A day at the World Baseball Classic

It’s been a few years since I’ve attended a baseball game in person. Mostly due to the…

After the panic had died down a bit, the stadiums were open again, but no drinking was allowed. Well, watching baseball without beer is like going to Japan and not trying sushi. Now that things are almost back to 2019 levels of existence, I was looking forward to getting back to the ballpark. I thought I would go to my first game in late May or June when the nights are warmer. April and early May baseball in Tokyo and Chiba are a test of endurance and strength for not only the players but the fans. Jingu Stadium, home of the Yakult Swallows gets quite frigid in the evening, but the stadium in Chiba that is home to the Marines is a great place to experience hypothermia. It’s right on Tokyo Bay, so bring a blanket if you want to see an early-season game. If April baseball is out, how could I be attending games in March you might be asking.

The World Baseball Classic, hosted in the Tokyo Dome, is the answer, obviously. I didn’t even know that the tournament was taking place as I have kind of lost track of Major League Baseball. But after a coworker asked me if was going to any of the games I looked into buying tickets.

Unsurprisingly, all of the games featuring Samurai Japan were sold out long ago. With Otani Shohei playing for the national team, tickets were a hot commodity. There was a report that at one point, 49% of all of the TVs in Japan were tuned into the WBC. Luckily for me, there was one day when Japan was not playing. Tickets were available and affordable for the games featuring Australia vs the Czech Republic at noon and South Korea vs China at 7 pm.

They play baseball in the Czech Republic? Yeah, my thoughts exactly. While it may not be a huge sport in Europe, it’s nice to see more countries playing the game. I remember a few years ago that the Netherlands sent a team to the WBC, the most skilled of the players coming from what once was called the Netherlands Antilles. China was a bit of a surprise too, but I suppose you can find 25 guys to play baseball when your population is 1.4 billion.

Of all the teams I would watch that day, the South Koreans were the most accomplished. The professional league in Korea is arguably the third-best league in the world. Australia has sent over 30 players to MLB, so there is some talent there. In fact, 10 players on the Australian WBC roster are MLB prospects.

So, how was the baseball? Uneven would probably be the best word to describe the play. The Australia/Czech game got off to a hot start though. Alex Hall, a catching prospect for the Milwaukee Brewers, blasted a home run in the first inning. And I mean blasted. I haven’t seen a home run hit that far in the dome since Mitch Haniger absolutely destroyed a baseball in an exhibition game against the Yomiuri Giants.

Excuse the head in the shot. The home run is at the 1:08 mark for the impatient.

Haniger’s HR from a better quality link from MLB

https://www.mlb.com/video/haniger-s-game-tying-homer-c2523722283?partnerId=web_video-playback-page_video-share

Hall’s HR can be seen at this link.

https://www.mlb.com/video/alex-hall-s-so-home-run-in-1st

The Czech Republic tied the game up in the third inning and after that, there was not much action until the 7th inning. Australia was able to put up 5 runs over the last three innings to put the game away 8-3. Overall, the game was cleanly played with no errors, mentally or physically. The error-free baseball would not be repeated in the second game of the day.

Gotta bring your kangaroo if you want to cheer for Aus

There was very little drama in the South Korea/China game. I think the pre-game warmups and batting practice lasted about as long as the game. Korea crushed China 22-2 in five innings. Thank the lord that there is a mercy rule in the WBC. Sloppy would be the best way to describe China’s play. The first inning took about 45 minutes. Korea got off to a quick two run lead in the first, thanks to two hits, two stolen bases, and two wild pitches. But give China credit, they battled back to tie the game in the bottom of the inning.

Korea added two more runs in the second, but the wheels would come off in the third. I texted my friend Chris and told him about the sloppiness of the game so far, and he replied, “Bad baseball is entertaining. I always say that you have the chance to see something that you have never seen before at a baseball game.” Prescient words, indeed.

Have you ever seen a team bunt to load the bases? Yes, that’s right, Korea bunted three straight times and loaded the bases. China committed no errors in the inning, but there were mental errors all over the place. Players forgot to cover bags. Players didn’t know where to throw the ball. There were more passed balls and wild pitches. All of that sloppy play added up to eight runs for Korea. That made it 12-2 by the end of the third inning.

The fourth inning would see Korea blast a grand slam and add two more runs in the fourth to make it 18-2. At that point, I had had enough. It was time to beat the traffic. It was after 9 pm and I still had a 70-minute journey ahead of me to get home. I didn’t see China making a comeback. While on the train I checked the score. 22-2. Ouch.

All in all, I enjoyed the games. While the quality of play wasn’t at the highest level, it was a great way to get the baseball season started.