baseball leagues.
Ones to Watch: Generally will be for younger players who aren’t really well-known or MLB now, but could be in the future.
Manager/Coaching Staff: A bit about the manager and coaching staff of the team.
Outlook: General overview of the country/team and how they might do in the pool.
We start tomorrow with Pool A!
Schedule for WBC Pool Previews
EDIT: Due to the fact that these pools are taking longer to write than I remember, I have adjusted the release schedule.
Tonight, MLB Network will unveil the schedules for the World Baseball Classic.
Next week, I’ll roll out my comprehensive pool previews, where I’ll go through not only the rosters for each team, but also the histories of the countries, their baseball history, and specific players to watch. If you’re wondering what I’ll be doing during the 30 hours of Super Bowl pregame, this is that.
The schedule goes like this:
Sunday: Introduction/glossary for the previews.
Monday: Pool A (Taichung Pool- Taipei, Netherlands, Cuba, Italy, Panama)
Wednesday: Pool B (Tokyo Pool- Japan, Korea, Australia, China, Czech Republic)
Friday: Pool C (Phoenix Pool- USA, Mexico, Colombia, Canada, Great Britain)
Sunday: Pool D (Miami Pool- Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua)
Depending on other stuff, I’ll have more after that, as well, but that’s a bit more TBD.
The Baseball Continuum 