Since “players play,” it should be no problem if they decide to play in different sports competitions throughout the offseason. Only thing is, they generally aren’t allowed to do that because of the risk of injury. So because MLB makes money off the WBC, that makes it OK. But all a fan of the Astros or Mets knows is that one of their favorite players is out for months due to an injury that was risked without any upside to the fans of those teams.
So let’s call it what it is: selling out MLB fans in the hope of another revenue stream for MLB.
@craig44 said:
Add Adam Wainwright to the list of WBC casualties. he will miss the opening day start and a few weeks after.
what a waste
Wainwright got hurt in the weight room after the WBC was over, had nothing to do with playing in the WBC
It was before the final game. But with all of these injuries it’s impossible to state that they would have happened anyway without attending the WBC. Life is not as deterministic as that. They might have, they might not have. The bottom line is, there is no sound reason to take the risk.
It was off the field in the weight room doing a workout he would have done anyways meaning the WBC had no impact on it. As for why take the risk, well this was his last chance to participate in it. The next one is 2026 since this one had been pushed back the time is a little shorter, but by that time he will almost certainly be retired or simply not good enough to get an invite. There were a couple of the USA pitchers that were in that situation of this was their last chance. Obviously a number of pitchers didnt want to play and sat it out, these guys wanted to play in it
It may have happened anyways, or maybe not. that is speculation. what is not speculation is that it DID happen while he was under the watch of "team" USA.
As for this being his "last chance" to play in the prestigious WBC, who cares. other than Wainwright and possibly his mom. He is under contract to pitch for the Cardinals. He will be unable to do that for at least 2-3 weeks because of an injury sustained while training for the WBC.
He pitched Sunday, he was hurt working out Tuesday, it had absolutely nothing to do with the WBC. Team USA doesnt come in and dictate a new workout program like a new high school, these guys were all doing the same workouts they would have been otherwise. Team USA wasnt supervising his workout holding his hand telling him what to do.
As for his last chance to play in the WBC he obviously cares. Doesnt matter if you care, he did.
Was he working out in the Cardinals facility or a WBC facility? I can tell you it wasnt the Cardinals. Again, it COULD have happened anywhere. but it didnt.
For some reason my comment wouldnt post, but theres no such thing as a WBC facility. He was working out in the Marlins weight room on Tuesday and hadnt pitched since Sunday. The overwhelming majority of player work outs occur outside of their home stadium and teams dont provide offseason places where players workout where they want
Its not like high school where team USA comes in and changes the workouts of the players. They do what they would have been doing anyways.
@PaulMaul said:
Since “players play,” it should be no problem if they decide to play in different sports competitions throughout the offseason. Only thing is, they generally aren’t allowed to do that because of the risk of injury. So because MLB makes money off the WBC, that makes it OK. But all a fan of the Astros or Mets knows is that one of their favorite players is out for months due to an injury that was risked without any upside to the fans of those teams.
So let’s call it what it is: selling out MLB fans in the hope of another revenue stream for MLB.
They actually are allowed to play in winter leagues. Acuna was playing in Venezula, others play in the DR. Its generally up to the players if they want to participate or not. MLB teams also send their best prospects to the AFL every year
@lanemyer85 said:
It wasn't the Dodgers. It was MLB's insurance company who wouldn't insure Kershaw due to his lengthy injury history. don't know if it's even a matter of "caring more", it seems like a combo of a lot of US/Canadian MLB players who still seem legitimately unsure if they're even supposed to care about the WBC, and a simple matter of the WBC not being as important as the MLB season - and especially those who are in a position to be a on playoff team. It matters to some, but to others, both players and even a good section of fans, it still seems like a glorified exhibition like back in the day when MLB would send a knockoff "All-Star" team to Japan to play the NPB All-Stars after the season was over in November.
The Dodgers have behind the scenes influence that they can use to keep a pitcher out. Its no secret that the USA has never sent their best pitching staff ever to a tournament whether it be the WBC or Olympics.
The WBC ratings were massive and the tournament even had more people come to games than the entire A's season combined.
The finals had a record 5 million on FS1 and 4 of the 7th largest games happened this year. There was only one game on FS1 that had a higher rating last year for MLB and that includes the post season.
Lars Nootbaar has Japanese heritage on his mothers side and is the first player ever to play for Japan that wasn't native born there.
The European teams have to have Americans as part of growing the game. Italy and GB were the two teams that were mostly American as they had to be.
