If The WBC Is Better Than MLB Then What

We relive our Puerto Rico trip through the World Baseball Classic while we watch USA vs the Dominican Republic in real time. The vibes are elite, the debates get spicy, and the ending forces us to ask what baseball owes fans when the biggest moments hinge on one call. 
• Puerto Rico as the perfect WBC backdrop through food, family and stadium energy 
• Why Team USA can feel unlikable and how politics can hijack sports joy 
• Pool play surprises like Canada advancing and Italy’s run 
• Eligibility rules for national teams and where the line should be 
• Which pools are toughest and what the bracket gets right 
• Ideas to grow the WBC through rotating hosts and changing the calendar 
• Why WBC fan culture makes MLB look stiff 
• The USA-DR finish and the case for ABS challenges and robo umps 
Make sure you guys follow uh the Dana Chronicles podcast on all of those. 

Transcript

Cold Open With USA-DR Semifinal

SPEAKER_02 0:00

Okay, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

I think by Darla, right?

SPEAKER_00 0:11

I know, right? Like like that was my gift for my anniversary.

SPEAKER_01 0:16

Yeah, that's really good. She did great. Good job by Darla.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

I'm not a fan of Judge, but Jesus Christ, he threw a BB to the show.

SPEAKER_01 0:26

That throw was amazing. Yeah, I am with you. Yeah. Like you, not a fan.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

By the way, just finishing up my medallah beer. I saw your picture of it. I'm very jealous.

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Um, am I coming through? Okay, your screen is frozen on my screen. Like I can't.

SPEAKER_00 0:46

No, you're coming through.

SPEAKER_01 0:48

Perfectly. You're you're not moving for me, so really yeah.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

Huh, interesting. That's all right. You're coming through just fine. Well, I am very sharp. Well, you know. Oh my god, what a game, though. It's been a good game.

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Yeah, yeah, it's been a really good game. A couple of couple of home runs from the bottom of the order.

SPEAKER_00 1:13

I mean, what more could you ask for? No, like I mean, it it's it's perfectly, you know, it is it what's meant to be, right? Like it's that's how it's supposed to be.

SPEAKER_01 1:21

Yeah. I actually kind of had it in my head that it was gonna be a blowout. I thought the there you go, now you're moving.

SPEAKER_00 1:28

I thought I thought the DR was gonna No, I think that that because the USA have been hearing it this whole time. Yeah, right. That's I I seriously put on threads and uh that it is unthinkable to think that the this USA team, this current USA team is so unlikable.

SPEAKER_01 1:58

Right. Are people mad?

SPEAKER_00 2:01

Are they are there? Oh my god, it's hilarious. Oh yeah, is that right? It's hilarious. That's funny. Uh it you know, it's like I'm um one of them was like, not sure how you can watch Gunnar Henderson home run and think that. That's one of them. Okay. Like, I listen, though that Gunnar Henderson home run was great. It was a good home run. I'm not my wife is American, right? So it's like I you know, like I'm not gonna be like, oh, I hate America. I'm not saying that. I'm talking about the team itself.

SPEAKER_01 2:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:32

You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 2:33

Yeah, well, and the way, you know, the way black baseball mixtape phrased it there, right? On on Threads.

SPEAKER_00 2:38

Shout out to Black Baseball Mixtape.

SPEAKER_01 2:40

Yeah, man. They are uh they're great, they're a great, great follow. Love their podcast. But uh they they were talking about how basically like any American sports success has been co-opted by uh you know a really jingoistic specific American party. And uh, you know, you get good point University of Richmond graduate Cash Patel celebrating in the locker room with the hockey team, the hockey team, right? Like, so yeah, it just it sucks.

SPEAKER_00 3:09

Yeah, and that's that was unfortunately because it took away from the the USA hockey team, which very dominant, right? Um, really good hockey.

SPEAKER_01 3:21

I I watched uh the hockey game, it was great, and it like created such a juxtaposition between the men's team and the women's team. Yep, you know, because they were they were treated so differently. It was a a different thing.

SPEAKER_00 3:34

Flavor flav came to the rescue, baby. Don't you worry. Flavor flav came to the rescue. It's exactly right. Flavor flavor came to the rescue, everybody. I did put on threads today, so at the time of this recording, which is Sunday, March 15th, right?

SPEAKER_01 3:49

When we are recording this, um sixth inning of uh the world baseball classic US versus Dominican.

Welcome And Why We Record

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Yeah. Republica Dominicana. R D. R D. So um, yeah, come on, guys. You guys gotta get hit better than that. Anyways, um, so welcome everybody to the DSC podcast, the Dead High Chronicles Podcast. My name is Ed, also known as the Dead Hand, and with me, I might get my good friend, Mr. Paul Caputo, who has uh been to Puerto Rico three times, so he's already a local of Puerto Rico. I just I don't know if you guys knew that. Uh, but it's uh it's been confirmed.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Not only have I been to Puerto Rico three times, but uh I'm wearing a Puerto Rico hat. Yes, you are, which I bought in Puerto Rico, um a Puerto Rico world baseball class uh world baseball classic jersey, which I bought in old San Juan with you. Yep. And uh the other day when uh Puerto Rico was playing Italy, uh we made baccalaitos, yes, you did tostones.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

Was that from the box that I that uh that we gave you?

SPEAKER_01 4:58

That was the box that you sent home with us, and we had to sit, we like stared at it because we thought it was like breading. We were like, okay, we gotta go to the grocery store and get some like white fish. We'll get like some tilapia or something.

SPEAKER_00 5:10

Usually it's cod.

SPEAKER_01 5:12

And or yeah, cod is what's what's in it. Yeah, but we thought like it was like breading for fish, and we had to go like get the fish and do like the whole like breading thing.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

Oh, I should have explained that to you.

SPEAKER_01 5:23

No, no, well, the box explained it, right? The box was just like add water and fry it a lot. Pretty much, yeah, and they were freaking delicious. Yeah, they are. We had it with like a spicy chipotle mayo that was really good. I know that you just tell us to have like ketchup mayo, mayo ketchup, mayo ketchup.

SPEAKER_00 5:44

Mayo ketchup, but by the way, mayo ketchup, mayonnaise, ketchup, a little bit of garlic, and some adobo. That's it. You don't need anything else, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Let me tell you what though, I had never made toastones before, and uh, we did a pretty good job with the toastones.

SPEAKER_00 5:59

So yes, you did.

SPEAKER_01 6:01

It was everything we we did everything we could, Ed, and Puerto Rico still lost eight to six to uh to the Italians. To the Italians, and I yeah, you know, I hope I wasn't too much of uh uh a shame to my Caputo heritage by rooting for Puerto Rico against Team Italy.

SPEAKER_00 6:18

No, I think you were I think you're you're fine. I mean, tonight I identified as Dominican. I put that on threads today. Uh today I identify as Dominican, so please respect my uh my uh decision for this uh evening, and then uh we're gonna keep moving on. Moving on.

SPEAKER_01 6:33

There you go. There you go. Well, I'll tell you what, I mean, we've talked about this already, and uh, we're not the first people to point this out, but holy smokes, would a DR versus Venezuela championship game in Miami be incredible or what?

SPEAKER_00 6:48

It would, I think it would be amazing, I think it would absolutely be great. Um, but that's still yet to be decided, right? Because at the time of like we're recording, we're watching, but both of us are watching the game as we are recording, right? Um, and so the USA is up two to one against uh the uh Republica Dominicana.

SPEAKER_01 7:07

So yeah, uh I believe that the sixth inning just ended. I think DR was up in the bottom of the sixth, and they uh had a couple of deep fly balls. They got Paul Skeens out of the game. He was in trouble for a lot of the game.

SPEAKER_00 7:19

Uh oh my god, bases loaded and it couldn't do anything.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

He he weasled out of some trouble. I mean, that guy's a special talent, obviously. Uh I I will admit, first of all, I'm terrible at predicting things, so I don't know. But uh I I thought the Dominicans were gonna light him up uh in this, you know, yeah, springtime. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I thought I thought he wouldn't be quite ready for prime time just yet. He hasn't been in uh on a stage like this just yet. I thought he was gonna get lit up and he uh he acquitted himself well.

SPEAKER_00 7:50

He had some moments, right? He has some moments where he was a little iffy, but you know what? Shout out to the the team right behind him that were able to pick him up, right? Yeah, uh I'm just talking about that Aaron Judge throw, right?

