People didn't care as much about the early World Cups either. It took a few decades for the event to grow.
Hey Francis, I expect you to keep your word. You said it, so do it. And lighten up.
That's not how baseball has ever worked. Sometimes the worst MLB team has a good day and beats the best one. Sometimes a team full of MLB players pretending to be Italian can beat a team of MLB All-Stars from America.
It's 100x better than spring training ball and that's what you got right now. Also, great way to expand the game.
I see what you're angling for but that place was insane after Aaron Judge's homer. Sounded like the roof was going to come off the entire time he rounded the bases so maybe Mexico fans were cheering for him too****
Pat I know you like soccer but that’s not correct.
The difference is baseball is a game of integrity and soccer is soccer.
How fake are those teams? Do they just let anybody that can prove they had a relative there at one time play for them if they're good? And what is Israel filling their team with? I wouldn't think there would be that many players that are jewish or can trace an ancestor to Israel Are they just letting anybody that's circumsized play?
Nah. Shoeless Joe sold out for peanuts. At least the soccer players fixing games are doing it so cartel members don't castrate them.
Any Jewish player can sign up for Israel, and it's almost entirely American minor leaguers. In the last couple WBCs, people often commented that it was a little uncomfortable to have what's essentially a "religious team" playing among national teams, but you can guess that the rhetoric about them (either pro or con) has been very different and passionate in 2026. They end up locking every reddit thread about Israel's games.
Of course, the WBC is played, in part, in Japan. Which has an enormous effect on televisions ratings. The 2002 World Cup, that’s almost a quarter century old, was played in Korea and Japan’s group stage game drew 62 million viewers. 21 years later, the WBC championship between Japan & USA drew 100 million viewers. Not exactly apples to apples because of tourney stage and time of the game, but I’m not sure you’re on as solid ground as you think you are. Baseball might be more popular than soccer in Japan but it’s closer than you think and it’s not close at all in other countries.
Israel's rules more or less make sense to me. With how much open antisemitism there is, even in circles that would otherwise be considered "polite" society, Jewish people do have a different kind of connection to Israel that other people don't have to their ancestors lands.
I hope Jacob Robson gets in the game for Canada. He's on the roster but hasn't played it, or at least I haven't noticed.
I think they are hoping that it grows the game in the fake teams country and they eventually become not fake teams but until then it gives a lot of minor leaguers great opportunity for high leverage exposure.
1 | Aaron Judge | 9.7 | USA |
2 | Cristopher Sanchez | 8.0 | DR |
3 | Shohei Ohtani | 7.7 | JPN |
4 | Paul Skenes | 7.6 | USA |
5 | Cal Raleigh | 7.3 | USA |
6 | Bobby Witt Jr. | 7.1 | USA |
7 | Geraldo Perdomo | 7.0 | DR |
8 | Julio Rodriguez | 6.8 | DR |
9 | Tarik Skubal | 6.6 | USA |
10 | Garrett Crochet | 6.3 | -- |
11 | Juan Soto | 6.2 | DR |
Our bats are All Stars. The handful of pitchers who are All Stars are on a strict pitch count, but the majority of the USA arms are guys I'm not familiar with at all.
To be fair, both Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal (reigning Cy Young winners) are on the roster.
