The two biggest surprises of 2017 so far include:
- That unreal chicken video hitting the web
- The success of the World Baseball Classic.
Who knew?
The first three iterations of the WBC have been viewed alternately as: A Bad Excuse To Get Injured; A Parade of Players Who Aren’t The Best In Their Countries; A Poorly Timed Exhibition.
Oh for three.
When the news came that Buster Posey and Brandon Crawford were headed off to play for Team USA, most every Giants fan’s reasonable conclusion was to wince.
All of a sudden, the 2017 version comes along and the thing blooms like a spring flower. Memorable moments are made (hello, Adam Jones’ glove), emotions are on full tilt (hello, Yadier Molina’s post-game tears) and Team USA all of a sudden has a fan base (hello, guy dressed as George Washington in Dodger Stadium.)
Why and how did this happen? I’d offer three theories, in order of increasing importance:
1) Team Israel’s Early Success.
The oddity of Israel baseball caught our eyes early on. Not since Sandy Koufax passed on Game 1 of the 1965 World Series to honor Yom Kippur has the Jewish baseball scene been so notable. A team made up mostly of players who aren’t even on the big league level made international news first by qualifying for pool play, then by flying to Asia and sweeping Pool A, beating heavily favored Korea, heavily favored Netherlands, and heavily favored Chinese Taipei. They scored huge points for charisma, bringing a “Mensch on the Bench” doll for good luck, wearing yarmulkes during the national anthem and exuding positive vibes for a tournament that most people didn’t know was even on.
2) The Crowds In Miami and Jalisco.
The pools played in Marlins Park and in Mexico featured the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, the two teams who squared off in the 2013 WBC Final. Four years later, these fan bases were ready for more, and when they played, the fans did what they always do — danced, sang, chanted, cheered, laughed, then lathered, rinsed and repeated for nine innings. Since Team USA was in Miami, the early pool play games featured some solid theatre. It caught our eyes. And good fortune shined when the Dominican Republic pulled off a dramatic comeback over the U.S., allowing us to see Johnny Cueto’s super fun and spirited Instagram reaction. We were beginning to feel the buzz.
3) Team USA’s Triumph.
All politics is local. The WBC’s success was tied to the USA’s success, for many of us. And further, tied to Posey’s and Crawford’s success, too. When things started to go well for Team USA, buzz hummed. When Adam Jones made that catch off Manny Machado in San Diego, things hummed louder. And when Team USA beat Japan in the semifinals, it climaxed in over 50,000 at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday night for the finals, including the guy dressed as the Father of Our Country.
Best thing was, it was all fairly organic. Not much marketing. No overdone TV coverage. Just baseball, growing on us like good nine-inning ballgame.
On to 2021, sports fans. See ya there.