SPEAKER_01 8:07

Aaron Judge throw. What was a better defensive play? The Aaron Judge outfield assist from right field uh to third base, or Julio Rodriguez pulling down the that home run, the Mike, the Mike Judge, the Aaron Judge uh home run ball uh into deep center.

SPEAKER_00 8:25

A couple of great defensive plays for both great both are great great defensive plays, absolutely. And I think here's what I would say I'm gonna go with because I have extra um time to have watched it and to have seen some things that happen afterwards, right? So because of the Aaron Judge home run, the the the the uh the the throw to third base, Fernando Tatiz, and then in a couple of innings after that was a little bit scared to run to third again. That's right, right? So he had a little PTSD, so that affected him, and all of that could have been, you know, we it could have changed the whole game, right? Yeah, but because of that, I'm gonna go with Aaron Judge. I'm not taking anything away from Julio. I mean, this dude he climbed up and stole that home run away from Judge.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

But that that throw definitely did have ramifications later on when uh yes, yes, it did. The team DR was a little afraid to take that extra base, and they are notoriously uh aggressive base runners, right? Like so it's uh they are.

SPEAKER_00 9:29

I mean, they're just aggressive team overall, right? Yes. Um, and so it was it was I mean, both plays were great though. Um that that play at short by Witt who to put down that that uh base uh base hit, yeah, right? That could have been that could have been uh tying game tying uh run, but it did not.

Staying With Family In Humacao

SPEAKER_01 9:50

So he's batting right now as as we talk. As we talk about, I feel like we should. I mean, this is your podcast, so no, no, go ahead. I feel like we should sort of set the stage here. One of the reasons you and I are having this conversation is we just got back from an amazing trip to Puerto Rico. We did. Where, first of all, let me publicly thank you and your not just your immediate family, your lovely wife Darla, and your adorable daughter Mia, but your parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rivera, yeah, who put us up in their very beautiful home in Umacal, Puerto Rico. Uh, we uh we got to really experience the place by by staying with with your folks, and uh and you carted us around, drove like a maniac, and cursed a lot in Spanish. But hey, got us where we were going every single time, right?

SPEAKER_00 10:43

I'm sure there was a lot of prayers being said as I was driving, but as you can see, and also I'm gonna tell you a little story of what happened afterwards. Uh, as you can see, you kind of have to drive with a little bit of crazy in you in Puerto Rico. Yeah, um, it's just it because if not, brother, you're about to be in for a world of hurting, right? Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 11:02

If you drive, if you drive defensively, you're gonna cause an accident.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

100%, yeah, which we did see a bunch of those.

SPEAKER_01 11:09

We we got held up by some accidents on our way to and from San Juan from Umacao, correct.

SPEAKER_00 11:15

And so I had a co-worker of mine who was there after uh after we uh we had left, and he said, Um, he's an American uh person. He goes, I don't understand how you guys drive down here. It's and I'm like, uh yeah. He goes like you gotta drive with a little bit of crazy in you. He was like, Yeah, I figure that out.

SPEAKER_01 11:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:38

So, yep.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

Well, it was true, and we saw it, but it was one of those things where I was just like, I I knew we were in good hands, and I was just like, Let me just uh just sit back and enjoy the ride. And I was like, I'd rather have Ed getting me there fast so that we could, you know, get to the baseball game three hours early. Because guess that there was a ton of stuff to do before the bicep.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

My god, did we do a lot?

SPEAKER_01 12:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

Well, we didn't also didn't count on the fact that that we would have an hour, was it an hour rain delay?

SPEAKER_01 12:07

We had an hour rain delay at the beginning of the game, which I don't know. Like, I mean, your seven-year-old daughter was there, right? Like, so you probably were feeling more stressed than than than anyone else was, but she was hanging in there fine. We were under an overhang thanks to my expert ticket buying, and uh and you know, I don't know, it gave us a chance to explore the concessions. Uh, we did go uh knock on the press box door to see if we could get Tyler Maughn out, but he was you know broadcasting a baseball busy guy. Whatever, bro. He's the best guy, he's such a kind guy.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

And uh shout out to him. He did a great job calling.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Holy smokes, he's so good, isn't he? Isn't he just so good? I actually was saying that today as we were watching games today. I missed Tyler Maughn's call on these games. I felt like these these, you know, these other guys calling these games weren't as good.

SPEAKER_00 13:01

I'm not gonna lie. The play-by-play caller for the uh Italy-Puerto Rico game was starting to piss me off. And it was just sort of dry, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:12

Like it felt like I'm like, come on, bro.

SPEAKER_00 13:15

I wanted I wanted Tyler's energy, and there was no energy, and the way I don't know. Listen, I got a little bit defensive also. Okay, the way that he was pronunciating uh Puerto Rico or like Puerto Rico. I'm like, oh my god, come on, bro. I get it, I get it. Don't get me wrong, I understand. Right, but at least say Puerto Rico, right?

SPEAKER_01 13:35

Yeah, oh okay, I see. You you felt like he was sort of he was he was making an effort, but not far enough, or should it just left it Americanized?

SPEAKER_00 13:43

Just left it Americanized, just literally, I see.

SPEAKER_01 13:46

But then on that uh on the walk-off home run, he said, incredible.

Rain Delay Eats And Great Broadcasting

SPEAKER_00 13:50

That was good. I'll give him that. Yes, I'll give him that. And so um, but anyway, so listen, it we we're here to talk about our experience, right? Like our experience there, the games, the WBC, because we were what we discussed is that we were gonna do kind of like a uh part one, part two kind of kind of deal, not really, but like talking about our experiences about the WBC, right? So I said, hey, let's talk about the games themselves with on my episode, right? You know, the pool play, uh, quarterfinals. Let's talk about that on your episode. We're gonna do a little bit of a different conversation at that point. Exactly, exactly.

SPEAKER_01 14:30

Yeah, well, I will, you know, I mean, the the the cool thing for me is, and I this is really, I think, the first time that this has happened to me with the World Baseball Classic, where it has become kind of appointment viewing, right? Like I I have reached a point where like, oh, what time are the games on? I recorded a game. Uh Amy and I had a uh a pre-planned event uh uh that conflicted with one of the games. I recorded the game so that we could watch it later that night. Okay. And I you know, I've never done that with the World Baseball Classic. So it was I found myself checking the pool uh play standings, right? Like and seeing who had to do what to advance.

SPEAKER_00 15:08

And it's crazy, right?

SPEAKER_01 15:10

Yeah, and then seeing teams that you wouldn't expect, like I would have lost a month uh a lot of money betting that Team Canada was gonna win, was gonna win pool A, right?

SPEAKER_00 15:21

Yeah, I thought that for sure it was not gonna be um that Canada was gonna be left out. I had you know, I was making predictions and everything. I was like, it was gonna be Puerto Rico, uh and then we had it was a Columbia, Puerto Rico, yeah, uh it was Canada, then we all who what were the other teams?

SPEAKER_01 15:40

And I'm like I'm losing so we had we had Puerto Rico, Colombia, Columbia, Canada, Canada, um sorry, uh the Panama. Panama. The game we saw was Panama, Canada, correct? Yeah, uh, did we get all five teams there? Nope. We're missing one. Okay, sorry. Panama, Canada, yep, Colombia, uh-huh, Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico, of course.

SPEAKER_00 16:05

Yep. And I know we're missing somebody. I know it's gonna be like Brazil? No, Brazil was not on our on our uh what oh yeah, there's a double right there. Let's go. My Austin Wells. There he is, man. Look at him. Cuba. Duh. Because that was my number two team. I had Cuba moving on.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

And we saw right, I I think Puerto Rico and Cuba, right?

SPEAKER_00 16:33

Like the Yeah, we had both I you know, flip-flop the the position, but I had it was Puerto Rico, Cuba that were gonna be for me that were gonna advance. Never in my dreams that I had Canada advancing, right?

SPEAKER_01 16:43

Right. I mean, it's been a weird WBC with that in mind, right? Like who had Italy in the quarterfinals, right? I mean, that's insane, even if it's all American players. Uh, you know, that and that's a question I have for you. Uh, you know, we're talking about the games here. Do we at some point need to adjust the rules about who can play for which team? And I think right now that the rules are if your grandparents were born in the country, you could play for that team.

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Correct.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

So, like the fact that Italy, you know, a lot of these guys, I mean, a lot of them, it's funny. It's like, you know, they were showing during the games, they're like, oh, this guy went to Italy when he was 16 on a high school trip.

