It was Bud Selig's brainchild this time around, but the idea has been years in the making. It's going to be called the World Baseball Classic, and 16 nations will be invited to compete for the new, true "world" title. The first-round games are tentatively scheduled to be played in Florida, Arizona, Puerto Rico and Japan.
The notion of a world championship in baseball is currently a bit distorted. We refer to the Major League Baseball championships as the "World Series," when Toronto is the only team playing outside the borders of the United States.
The World Series title derives its name from an 1880s decision to add prestige to the exhibition games played between the National League and the now-defunct American Association. It must have made a lot more sense back then, when a whole two teams were playing in Canada.
This tournament certainly looks like it's shaping up to be a more legitimate "world" competition than we're used to. The best baseball is still played here in the U.S., but the rest of the globe is catching on quick, with the MLB's enormous contracts bringing in all the outside talent. Many of the league's best players are foreign, and the Classic will give other countries the chance to demonstrate their prowess at "America's Favorite Pastime."
The irony is that a few true international baseball competitions already exist and have been going on for decades.
Long before baseball was even considered an Olympic sport, it had its own international measure of talent. Created in 1938, the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) oversaw a baseball World Cup that crowned 35 champions through 2003 (oddly enough, England defeated the U.S. in the first World Cup). Marred by the occasional reorganization of governing bodies and the absence of professional players, the old Cup remained a low-profile competition.
Taking its lead from an observation of the 1972 Baseball World Cup, the International Olympic Committee decided to incorporate baseball into the Games as a full medal sport in 1992.
Since then, Cuba has won three gold medals to the United States' one. Part of this is due to professional baseball's refusal to postpone its season and allow players the chance to participate in the Games.
Now, with Bud Selig, the MLB Players' Union and the IBAF behind it, the World Baseball Classic looks ready to take over the old Cup's position and assume a much higher profile. It might not catch on so well in America, where it seems we're surrounded by more baseball than politics, but this is just what the international game needs.
However, not everyone likes the idea.
Japan is just one of a couple of baseball-crazy nations not entirely pleased with this new World Baseball Classic concept, thinking that it is just another tool from which Major League Baseball is seeking to profit. The Cuban government may not send a delegation to the tournament on general anti-American and anti-capitalist principles.
Since 1992, Cuba has won three of the four Olympic gold medals and 22 of the 35 Word Cups. In 1999, a team of Cuban amateurs beat the Baltimore Orioles 12-6, but that took place in Havana. Cuba is certainly an important addition to the 16-team field and, if it participates, will be a formidable opponent.
The Classic's early favorite, though, will not be Cuban. In fact, it may not be American. If all 91 of the Dominican Republic's professionals hope to participate, their lineup would look startlingly similar to last July's All-Star game: Albert Pujols at first, Alfonso Soriano at second, Miguel Tejada at shortstop, Adrian Beltre at third and Manny Ramirez, Vladimir Guerrero and Sammy Sosa in the outfield. Their pitchers would include Pedro Martinez, Bartolo Coln, Odalis Perez and Armando Benitez. No other country could field a team that universally talented.
The World Baseball Classic should make 2006 an interesting year for the sport. Now we just have to hope that all of the countries involved stay on board. After all, competition is good thing -- unless you're in Cuba.