I get that people dont think its a big deal, but internationally it is. Multiple games had over 40% of Japanese households watching the game and it did bit numbers in the USA as well especially considering the time of year and March Madness going on.
I mean all MLB teams don't want their players there, but the Dodgers have no leverage over what Kershaw wants to do. What are they going to do, inform his agent that they won't resign him to another deal? He'd just go shove for his hometown Rangers and they'd alienate their franchise's best player and fans.
But no, the other teams don't have to have American players populating the rosters. A handful of countries that got their heads kicked in by the first couple "Dream Teams" closed the gap or caught up. The US and Canadian women completely dominate hockey every single year in various INTL comps. If Sweden gets beat 10-1 there aren't ringers being brought in on the next go-around. Lithuania still has to play France and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers. They don't get to find guys from around the globe to fill in a roster to make it more competitive.
Sure the ratings were very good in countries that already have a baseball culture...the type of countries that really only have or care about baseball and soccer. How'd they do in the UK and Italy? I don't care enough to look it up, but I'm guessing 5th tier soccer clubs like Wrexham outdrew said ratings.
@lanemyer85 said:
It wasn't the Dodgers. It was MLB's insurance company who wouldn't insure Kershaw due to his lengthy injury history. don't know if it's even a matter of "caring more", it seems like a combo of a lot of US/Canadian MLB players who still seem legitimately unsure if they're even supposed to care about the WBC, and a simple matter of the WBC not being as important as the MLB season - and especially those who are in a position to be a on playoff team. It matters to some, but to others, both players and even a good section of fans, it still seems like a glorified exhibition like back in the day when MLB would send a knockoff "All-Star" team to Japan to play the NPB All-Stars after the season was over in November.
The Dodgers have behind the scenes influence that they can use to keep a pitcher out. Its no secret that the USA has never sent their best pitching staff ever to a tournament whether it be the WBC or Olympics.
The WBC ratings were massive and the tournament even had more people come to games than the entire A's season combined.
The finals had a record 5 million on FS1 and 4 of the 7th largest games happened this year. There was only one game on FS1 that had a higher rating last year for MLB and that includes the post season.
Lars Nootbaar has Japanese heritage on his mothers side and is the first player ever to play for Japan that wasn't native born there.
The European teams have to have Americans as part of growing the game. Italy and GB were the two teams that were mostly American as they had to be.
I get that people dont think its a big deal, but internationally it is. Multiple games had over 40% of Japanese households watching the game and it did bit numbers in the USA as well especially considering the time of year and March Madness going on.
I mean all MLB teams don't want their players there, but the Dodgers have no leverage over what Kershaw wants to do. What are they going to do, inform his agent that they won't resign him to another deal? He'd just go shove for his hometown Rangers and they'd alienate their franchise's best player and fans.
But no, the other teams don't have to have American players populating the rosters. A handful of countries that got their heads kicked in by the first couple "Dream Teams" closed the gap or caught up. The US and Canadian women completely dominate hockey every single year in various INTL comps. If Sweden gets beat 10-1 there aren't ringers being brought in on the next go-around. Lithuania still has to play France and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers. They don't get to find guys from around the globe to fill in a roster to make it more competitive.
Sure the ratings were very good in countries that already have a baseball culture...the type of countries that really only have or care about baseball and soccer. How'd they do in the UK and Italy? I don't care enough to look it up, but I'm guessing 5th tier soccer clubs like Wrexham outdrew said ratings.
The Dodgers absolutely have the power and while that was a cover story we will likely never know the real story. Kershaw would be very vocal about an insurance company messing with his money saying hes to injury prone to be insured when the Dodgers already have insurance on him
As far as the comparisons I will start with number 2 since thats the easiest. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world hands by by far. A billion people watch the mens final. Every country that qualifies has more than enough players to send there and they still take players from other countries if they can and think it will help them win
As far as womens hockey if Sweden gets beat 10=1 by the USA women well basically no one watched so it doesnt really matter. Only 4 or 5 countries really put significant resources into womens sports which is why the same countries always win. More than half the world doesnt really care about hockey at all whether mens or womens. The best womens team would also be the worst mens team. Its not a good comparison at all.