SPEAKER_00 17:24

Like, wow. See, that that right, see, I agree. I think there has to be an adjustment. I'm I'm not disagreeing with that. I I think so. I think there needs to be an adjustment to that, right? Because but I understand what they're doing at the same time. I think eventually they will change the rules, right? But I think they're trying to um they're trying to get a lot more eyes, yeah, on on the WBC, which by the way, has been an absolute success, in my opinion. Yeah, absolute success. And someone who's from Puerto Rico, who sold Puerto Rico lose to Team Italy, I still say it has been an absolute success. There has been some controversies going on, right? Um, but at the same time, I think it's been it's been everything that is that is all you know it was supposed to be, right?

SPEAKER_01 18:14

That and more, and like you said, we're gonna, you know, we'll we'll talk about we'll do you know, we'll talk about different things on each of our respective podcasts. But I do want to mention when we were in San Juan, every third person was wearing was wearing gear. Oh, there's a hit. Yep. This is gonna tie up the game. Oh no, he didn't run.

SPEAKER_00 18:32

Oh, he oh my god, he hesitated.

SPEAKER_01 18:35

He hesitated, he would have been safe. Now it's first and third.

SPEAKER_00 18:38

Oh my god, because the ploy the throw was so off.

SPEAKER_01 18:41

Yeah, that throw was way up the line there. Wow. So anyway, uh, yeah, that's um, you know, I I I just I think that uh oh I was talking about in Puerto Rico. The island was just buzzing, like everywhere we went, and I'll tell you what I did not expect the first night we were there. Went to a sports bar. Uh like I wasn't I didn't know there was gonna be a sports bar where we could get all that awesome fried food and and uh and uh and watch the game on TV. Like, how much fun was that?

SPEAKER_00 19:13

But like I felt like the whole place was just just absolutely buzzing with uh so you know and I think I can you Julio Rodriguez put this best, and and uh there's good there was there were some some some issues being taken for by some people. He says that you know he was he they put the question to him is would you rather win a World Series or win a championship for your country? And he right away said, Listen, I love the Mariners and I will play hard for the Mariners, yeah. But when you when it's my country, it's my country, and it was in uh it was in full display down in Puerto Rico, like the pride from the Colombians, the Panamanians, the Canadians. We saw so many Canadians and we talked to so many Canadians we're down there, right?

Pool Play Chaos And Surprise Teams

SPEAKER_01 19:59

We when we went to El Moro and the uh the Canadians were uh we ran into like that big group of Canadians with their with their team Canada hats on, and like I I had to go talk to them because I thought that was funny. And then uh there those two women caught us. We caught up to them later on. They were like, was that the Olympic like curling team or something? Like, who was that? I was like, no, it was just like some rando dudes wearing Canada hats, and I thought it was fun to talk to them.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

Which you know what? Good for them, right?

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Yeah, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 20:34

Um show pride in um it is it was so electric, like you were just saying, like it was super electric. There goes Tati striking out. Um, right, it was very electric from the from the moment that heck from the moment that the you know Darla and I and and we touched down, yeah. It you could tell like all over the airport, uh, from the airport to like every single shop was full of Puerto Rico gear.

SPEAKER_01 21:02

You were so enthused by the atmosphere there that you thought, let me drive to and from the San Juan airport twice, twice call on consecutive days.

SPEAKER_00 21:14

I totally screwed that up, by the way. It was totally screwed up by me. I I picked you up a day early.

SPEAKER_01 21:23

You tried, it was it was very funny. It was the the the text came in. Have you landed? I'm literally sitting on my sofa in my pajamas drinking coffee, and I'm like, Oh, but you know what?

SPEAKER_00 21:38

Fear not, because we still went to all 10 one that day. We did a little bit of shopping, we walked around, showed Mia because it was Mia's first time, yeah, uh in Puerto Rico ever. And it was my first time in 10 years since I've been home.

SPEAKER_01 21:53

I was I was honored to be part of that.

SPEAKER_00 21:55

Uh, you know, we we we did the tour stuff, man. We did everything. And so uh but we ate so much Puerto Rican food, it was insanity. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 22:06

So I think everyone's talking about the surprising, what do you call it? The surprising positive results, right? Like, and I think you know, Italy obviously is that Canada winning the pool A was that. But when you think about what are the like what are the like the shocking, you know, what were the shocking sort of like poor results that we saw? Um Mexico, Mexico not making it out of pool play. Um Panama was one and three. I would have thought Panama would have done better than than one and three, right? Like that was uh they finished last in in pool A there. So now they have to re-qualify.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

Yeah, right. Right, like that's the rule, right? Like if you finish last in your pool, you have to re-qualify for next year. Yeah, yeah, you know, and so baby.

SPEAKER_01 22:59

Yeah, it's uh that was that was surprising. Uh one of these days, we're gonna see Australia get out of their pool. Um, they finished higher. Yeah, they're really close, and there's a lot of baseball coming out of Australia. I mean, look, you had your episode recently about the the devil dogs with a Z collegiate summer level team in the close coastal playing league. Yep. You know, there's there's a lot of baseball in uh and even Tyler Mond's broadcast partner, Ryan, right? Like he's a uh uh he's Australian, so so I think we're gonna see Australia get out of uh get out of uh pool play at some point. And I don't know if this was surprising or not, but uh in pool D, the Netherlands went one and three.

SPEAKER_00 23:41

And I you know, I I did not see that coming. I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

I want I want Hunkball to exceed here, succeed.

SPEAKER_00 23:49

And so those were you know, Cuba not making it, right? I mean, that was because Cuba's always gotten so many like great baseball players, right? Yeah, so many, like obviously they're all homegrown because like you know, you right, you know, because of other things, right? But right, like there's so many good players in Cuba that you're like, man.

SPEAKER_01 24:09

Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you, just even watching this game right now, and we just went, uh, we just they did the US just got out of a jam there, another jam.

SPEAKER_00 24:18

Uh strikeouts, back to back strikeouts to end the game.

SPEAKER_01 24:21

Dominican couldn't take advantage of first and third, one out and couldn't tie the game. Uh, but holy smokes, the Dominican fans are insane.

SPEAKER_00 24:30

Like, holy smokes. They were talking about it, it was 70-30. I think it's closer to 80-20 at Lone Depot Park right now.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

Yeah, I mean, it for real feels like a home game for the DR right now. I mean, they're the home team, but yeah, that is uh that is pretty, pretty incredible right now.

SPEAKER_00 24:45

What's what's happening with uh with I'll say this about the Dominican team right now. They have made a couple of mental mistakes that are costing them some runs.

SPEAKER_01 24:55

I'll tell you what, I I thought for sure they had tied up the game and they uh they held it third base there. That's two base runners that uh that should have scored. Got spooked. So um, yeah, but then the other one, I mean, we already mentioned it was that uh Cuba didn't make it out of pool A.

SPEAKER_00 25:13

That was uh that I you know I was expecting Mexico because Mexico has been on this upward trend, yeah. Um, of like just so many great players that have been coming out of Mexico lately, right? And Mexico playing really good ball, like you know, in the Caribbean series, they got like they got an amazing league in Mexico, and so you're like, all right, so Mexico's going to be able to, you know, uh at the very least, it'll be Mexico United States are gonna advance. Yeah, and for them to all they needed to do was win, and they were in, yeah, right? Uh at the very end, yeah, and just came up short and against Italy, right?

SPEAKER_01 25:50

Right, against Italy. That was that last game that got the US in.

SPEAKER_00 25:54

That I think four more runs.

SPEAKER_01 25:56

Yeah, yeah. I was sure that uh that Mexico was gonna win that game four to three, and that that the uh Mexico and Italy would advance out of that pool. Uh that is uh yeah, that that would have been sadly to say it would have been kind of hilarious if if that had happened. Um but uh I feel like the um the pool that they play in Asia, uh which almost always has Japan and Korea and Australia and Chinese Taipei, and then one other team this year was Chechia. But um, you know, they like uh one of the things that Australia is sort of up against is like having to advance against Korea and Japan. And I feel like those are two countries with really entrenched baseball cultures.

SPEAKER_00 26:40

Oh, 100% agree.

SPEAKER_01 26:41

Yeah, so I don't know. I don't know how it's a little bit like being uh, I don't know, like the Arizona Diamondbacks right now, right? Like in the NL West with like the Dodgers and the Padres and the Giants all you know being so good, and and you know, how are you ever gonna advance out of that division?

