The United States is baseball’s birthplace and the sport’s professional hub. But when it comes to the quadrennial World Baseball Classic (WBC), the US puts their ball-yard passions in their pockets.
It can be hard to figure whether many American fans are reacting to the players’ lack of enthusiasm or whether it is the other way around. Either way, the indifference is a shame.
As the fourth edition of the WBC began this past week in four global locations, it appears apathetic Americans are missing out on a competition rife with intensity and intriguing story lines.
Asian fans and Latin American players have raised the tourney’s blood pressure with their zealous devotion.
Competition from the 2013 tourney gave Chinese Taipei their highest cable television ratings.
In Japan, more people tuned in to watch their baseball team in 2013 than any given Olympic event the year before.
Leave it to the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and the other Latin American nations in the tourney to draw the very best of their MLB players, who treat the WBC like the World Series.
Plus they get to share national bonds.
All you need to know about the WBC is that Manny Machado, an American citizen who was born in Miami, chose to play for the Dominican Republic, the birthplace of his parents.
Why? Machado loved watching players of his cultural heritage compete with joy, then celebrate their first WBC championship in 2013.
"Just watching the chemistry that they had was unbelievable," Machado told ESPN.com. "That's one of the biggest things I'm looking forward to."
Emotions motivate others, too. Born and raised in the US, Freddie Freeman is playing in the WBC to honour his mother, who died when he was 10. Her country of birth was Canada, and that is Freeman’s team.
The WBC is full of quirks. Several countries where average citizens do not know innings from outs, or shortstops from short hops, are oddly represented in the 16-nation WBC.
Come on, San Francisco Giants and Detroit Tigers fans, are you not curious how teams from baseball-deserts the Netherlands and Israel have made it to the second round?
How some countries made it here, and who is playing for whom, is half the fun.
Generous eligibility rules allow players from Dutch territories in the Caribbean – such as Curacao and Aruba – to play for the mother country. Thus Major League Baseball stars Xander Bogaerts and Kenley Jansen are wearing those orange-accented uniforms.
Then there is Cuba, a country that should be a WBC favourite every time having produced such MLB stars as Yoenis Cespedes, Aroldis Chapman, Yasiel Puig and Jose Abreu. Instead, Cuban politics made those players ineligible.
The line-up is comprised of the country’s domestic-league players, including some gifted ones who may end up in MLB someday, eventually rendering them ineligible, too.
Strange.
Still, nothing is stranger than US players shrugging it off. Yes, stars such as Adam Jones, Giancarlo Stanton, Andrew McCutchen and Buster Posey play. But Mike Trout, Bryce Harper, Clayton Kershaw, Kris Bryant, Mookie Betts and a dozen more were not interested.
National League Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer said he wanted in, but a finger injury will not let him. Not one other top-five Cy Young vote-getter in either league (all of them Americans) signed on.
Not surprisingly, given the level of participation and support, the best finish for the US in any WBC was fourth place in 2009.
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Three tips from La Perle's performers
1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.
2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.
3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
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Investment raised: $4 million
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- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
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Sector: Technology
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