Soccer is still obviously king in Europe and likely will always be. The point of having the Euro teams again is to grow the game. That is being accomplished and is and will take time. You have pro players in the MLB from Europe now and pro leagues that arent a complete joke in France and Germany. Its getting there and doing what it should be doing but wont happen over night. Sending a high school level team to the WBC from Italy and GB would just set the effort back so eligibility rules are allowed
@craig44 said:
and, add Altuve to the list of exhibition casualties
#LetsGoSwitzerlandThe Man Who Does Not Read Has No Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read. The biggest obstacle to progress is a habit of “buying what we want and begging for what we need.”You get the Freedom you fight for and get the Oppression you deserve.
So a guy got injured in an MLB Spring Training game. What has that got to do with the discussion of MLB players getting hurt in non-MLB games?
That players get hurt in MLB games. It can happen anywhere.
#LetsGoSwitzerlandThe Man Who Does Not Read Has No Advantage Over the Man Who Cannot Read. The biggest obstacle to progress is a habit of “buying what we want and begging for what we need.”You get the Freedom you fight for and get the Oppression you deserve.
Comments
Since “players play,” it should be no problem if they decide to play in different sports competitions throughout the offseason. Only thing is, they generally aren’t allowed to do that because of the risk of injury. So because MLB makes money off the WBC, that makes it OK. But all a fan of the Astros or Mets knows is that one of their favorite players is out for months due to an injury that was risked without any upside to the fans of those teams.
So let’s call it what it is: selling out MLB fans in the hope of another revenue stream for MLB.
For some reason my comment wouldnt post, but theres no such thing as a WBC facility. He was working out in the Marlins weight room on Tuesday and hadnt pitched since Sunday. The overwhelming majority of player work outs occur outside of their home stadium and teams dont provide offseason places where players workout where they want
Its not like high school where team USA comes in and changes the workouts of the players. They do what they would have been doing anyways.
They actually are allowed to play in winter leagues. Acuna was playing in Venezula, others play in the DR. Its generally up to the players if they want to participate or not. MLB teams also send their best prospects to the AFL every year
Hoskins torn ACL essentially if not definitely out for the year fielding a ground ball in spring training. Injuries happen
I mean all MLB teams don't want their players there, but the Dodgers have no leverage over what Kershaw wants to do. What are they going to do, inform his agent that they won't resign him to another deal? He'd just go shove for his hometown Rangers and they'd alienate their franchise's best player and fans.
But no, the other teams don't have to have American players populating the rosters. A handful of countries that got their heads kicked in by the first couple "Dream Teams" closed the gap or caught up. The US and Canadian women completely dominate hockey every single year in various INTL comps. If Sweden gets beat 10-1 there aren't ringers being brought in on the next go-around. Lithuania still has to play France and Brazil in World Cup qualifiers. They don't get to find guys from around the globe to fill in a roster to make it more competitive.
Sure the ratings were very good in countries that already have a baseball culture...the type of countries that really only have or care about baseball and soccer. How'd they do in the UK and Italy? I don't care enough to look it up, but I'm guessing 5th tier soccer clubs like Wrexham outdrew said ratings.
The Dodgers absolutely have the power and while that was a cover story we will likely never know the real story. Kershaw would be very vocal about an insurance company messing with his money saying hes to injury prone to be insured when the Dodgers already have insurance on him
As far as the comparisons I will start with number 2 since thats the easiest. The World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world hands by by far. A billion people watch the mens final. Every country that qualifies has more than enough players to send there and they still take players from other countries if they can and think it will help them win
As far as womens hockey if Sweden gets beat 10=1 by the USA women well basically no one watched so it doesnt really matter. Only 4 or 5 countries really put significant resources into womens sports which is why the same countries always win. More than half the world doesnt really care about hockey at all whether mens or womens. The best womens team would also be the worst mens team. Its not a good comparison at all.
Soccer is still obviously king in Europe and likely will always be. The point of having the Euro teams again is to grow the game. That is being accomplished and is and will take time. You have pro players in the MLB from Europe now and pro leagues that arent a complete joke in France and Germany. Its getting there and doing what it should be doing but wont happen over night. Sending a high school level team to the WBC from Italy and GB would just set the effort back so eligibility rules are allowed
@Alfonz24
So a guy got injured in an MLB Spring Training game. What has that got to do with the discussion of MLB players getting hurt in non-MLB games?
That players get hurt in MLB games. It can happen anywhere.
Of course. The question is whether or not players being paid to play in MLB games should risk injury in non-MLB games.