SPEAKER_00 26:56

Yeah, I I agree. That's the thing, like they you could tell there was definitely some pools that were just like the that was just like a jogger not of a of a pool. The pool of death. Yeah. Which one was the which one do you think was the toughest out of all the pools? Oof.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Oh man, that's a that's a really good question. I mean, I I almost thought pool A might have been uh the one that we got to see with Puerto Rico, Canada, and Cuba in it. Right. Um you know, I'll tell you, pool B with Italy, you know, being as good as they were, like it didn't look like that was one of the best pools right away. Uh, but then seeing how good they turned out to be, you know, Italy and US and Mexico and and pool D there. Um but I don't know. I mean it's uh at the pool D was top heavy, right? Like pool D had the the the DR in Venezuela, right? And then you know Israel and the Netherlands and Nicaragua weren't really factors in it. So that pool D would have been the toughest one to come out of just because it had those two juggernauts in it.

SPEAKER_00 29:59

I was a little disappointed uh to see that Nicaroa did not couldn't even get a single win.

SPEAKER_01 30:05

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 30:07

You know, and that's a dusty that was a Dusty Baker coached uh team.

SPEAKER_01 30:12

That's right, that's right. It was his last ever coaching here. Um let me ask you a question here. We're talking uh obviously we're we're following this uh uh Dominican uh uh the the DR versus the US here right now in the one semifinal. Does does Italy's Cinderella run come to an end tomorrow? Do they finally lose their first game in the in the world baseball classic against Venezuela? That'll be this this I assume drops tomorrow morning. Uh we're reporting on Sunday, so that this will drop before that game gets played. Um that's tough, dude.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

I know it is tough. They've been they've been the Centerella team, right?

SPEAKER_01 30:53

I know it's I mean that's the thing is it's like it's so easy to pick against them, it's so easy to be like, okay, now is when they go down, right?

SPEAKER_00 30:59

Like right, and you're like, yep, this is it. They're gonna run there. That's it, they're done. Yeah, but then you're like, no, you know what I mean. I for sure thought that Puerto Rico was gonna have a shot, they which they did at the very end, right? I mean, again, also Puerto Rico, they were not up to par when it comes to like they were missing some players, so let's be honest, yeah, yeah, um, that could have handled um the load and and then would have been able to get them some some extra runs, some extra hits at the very least, right?

SPEAKER_01 31:25

The stupid insurance stuff, man. I mean, that's right.

SPEAKER_00 31:27

Yeah, I I just don't understand. I'll never understand. I think there was some some foul play with that, so I'm not even gonna go into it. Yeah, um, but it is what it is. You play with the players that you got, right? Every every team had to play with the players you got. It's just I think it was a little bit unfair that only uh that only Puerto Rico and Venezuela had to deal with the insurance issues.

SPEAKER_01 31:48

Yeah. Yeah, it was very it was very strange. I had never heard of that before. Like that was that's just sort of an odd an odd thing. Um uh I I'll tell you something that I really that I really enjoyed was and again, this is a little weird that Austin Wells is playing for the Dominican, right? But like yeah, uh in uh in their quarterfinal game against Korea, they uh they there there are not many circumstances where you can hit a walk-off home run in a 10-0 game, but they they walked by by mercy rule in Korea in the in the seventh inning, and it was the very first pitch. Yes, yeah, on that at bat anyway, because it was a three-run homer, yeah. That put them up 10-0 in the bottom of the seventh, and that was it.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

That was the all right, but I'll see you guys later. Bye. Yeah, yeah, that was Austin Wells who uh shout out to Korea, like they're being like a very good sport, yeah. Right, like I mean, I I appreciated the salute and everything at the end of the game. Um, and that was that was cool to see. I appreciated that a lot. Yeah, um, yeah, they've always you know Korea and Japan, they always got mad respect for uh the game and the fans.

SPEAKER_01 33:00

So yeah, um, that was a very cool moment. That was that was really cool to see. Um the other uh the other thing, that's gonna be a double play here. US is uh running themselves out of a rally. Yep. Um the uh and that that game actually that you're talking about right there was a super odd box score. I don't know if you saw this, but it was the end of of pool play. It was Japan's uh last pool play game. Japan, by the way, had a couple of my Han Shin Tigers on it, had uh Sato and Morish Ta, who were both Han Shin Tigers, who uh I got to see when I was over there.

SPEAKER_00 33:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

But um would you been to Japan? Uh Ed, we should do an episode about that sometime. I have been to Japan, it was a ton of fun. Uh international baseball is the best, as we as we both know. Hey, maybe that's the next trip that we take with you and Darla and Mia and Amy. I'm okay with that. There you go. That sounds pretty good. But this was Japan, Chechia was nothing nothing after seven and a half innings, and then Japan scored nine runs in the eighth inning, and they won nine to nothing. Like I saw I saw the final score. I was like, Oh, nine-nothing, Japan beat Chechia, no big deal. And then I saw that all nine runs were scored in one inning.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

I was just like, Oh no, did they get so they got mercy rule too? Or no? Because it wasn't a full ten, it wasn't full ten, it wasn't full ten. Right, right, right. Holly. Um, okay, so in your opinion, yeah, getting back to finishing this question up here. Oh sorry. Uh, we got pool A, pool B, pool C, pool D, right? Yeah, San Juan, Houston, Tokyo, and Miami.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 34:39

I cannot give pole B a the toughest, the toughest one.

SPEAKER_01 34:45

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 34:45

I am going to agree with you here. You know, I'm gonna give pool D, Miami, the toughest one. Pool D, Miami, you say American Republic, Venezuela, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Israel. Yeah, yeah, Israel, 2-2.

SPEAKER_01 35:01

Yeah, right, and they had a great team. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. No, I I it's it's hard to argue with you on that, right? Like, I mean, and it just depends on you know, top to bottom.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Uh you know, although I would say this San Juan one, the San Juan team, uh uh pool was also a very tough one. I mean, you have two teams that were three and one, Cuba two and two, and then um you have both Colombia and Panama at one and three, right? So that's that was also a very tough one. Like, I mean, that's a those are Puerto Rico's a good team, Cuba's a good team. Did not expect Canada to be that good.

SPEAKER_01 35:37

Anyway, I was expecting a little bit more from Colombia and Panama, but not much, just because you know I that what that's what I think is like if you're gonna if you were to if you told me that you were gonna pick a team at random from any one of these pools, I would choose pool A because I feel like pool A did not have a single team that was just like a total like cakewalk, right? Like, no, no, you're right. Um, but it also didn't have any of the dominant teams, you know, it didn't Dominican Republic, Venezuela, USA, Mexico, Japan, Korea. Right, right, right, right, right, right, right. Um, what do we make of of Japan here going going out in the in the quarterfinals, right? Like that was that was unexpected.

SPEAKER_00 36:21

Yes, because it's such a you were expecting them to be headed to the championship, right?

SPEAKER_01 36:26

They were up 5-2 in the fifth inning. When Morisha hit that home run and they were up 5-2 in the in the fifth inning. I was like, oh, Japan's safe, they're fine, they're good, no issues. Japan versus Venezuela in the next round's gonna be great.

SPEAKER_00 36:39

Yeah, and did not see that. Nope, nope, nope, uh, I did not see that. And then, well, here's the thing though. Yeah, uh, you were not gonna see a USA Japan in any of the semifinals.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

No, that's right, and that's the funny thing because the way the bracket works, everyone's saying, Oh, well, it's rigged to get US versus Japan in the in the finals, that only works if both teams are the top seed, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:06

Because where you end up in the bracket, uh, you know ended up being by just the way that they that they played, yeah.

Brackets Host Cities And Global Growth

SPEAKER_01 37:13

Because they've got one team from each pool on both sides of the bracket for the quarterfinals. So yeah, and I didn't realize that. I think that that's clever, I think that that really mixes it up. Um, now if we're making it the world baseball classic, okay. One of the things that bugs me a little bit, and I realize that there are logistical things in play here, but I would love for like one of the quarterfinals to be played in Japan, right?

SPEAKER_00 37:40

Or uh in another country.

SPEAKER_01 37:43

It play it in another country, right? Like, you know, play it in in Puerto Rico. I mean, that would have been so cool to have Iram Beathorn Stadium host, you know, a bigger, more important round. You know, I I know that the major league baseball stadiums are uh, you know, they're they've got the the bigger capacities, and you know, they they they they're playing both of these in domed stadiums. I'm sure that's a factor, right? Like so uh, you know, I and and like Miami is pretty centrally located to folks coming from a lot of Latin America.

SPEAKER_00 38:15

Centrally located from exactly. We're just gonna say not from US, you know, we gotta stop thinking about it that way, right? But like I think of it globally, right? Like everybody's gonna meet at a uh sometime somewhat of a central location, Miami would have been a good place. Even Houston.

