Tag Archives: Puerto Rico

2023 World Baseball Classic Pool D Preview: Miami

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South Beach lifeguard stands at Miami by Carol M Highsmith is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

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.

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World Baseball Classic Update 8/27/2022: Team USA sets coaching staff and continues to grow, plus other news

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Another busy week of WBC News, so here’s a bit of a catch-up:

There will be another WBC post tomorrow.

World Baseball Classic Update for 8/13/2022: Team USA loads up, and other updates

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Some big names have committed to Team USA in the past few days: Bryce Harper says he’s in, as does catcher J.T. Realmuto. Over at first base, Paul Goldschmidt has also committed to the team.

Meanwhile, an article on Minnesota Twins players planning to take part in the tournament revealed that Carlos Correa and Jose Miranda are planning to play for Puerto Rico, while Gio Urshela and Sandy Leon (who is actually Venezuelan but has family ties to Colombia) will suit up for Colombia.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is not expected to be eligible to play in the WBC due to his PED suspension.

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I haven’t yet done a good search of the international media over the past few days, so come back tomorrow or Monday for another update.

World Baseball Classic Update 8/4/2022: Catching up…

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Here’s some of the WBC news from the past few days.

There are a few other items that I’m working to confirm as far as finding links. You’ll see those tomorrow!

Quick World Baseball Classic Update 7/26/22: Story is in

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I’ve been busy the last few days, so this isn’t as thorough as it should be. I haven’t been able to scour the non-English sites for World Baseball Classic news, for example. I’m hoping to have a more full update in the coming days.

Anyway, the main news is that Team USA has its second confirmed player: Trevor Story. The Red Sox infielder was confirmed yesterday. He hasn’t been hitting as well this season, but his overall pedigree and ability to play second or short will make a good asset for the team. He joins Mike Trout as players confirmed for Team USA.

Speaking of Red Sox and the tournament, manager Alex Cora says he expects that Rafael Devers (Dominican), Xander Bogaerts (Kingdom of the Netherlands), and Christian Vazquez (Puerto Rico) will also take part. Cora himself admitted he’d love to manage but can’t due to rules against current managers taking part.

Come back in the coming days for updated WBC projections and perhaps more WBC news.

World Baseball Classic Update 7/18/2022: Trout’s in, Cruz is a GM, and more…

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The biggest World Baseball Classic news of the day is undoubtedly that Mike Trout has confirmed that he is going to be playing for Team USA in next year’s WBC. He announced it during media day at the All-Star Game (where he is in attendance, even if he isn’t playing due to a back spasm), and Team USA GM Tony Reagins (who is the man who drafted Trout for the Angels) confirmed that Trout will be the team’s Captain and also that he was the first player he called once he got the GM job. Trout hasn’t played in any previous World Baseball Classics for various reasons, so him taking part this time is a big get for Team USA and the event in general.

He’s not the only star in Los Angeles in the WBC news, however, as Freddie Freeman says he’s 100% in for Team Canada. For those that don’t know, Freeman’s parents are from Canada and he has played for Canada in the past in tribute to his mother, who died of cancer when he was just ten years old.

The Dominican Republic now has a General Manager: Nelson Cruz. Yes, that Nelson Cruz, the currently-active DH for the Washington Nationals. The league and the MLBPA had to give permission for him to take the job.

In qualifier news, Bruce Bochy has been named the skipper for Team France. Born in France while his father was stationed there, the three-time World Series-winning manager was going to manage France in the WBC qualifiers in 2020 until coronavirus put a stop to the tournament.

Ian Kinsler, the manager of Team Israel, has confirmed that Joc Pederson will play for the Israeli team next spring.

Rafael Devers has reportedly said that he’s in for Team Dominican if they give him a call.

A Twitter account dedicated to Puerto Rican baseball is reporting that former Red Neftali Soto is ready to play for Team PR in next year’s tournament. Soto has spent the last few years tearing it up in Japan, including winning HR titles in the Central League in 2018 and 2019.

Finally, Liam Hendriks has told MLB.com White Sox writer Scott Merkin that he’s interested in representing his native Australia next spring.

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That’s it for today. However, it’s possible more news will break during the All-Star Media Day, so don’t be surprised if you see another WBC update on Tuesday!

World Baseball Classic Update 7/15/22: USA GM and other news

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Tony Reagins has been named the General Manager for Team USA in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Reagins is perhaps best known for his stint with the the Angels from late 2007 until Sept. 2011, where he oversaw a team that made two playoff appearances. In 2009, he was among those who made the decision to take a chance on a somewhat-iffy prospect from the northeast named Mike Trout. He also was the GM for Team USA in the last Olympics, which may suggest we’ll see a similar coaching staff to that (for example, Mike Scioscia).

As I mentioned in a translated-from-Korean article a few days ago, Team Korea is open to potentially having Americans of Korean descent on the team. Meanwhile, KBO pitcher Chang Mo Koo, who has a 0.99 ERA this season, wants to take part and wants a start against Japan.

In the Dominican Republic, meanwhile, Tony Pena isn’t impressed with the slow pace that the Dominican federation has taken to the tournament thus far. Although they have yet to announce a manager, the head of the federation has said Moises Alou is a possibility.

In Puerto Rico, Carlos Beltran is voicing his interest in managing the WBC.

Enrique Reyes, a longtime skipper in the Mexican League who has managed several Mexican teams at the international level as well, is being called the “natural candidate” for the WBC job. Other possibilities are Benji Gil (who managed the Olympic team) and Juan Castro (who managed the team in the 2019 Premier12 tournament).

Argentina’s addition to WBC qualification has gotten some minor press attention there.

Tickets are now on sale for the qualification pool in Germany.

World Baseball Classic Update 7/11/22: Puerto Rico, Miguel Cabrera, Arizona

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In an interview with Venezuelan press, Miguel Cabrera said that he’d be delighted to play for Venezuela next spring in the World Baseball Classic.

The Puerto Rican press has picked up on how tough their group will be. With perennial powers the Dominican Republic and Veneuzela as well as the dangerous Team Israel and a final team to be determined, at least one traditional baseball power will be eliminated. Edwin Rodriguez, who managed the team in 2013 and 2017, would like to note that this isn’t anything new. The Puerto Ricans were in the same pool as the DR and Venezuela in 2013, for example. For what it’s worth, Rodriguez (now a AAA manager) thinks that the Dominican Republic should be considered the overall favorites for the 2023 tournament.

Finally, the CEO of the Arizona Diamondbacks told a Phoenix radio station that hosting a pool of the WBC will bring over $30 million to the economy there. The question of whether that is actually true or is just public relations spin I’ll leave to the economists.

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC UPDATE (July 8, 2022): Stuff I missed

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Yesterday in my World Baseball Classic update, I mentioned that there had been some WBC news over the past few weeks that I had neglected to share. Consider this a catch-up post on those things.

MANAGER ANNOUNCEMENTS:

OTHER NOTES:

I’ll have more WBC news as it becomes available and as I find it.

Possible international sites for MLB games

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Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

Previously, I discussed some possible neutral-field games in the USA or Canada. Today, it’s time to look beyond the borders and muse about possible neutral-field games internationally going forward.

Go below the jump for more.

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