SPEAKER_01 38:30

But one of these days, I mean, if they if if if if it's really gonna be global, I would like to see it be more like the World Cup or the Olympics, where it actually rotates around the world, right?

SPEAKER_00 38:39

Like, and you have it have have one of the quarterfinals be like you know, let's say that it's gonna be one of these champions in the Dominican Republic or Venezuela, or right, right. You know, hey, listen, you guys get to hold a host a pool play now because yeah, you got your team won. You know what I'm saying?

SPEAKER_01 38:58

Yeah, I mean, we saw that we saw what the vibe could be like at Erin B Thorne Stadium in Puerto Rico. It's it's a winner baseball league stadium, right? Like it's not a major league stadium, and and it hosted it, you know, holds 19,000, 20,000, right? Something like that. And the fact that it could host that many people and create that vibe was just awesome, right? Like it was so much fun to to be there and be part of that. I think that that would make for an amazing final in the world baseball classic. And so I, you know, I know people laugh about the idea of like we play the World Series and it's just you know, the 29 American teams and one Canadian team in Major League Baseball. But it's you know, I I I the fact that both quarterfinal sites are in America feels like something that could be shifted up. And I'm sure it has something to do with the fact, too, that some of these players are coming and going from spring training and that sort of thing.

SPEAKER_00 39:58

But it's uh yeah, well, so is Japan and so is Korea. You know, like I mean, I we I I think that's all my argument is like, okay, listen, I get it that you guys are in in spring training. Congratulations, but like there's a lot of other players from other parts of the country the world that you know are making sacrifices as well.

SPEAKER_01 40:16

Yeah. Well, to that end, let me ask you this question.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 40:22

Is, and I know this is you know, we're not gonna be the first people to discuss this. Is spring training? Is March the best time to do this? Could we be doing this, you know, like the I think the NHL takes a break in the middle of their season for so the uh so the soccer as well?

SPEAKER_00 40:38

They take away the soccer does that.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

Could we have could we have a a two three-week break for the world baseball classic in the middle of the major league season every three years or something?

SPEAKER_00 40:49

So I don't have a problem with that.

SPEAKER_01 40:51

Yeah, I know. I would actually kind of love it. It's even you know, like the NBA does that goofy thing, the what's that, the tournament that they do, yeah, the in-season tournament? Yeah, you know, it would almost feel like that, right? But like, yeah, I you know, how cool would it be to see these players get you know three weeks to do this tournament right, play it in different parts of the the world, and you know, be in mid-season form when it happens.

SPEAKER_00 41:19

And don't do it, don't do an all-star game that year.

SPEAKER_01 41:21

Don't like, yeah, it could be it could be the maybe the championship game goes to the city that would have had the all-star game or something like that. You because you know it's gonna be a major league baseball all-star game anyway, right? Like, I mean correct. The the championship of the world baseball classic is gonna have a lot of major league baseball all-stars. Correct.

SPEAKER_00 41:38

So, so I don't know. Uh I I I think in season, middle of the year, middle of the summer tournament would be absolutely wonderful. Yeah, like because I've been racking my brand for such a long time about this, right? Because you can't do it post um bit World Series, right? Right, no, you can't, it's just not gonna happen. No, no. Um, and so I understand why they're doing it during spring training. A lot of people, uh, you know, sticking away from spring training. Nobody watches spring training, you know, unless you're a die har fan, unless you're there watching it, like no one's watching it, right?

SPEAKER_01 42:13

It's certainly not creating this kind of atmosphere, right? It's uh not at all, it's a novelty, it's fun. I mean, there may be no one in the world who loves spring training more than I do, but you go for the vibes, you go for you know, sitting on the berm and you know, enjoying the sunshine and yeah, watching double-A players play against each other, right?

SPEAKER_00 42:32

Like, because they as soon as you see like the first couple of innings, is you got major leaguers, and then after that, that is it is all minor leaguers.

SPEAKER_01 42:39

That's all it is. That's when you go get yourself a souvenir plastic cup and an ice cream helmet.

SPEAKER_00 42:46

That's when you start walking around the concourse and you got check out the concourse.

SPEAKER_01 42:50

Yeah, by the way, we're going to the ninth, it's still 2-1 US. I know it's wild.

SPEAKER_00 42:57

Yeah, shocking. Um, I am hoping while what we are doing this podcast, that there is a walk-off win by the Dominican Republic. I would love to see that.

SPEAKER_01 43:08

It would be fun to have a dramatic moment, and then we would get to see. Like, I'm I'm pretty sure that there's a lag for me on my because I'm no, you're ahead of me. Oh, am I? Oh you're ahead of me.

SPEAKER_00 43:18

I haven't said anything, you know, but you're ahead of me.

SPEAKER_01 43:20

I will I will try to uh no no no no no no that's fine.

SPEAKER_00 43:24

You gotta keep it the way it is. Don't don't no keep it the way it is.

SPEAKER_01 43:27

All right, all right, all right.

SPEAKER_00 43:30

No, no, no, you can't be doing that.

SPEAKER_01 43:32

So the world baseball classic is doing great, the ratings are great, the vibe is great, fans are having so much fun, yes, and we're here trying to fix it, right?

SPEAKER_00 43:39

Like, so it's uh no, I don't think it's fixing it. I think it's just there there could be some tweaking, let's be honest about that. Um, yeah, yeah. Um, we did talk about the the like, you know, like how far do you have to go back to determine you know if you can play for a certain country, right? Like um with Austin Wells, like that's the perfect example. I was like, what? He's like, Well, his mom is Dominican. On his mom's side, they're all Dominicans, yeah, right. So that's an that's ex that's okay, that's excused, right? I was like, Yeah, go ahead and play for them. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 44:10

Well, let me ask you this, because I think this affects you directly. You were uh if I recall, you were you lived in Puerto Rico till you were like 11, like 10 or 12?

SPEAKER_02 44:20

Okay, yep.

SPEAKER_01 44:20

Uh, and you know, then you were in Ohio and now you're in North Carolina. Um, but uh, you know, you obviously are fiercely proud of Puerto Rico, yes sir, and uh that showed during our trip uh 100%, and that was really fun to see. I have been to the island of Puerto Rico more times than Nolan Arenado has. And Nolan Arenado was Puerto Rico's starting third baseman, and I was not. And I I feel like maybe I could have done a little better job than Nolan Arenado did during the road baseball classes.

SPEAKER_00 44:56

He could not catch a cold, you know what I mean? He couldn't hit water if if you know if he fell out of like out of a boat. It was insanity.

SPEAKER_01 45:04

But my question for you is as someone who was fiercely proud of Puerto Rico, seeing Nolan Arenado, who played for Team USA three years ago and was now playing for Team Puerto Rico, how you know how what did that engender in you? Was that were you like, hey, we're glad to have you on board? Uh we know that his mother was Puerto Rican, so it's Puerto Rican. Yeah, yeah. Uh or or did it feel funny?

SPEAKER_00 45:31

No, it didn't feel funny. I kind of wanted to kick him off because he couldn't hit anything. Uh, but that was just because of that. You know what I mean? Yeah. That was the only reason I'm like, my bro, you can't. I mean, oh, he did make some great defensive plays. So, I mean, that's that's uh what he's so much fun to watch as a defensive player.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

My goodness. I was I was very lucky to get to see him in uh as a Rocky for many years.

SPEAKER_00 45:52

Yeah. So I honestly I don't have an issue. Well, like just like I don't have an issue with Austin Wells, um Because you know, like their direct parents right there, like are of that nationality, right? So I'm okay with that.

SPEAKER_01 46:07

Right.

unknown 46:08

Right.

SPEAKER_00 46:08

You know what I mean? Okay. Um Tim Italy.

SPEAKER_01 46:12

I would not be eligible. Sorry, you go. Go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 46:15

It's Tim Italy. The majority of them, in my opinion, I got an issue.

SPEAKER_01 46:21

Yeah. Yeah. The Capudos came over three generations ago, not two generations or ago. So I was not eligible to play. They called me and I was just like, sorry, guys. Uh it was my great-grandparents, not my grandparents, and they were like, dang.

SPEAKER_00 46:36

Nope. Yeah, sorry, can't play for them.

SPEAKER_01 46:38

Yeah, they wanted me to play shortstop. I was gonna be shortstop for the Italians.

SPEAKER_00 46:41

Got it. Couldn't well, I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_01 46:43

Yeah, maybe next year.

SPEAKER_00 46:44

Maybe well that's in four years.

SPEAKER_01 46:47

Okay. Oh, and that's the other question about the world baseball classic. Three years, four years? What is it? I don't even know what it is right now. It's four years, it's four years ago. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 46:58

Okay, it's going back to four years. It was it was um three years, uh the previous one, yeah. Three years ago. Um, but that was like kind of like a catch-up post-COVID. Yeah, you know what I'm saying? I didn't know and then now we're back to you know 2026. Now it's gonna be four years from uh from uh from now. Okay, all right.

SPEAKER_01 47:21

Yeah, I I actually didn't did not know the answer of that. That feels like a long time to wait, right? Like you wanna have these same players are still gonna be playing then. Maybe the rules will have changed and I can play for Team Italy. Well, you know, I'd be like, Team Italy, how would you like a 56-year-old podcaster?

SPEAKER_00 47:42

Is I'm trying to see because like I I you know, like I want to see when is the next WBC.

SPEAKER_02 47:47

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 47:48

Uh, you know. Yeah, though the World Wisconsin was generally a four-year, but it's just COVID shifted it, making a three-year gap, and the frequency of going forward is expected to align to the new collective bargain agreement, often being every three to four years.

SPEAKER_01 48:05

Okay, oh so it's still not clear.

SPEAKER_00 48:09

No one knows.

SPEAKER_01 48:11

Nobody knows.

SPEAKER_00 48:14

So the question is I think that in during the championship, it's gonna be announced when the next one is gonna be.

SPEAKER_01 48:20

Okay, all right, in my opinion, and then the question is where how far out do we start planning our trip?

SPEAKER_00 48:29

Right, 100%. Like, we're we gotta we were we did this so so quickly, yeah. You know what I mean? So easily that we're like, all right, hey, do you want to go? Like, yes, let's go.

SPEAKER_01 48:39

It genuinely was like I would I I need to go back and like get screen grab the the text thread because it was like I texted you, hey, we're thinking of going to Puerto Rico for the world baseball classic, and you were like, hang on, and then five minutes later you said, We're in. And I I genuinely like we were only planning on staying like two, three nights, and you were like, No, no, no, come stay at my parents' place, and my mom is gonna make you guys coffee every morning, and and you were gonna go out and get granitos, which were so delicious, which is a specific delicacy for my specific hometown.

SPEAKER_00 49:15

That is it, it doesn't, it's not sold anywhere else.

SPEAKER_01 49:17

So it's not like I'm like throwing that out there, and all the Spanish speakers are like, uh, first of all, Paul's doing a great job rolling his ours.

SPEAKER_00 49:23

Which you did a great job, you're doing a great job, by the way. Yes. However, uh, granitos is only specific to the town of Umacao, where I was born, and is only sold there.

SPEAKER_01 49:34

Well, it was uh they they were delicious. I had no idea that they were that specific a delicacy, uh uh, you know, to uh the to that location. Uh Byron Buxton, by the way, is oh for six in this game. Am I seeing that right? Like you are right. That is wild. How how did he get six at bats in a game that had uh that is two to one in the ninth inning? Maybe he's oh for six in the whole world.

SPEAKER_00 49:58

Yeah, the whole the whole uh class that must be it.

SPEAKER_01 50:00

He can't possibly have six.

SPEAKER_00 50:02

He's he's been mostly a bench player, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:04

Okay, that's what it is. All right, that makes a lot more sense. Um, but uh all right, so you're okay with with Nolan Arenado representing team Portugal. I don't have an issue, honestly.

SPEAKER_00 50:15

Like if me personally, I would say if your parents are from that country, then we're good. I think that should be as far as it goes.

SPEAKER_01 50:25

There was a funny story in like I I want to say it was like the second world baseball classic where uh Shane Victorino was talking about how the Italians called him and asked him if he would play for the Italian team. And he was like, I'm not Italian, and they're like, But your name's Victorino. He's like, sorry, I'm from Hawaii.

SPEAKER_00 50:42

Like, I'm not I'm I'm Hawaii, baby. I'm like, it's he's the flying Hawaiian, not the flying Italian team. If there was gonna be like a uh Samoa or like a Hawaiian team, then yeah, he will probably play.

SPEAKER_01 50:53

Right, right, but no, yeah, that's hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 50:57

That is very hilarious, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 50:59

Like Mike Piazza called him and it was just like, hey, why don't you come play?

SPEAKER_00 51:03

I again, I don't want to take away anything from Team Italy because they've been doing an absolute wonderful job. They've been absolutely wonderful as as we're watching, right?

SPEAKER_01 51:11

They're about to play Team Venezuela tomorrow night, and proving that like white people can have fun too, right? Like they're there with their you know, they're they're doing the like the European cheek kissing thing, and coffee that they're you know, the coffee pots and their some reports out there that Rob Manfred was like trying to like ban the uh the espresso coffee machine.

SPEAKER_00 51:33

And I'm like, come on, guys, y'all, y'all just creating like issues because uh because you want to, you know what I mean? Right.

Let The Players Have Fun

SPEAKER_01 51:41

Well, okay, all right, now let's get into this. We're talking about the play on the field. You you've raised this question, and I think it I think it's important to ask this question of like you know, the world I'm super into the world baseball classic. One of my favorite things about it is just how much fun it is to watch the fans and the players. The bat flip uh was it yesterday? The bat flip that went, you know, like practically off the screen. It went up certainly. Yeah, the Venezuelan home run. Uh that you know, that was yeah, against Japan. Um which ended up being the game winning home run, ended up being the game winner, but they went from you know, seven five. Sorry, they went from five four down to seven five up when that when that happened, and I forget who it was who hit the home run. Um, but like the the watching the fans with their the drumming and the face painting and the singing and the you know, just and not a single incidence of violence, right? Like not a single fight or anything. It's like all these fans are are so you know respectful of one another, just they're enjoying themselves. And you know, and the US got this reputation for being sort of sticklers and you know, Cal Raleigh, you know, not greeting his own. I have a problem with what he did. I want to in both instances with Randy Rosarina and with Josh Naylor on both occasions, right? Like, yeah. Um, so you know, so the the American players have this this there's this sort of rap now that like American baseball is like boring, act like you've been there, don't have fun, so all stick in the mud stuff. Yeah, and it's hard to disagree with it, right? Like it's hard to disagree with like dude the you know with that assessment. So is there a danger that the world baseball classic in a weird way might damage the brand of major league baseball?

SPEAKER_00 53:37

I I don't know if it's I I don't know if I would call it damage, yeah. I would call it a shift in um in thinking and in shift in the way that things are done. Yeah, let's be honest. Like the vast majority of the players that play you know major league baseball are Latino-born players. That's a lot of flair. You know what I mean? And um, and you saw it firsthand, right? Like you experienced it firsthand, like you know, when they're celebrating, when they're yeah, you know, like and you're we're all watching it. We're all watching, you know, the Dominican team like you know, have this flair about them, the Venezuelan team have this flair about them, Italy, right? So, like I think there has to be a change in mentality from Major League Baseball to say, yeah, you're right. I think we need to change some of these rules to allow for this. Just embrace fun. Oh, god, yeah. Yeah, well, what was that one? Go ahead.

SPEAKER_01 54:37

Mason Miller in here bringing the heat right now.

SPEAKER_00 54:39

Yeah, he is 102. 102.

SPEAKER_01 54:42

Wild. It is still two to one. It is now the bottom of the ninth last chance.

SPEAKER_00 54:46

USA might just might just win this game, dude. Like, I mean, good for them. They've done what they needed to do.

SPEAKER_01 54:52

Mason Miller doing out here what he does, trying to get three outs. So yeah, so we'll we'll see. Uh, would okay. Again, this drops. You know, we're recording it, and this drops before the second uh semifinal game.

SPEAKER_02 55:07

Yep, yep.

SPEAKER_01 55:08

How hilarious would a US versus Italy championship game would be? Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 55:14

It would be would be amazing, though. It would be really funny. Would I watch it? I 100% would watch it.

SPEAKER_01 55:19

Oh, I'm gonna watch every world baseball classic game I can, right? Like absolutely, yeah, absolutely. Uh I mean, you know what's funny tonight was I didn't even realize that tonight was the Academy Awards and selection Sunday because I was all psyched for this game, right?

SPEAKER_00 55:37

Didn't even register it in my mind.

SPEAKER_01 55:39

Yeah, I was I was so ready for you know, I I was I was so ready for world baseball classic baseball.

SPEAKER_00 55:48

I listen, I told my my my uh family, I was like, this is what I'm watching tonight. Yeah, y'all can watch whatever you guys want on a tablet or something up, but you got the big TV tonight. I got I got the big TV.

SPEAKER_01 55:59

They had Wicked Part 2 the other night.

SPEAKER_00 56:03

Well, I had it all, I had the game on my iPad.

SPEAKER_01 56:06

Okay, okay, that's right. You had to watch it on the small screen. You got the big screen tonight. I'm watching currently in my basement in the Sunday Helmet Hall of Fame.

SPEAKER_00 56:14

And uh people both recording. I'm watching it in my office, and I have a tablet in front of me watching the game right now. That's good stuff. That's good stuff. I mean, I'm not gonna miss it.

SPEAKER_01 56:23

Yeah, so yeah, if anyone's watching any of these recordings, they can see that I've been staring off to the side.

SPEAKER_00 56:28

He's like staring off to the side, and I'm like staring down.

SPEAKER_01 56:31

I tried to set the computer up so that I could like make it look like I was looking at you.

SPEAKER_00 56:35

It's okay, that's fine. You know, we get it. This is why we decided to record during this during this game. We did.

SPEAKER_01 56:40

We said let's start recording in the in the sixth inning, and it'll probably this the thing is about this game, though, it's been like zooming along, right?

SPEAKER_00 56:46

Like it's been well, we're we we're we're hey, what 54 minutes in already? You and me talking.

Ninth Inning Tension On Air

SPEAKER_01 56:51

Is that right? Have we been talking minutes? Yeah, that's why we had so much fun in Puerto Rico together, is right? Like 54 minutes just went by in a blink. It went like it was just woof done. Yeah, oh and so walk though.

SPEAKER_00 57:02

Oh man, am I calling this? Did I I called a I'm I called a walk off.

SPEAKER_01 57:10

Yo, here we go. I want to see I want to see Julio still second here. I'm gonna see him get into scoring position, right?

SPEAKER_00 57:17

That would be amazing. He got hit too. Like, Jesus Christ. I was like, Oh my god, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 57:21

He looked uh he's down. It's good to see him.

SPEAKER_00 57:24

Uh we got a pinch hitter.

SPEAKER_01 57:25

Here's O'Neal Cruz three for four with two home runs. Wow, oh my goodness. I just got chills a little bit, eh?

SPEAKER_00 57:35

Oh my god. I you know, also by the way, like my uncle, one of my uncles is Dominican, right? Born in the Dominican Republic and all that. So like I am so rooting. Like, there is some rooting, you know, like I I have like family that are Dominican, so like my cousins, I've two cousins that are half Dominican, right?

SPEAKER_01 57:55

So I'm like you could be playing right field for them right now.

SPEAKER_00 57:58

I could. No, I can't because they're not they're not really, you know what I mean? They're um they're my my on my dad's side, my my aunts.

SPEAKER_01 58:06

So uh it's a little bit like the Puerto Rican team had an Edward Rivera, they did, and who is it?

SPEAKER_00 58:12

Um Anna of uh it was like Anna di Chavasa was like, Hey, do you have that Edward Rivera jersey? I'm like, I don't, but that's hilarious. I should get one.

SPEAKER_01 58:22

I think what what I said in response to that still stands. I think I think that Edward Rivera should have a dadhat Chronicles t-shirt.

SPEAKER_00 58:34

That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_01 58:35

I guess Ed Rivera is probably not a super uncommon name, right?

SPEAKER_00 58:39

Like Rivera is a very Rivera in Puerto Rico or in Latin America is a very common name. It's a Smith, like a Smith here, right? My name is Edward, like a lot of people think that is Eduardo, but it's not wild pitch.

SPEAKER_01 58:53

He didn't Julio didn't have to steal wild pitch, tying run on second, Jesus with one out. Oh my god, and O'Neill Cruz, who's three for four, pinch hitting again.

SPEAKER_00 59:10

These teams, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 59:12

How much fun is this? I mean, how much fun is this? And then here's the question how long are you willing to let your podcast go?

SPEAKER_00 59:19

Uh oh, I'm willing to let it go when we get to the end. No, no, no. This is gonna go to the end. Uh I I gotta, I gotta at this point, like I mean, I'll I'll release this uh episode late, but I'm gonna oof Jesus. It just blew one hundred mile an hour behind the cruise.

SPEAKER_01 59:35

Hi, top of the strike zone. Jesus. Yeah. Uh they got we got rally caps in the stands here. Yeah, we do. Yeah. You mentioned that you were drinking a Medaya. I feel like, oh my god, that was almost another wild pitch. Uh we uh you mentioned that you were drinking Medaya. Uh and you know, after you sent us a picture of you drinking Medaya, we looked it up, and it is very much specifically a Puerto Rican beer. It uh, you know, not just a regional thing, but it's specific to Puerto Rico, Puerto Rico. Uh but you can get it in some places in the United States. So we just swung through that.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:13

Total wine.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:14

I was like, Total wine, yeah, in several states. It says it says there's a place in Denver that that we can get it. I'm not sure if that's true, but uh, but we had we had a fair number of medallas when we were when we were and uh it's pretty light beer.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:30

You could stand to drink a fair number of the hell out of that thing, it would just go down so easy.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:37

It was good beer. It really, yeah, it was uh it was nice.

SPEAKER_00 1:00:42

So Darla went to go get that. Okay, you know what I mean? And oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:49

So now we got runner on third. There was a ground out, uh to my god, he almost he almost beat that throw. He did almost beat that throw, yeah. It was because it was a slow grounder, right? Like, but uh, if it hadn't been for that wild pitch, it would have been a uh I still want to see a wild pitch right now. Oh that was so close. Oh my goodness, yeah, just got him. Just got him. Wow. All right, here we go. Just a step. I'll tell you who has impressed me in this. Uh, you know, one of one of the superstars, and who he he's been an all-star, but he's not like one of the big, big names that you see. But Bobby Witt Jr. Dude has has just been, you know, really, really made a name for himself. I mean, he's been a star.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:30

Eric Croft is about to listen to this episode. He's like, I've been telling you guys.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:34

Telling everybody.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:35

He's been an all-star.

SPEAKER_01 1:01:37

I I I mean, he I he always seems to lead the league in in hits, they all seem to be like singles, right? Like, which is fine, right? Like that's I didn't realize what a good defender he is. He's a really he's a great defender, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:49

Yeah, I I know about him because I watch uh obviously Guardians. I'm a Guardians fan, right? So sure, uh you know they're in the same division as as I am, and but my god, yeah. I cannot concentrate because of this damn stupid game.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:02

It's one and one, two outs, runner on third, tying run 90 feet away with two outs. Like, how exciting is oh, he just poured 101 miles an hour right down the pipe. Holy smokes! Jesus, one strike away here.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:18

Listen, if USA wins, they they they deserve the win, man. They win against the powerhouse of Dominican Republic.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:25

Battle of the Titans, uh low scoring, like pitching.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:30

We're both watching away.

SPEAKER_01 1:02:31

We are, we're both just watching baseball. This is great podcasting. Listen to us watch baseball. Oh, right, high and away, high and away, two-and-two. Oh but we experienced a little bit of this in Panama, Canada, right? Like, I mean, that was a great game, it was a 4-3 game. I loved that the ninth inning uh rain delay took like 13 minutes. Yeah, blowing away. How do you take that pitch with the game on the line? My goodness. All right, Jesus. Oh my god, full count count. Full count. My goodness. My heart is pounding right now.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:08

Your heart. Oh, have mercy.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:18

Am I spoiling the surprise here by telling you what's happening? Am I a little bit? I don't know what you're talking about. All right, it's taking a drink. Here we go. Here we go. Here we go. Full count. Doing it again, the payoff pitch.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:36

Oh my god. And you you hear the moment of silence here, right? But it's just like so tense. Not at all.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:43

And the funny thing is, like, everyone listening to this, first of all, God bless you for listening to us watching baseball game.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:49

Right.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:51

But uh, you know, part part two of that is that it's um you know, they know what happened, right? Like I it's always so funny to listen to people watching a game when you know when you already know what happened.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:03

So I'm I think it's great. Just give me a single, just so we can tie a game because I mean this game cannot end up.

A Blown Call And The ABS Fight

SPEAKER_01 1:04:11

No, he rung him up. It was low and he rung him up. Oh that's a ball, and that was absolutely ball four. Oh my goodness. Aegis got called out. Bring me that was ball strike challenge. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:30

No, there's no way you end a game like that. There's no way. That is I just got a text message from a well.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:39

I'm sure that's not gonna fuel any conspiracy theories. A uh the US winning on a bad call by an umpire that can't be challenged.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:49

He got this. Is the text message I just got. Yo, ump, what the fuck?

SPEAKER_01 1:04:54

My phone is blowing up. Ump screwed DR, RoboUMps, please.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:01

The umps just screwed the Dominican Republic.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:04

Oh my goodness, that is brutal. No. I'm sorry, I'm laughing, but no. Unbelievable. I need to see it again.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:16

Yeah, listen, that he is his his his zone has been all over the place today, but that's egregious, dude.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:23

Yeah, that is oh, it's so low. It's oh it's like inches low.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:31

No, that's a ball, dude.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:34

That is that is a tough way to lose a game. That's a that's a terrible way for an awesome game to end, too, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:05:43

Like, that to take it away from the players. That's my problem. Don't take it away from the players. That's not a that's a ball. Everybody knows that's a ball.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:52

I mean, it's not it's not close. You just it's not like it was borderline as like one of these, like, oh, the ABS said that was a quarter inch away.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:01

If it was a borderline, I'm like, listen, I got it. You gotta call it. Donnie Weiss just texted me. Damn, that wasn't a strike.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:07

That was not a strike. Oh no.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:13

Well, unreal. Hey guys, so thank you for uh a friend of mine. The game ending on a blown thirst strike is kind of annoying. They're absolutely right, and these are by the way, these are from people who live here in the US, like American-born people telling me the ump just blew that call. Absolutely right. I can't, I can't, I can't.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:44

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:46

Wow, no ABS or review. That's such a bad yeah, such a bad call. That kind of pissed me off. I'm not gonna lie.

SPEAKER_01 1:06:58

Well, good podcast episode, eh?

SPEAKER_00 1:07:05

And I'm not saying that the USA didn't deserve to win, okay? No, don't get me wrong.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:08

No, no, no, we were saying it the whole way. It was an incredibly patient.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:12

If it was down the middle, dude, you gotta swing, or you know, but that to be called like that, that's right. I disagree with that. I 100% disagree with that.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:21

I am a huge fan of the ball strike challenge system. So do I. In part because I hate seeing players get punished for having better awareness of the strike zone than the umpires do. And that's precisely what just happened. You know, that was that player saw it. It's a ball, didn't swing, umpire made a bad call, game's over.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:49

That is that's a as a fan, I guarantee you, the play would have been like tap tap. Yeah, absolutely. If they reviewed that on the call.

SPEAKER_01 1:07:59

Yeah. So that's the thing. Imagine it gets imagine a game ends. Imagine a game ends on a bad call where you have the ABS, but you know, but you're out of challenges. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:15

I'm I'm gonna be controversial here. Major League Baseball is happy.

SPEAKER_01 1:08:21

This is what I'm saying. I'm saying this is not gonna this is not gonna help the the the conspiracy theories that the you know the world based is trying to usher usher team USA along here. So that uh yeah that that is ridiculous. And so now I'll tell you what, the the least enjoyable matchup here. Well, I don't know, I mean because Team Italy is fun, but just you know Italy just doesn't have the baseball culture. I was rooting for DR versus Venezuela because I just thought that would have been an incredible baseball cultures in Miami, yeah, would have would have been incredible, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:08:58

So so that's uh it's just I wanna yeah, I want to thank everybody who's are still listening to this episode. Oh, because God almighty, what just happened? It was a great game throughout, all the way through, low scoring game. I expected it to be a high scoring game, but you know what? It's a very defensive game, yeah. And and and and the and and for the ump to take the game away from the players, I yeah, I got a problem with that.

SPEAKER_01 1:09:28

That I have a problem with would have been first and third, two outs. Brutal. That's a it's a shame. I mean, it's a shame because now it takes away from what we just experienced as fans, right? Like, is that now it's kind of it's been that yeah, it taints in my mind, it taints the result of that game. Agreed, because we'll never know, we'll never know, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:55

And then when you're gonna go when you go back now, because this is gonna be reviewed, right? Like, we're gonna look at those reviews and and then we're gonna see that like this umpire's like strike zone was all over the place, yeah, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:10:08

Yeah, and that's been true for a lot of the world baseball classic.

SPEAKER_00 1:10:12

Oh my god, yes, yeah, yes, and and anyways, listen, it is what it is. It's you can't do anything about it. Same thing with like, you know, when when Puerto Rico didn't have Correa, they didn't have Lindor, they didn't have Baez, right? We couldn't do anything about it. You had to go with the plot with what you have. It is what it is. I think it's sad that it happened, but you know what? You still have fun, it's still a great series so far, you know. Yeah, there's been some areas of that um I don't agree with, and some areas of controversy, just like just happened now, and we got what we got.

SPEAKER_01 1:10:51

Yep. Look, it's fun, it's baseball, that's part of the experience, and uh, and I'm here for it. And guess what? Oh, you know, I mean, I guess I should be happy. My my nation's team, the nation where I live, just uh advanced championship. But uh it feels it feels hollow, Ed. It feels hollow to win with a winning run 90 feet away on an obviously bad call that cannot be corrected.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:20

And uh it just you know what also bothers me is because I'm a proponent of still keeping the human element, right?

SPEAKER_01 1:11:29

Of um human element is dumb.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:32

You're not, you're all about the robo ump.

SPEAKER_01 1:11:35

I am about justice, Ed. I'm about justice, I am about fairness and the and the correct calls being made. If if they told me we're gonna put in like tennis style, you know, little bleep, we're gonna put tennis style like fair foul lines, you know, that that bleep that light up red or green if it's a ball or a strike, uh, we're installing those. We're gonna do uh we're just gonna do uh the automated ball strikes on every single pitch, and we're just gonna send a signal to the umpire. Uh I would I would say sign me up in an absolute minute. Okay. And I know some people are like, oh, well, that's you know, that's just robots. That like takes the the human element, human element out of it. And I'm like, no, it doesn't. What it does is it emphasizes the human element on the players. Because here's an instance where an umpire who was you know who failed at his job. I'm not gonna say he was bad at his job, but on that play, he failed at his job to that was the final play of this game.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:34

Yeah, I agree.

SPEAKER_01 1:12:35

Okay, and so the human element to me, I want the humans who get to factor in these decisions to be the players on the field, not the umpire.

SPEAKER_00 1:12:43

I you know, and it has been tested in in triple A already, right? Like where you have that robot ump calling the game, and it automatically sends the message to the umpire behind the plate, and the the person the that the umpire then at that point calls it. So bring me Skynet. Yeah, find me up. Um, yeah, I mean, I I am a fan. I I like I like both like a like a 50-50 thing, you know what I mean? Right. Uh uh human uh portion, plus I I've always been a fan of the ABA system. Yeah, so I'm happy that is happening. I think it should bring it, they should have more challenges instead of the limited amount of challenges that they've been given to the players. Um, because honestly, the the batters and the catchers, like they have a really good understanding of what a good strike is and what a ball is, right? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 1:13:35

Yeah, yeah. And so give me give me them, give me that human element.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:41

Yeah, so uh um, you know what? You know, we'll see. Uh, I think in the next WBC they'll have the ABS system challenge. I think it will happen.

SPEAKER_01 1:13:51

Yeah. Hey, I think do you have like a live show starting in like an hour?

Where To Find Us Next

SPEAKER_00 1:13:55

I don't, but I think it's time for us to end this episode. We will you'll probably hear the both of us again um at a later time talk about uh everything else that would happen uh during our time in Puerto Rico. Uh and so Paul, where can people find you?

SPEAKER_01 1:14:12

Well, the podcast that you're talking about, the baseball by design podcast is where people can check that little thing. The uh the we you and I are gonna recount uh elements of our trip that we didn't really talk about uh uh on this. We'll put there'll probably be a little bit of repetition because some of that stuff's just gonna be so much fun to it. Yep. Yep. Uh and then guess what? Ed, I there's a brand new podcast out there, the sportslogos.net podcast. What? I'm co-hosting that with Chris Kreamer, founder of sportslogos.net. So we're having fun there. So baseball by design is still the flagship, it's still the baby. But uh, I'm having fun with this this new adventure with Chris Kreamer with sportslogos.net. Yeah, good for you, man. It's a great time. I love it. I'm enjoying podcasting.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:54

And as for me, obviously, we are on all social medias, right? Uh, we are on Threads, we are on Blue Sky, um, on Instagram, I am also on TikTok and on YouTube. So make sure you guys follow uh the Dana Chronicles podcast on all of those. And uh we will see you guys in the next one.