Bronx Bomber Ball

Now that the World Baseball Classic has ended (USA!), I want to share how the tournament could be even better than it was. The 2017 WBC was the most attended, attracting more than a total of a million fans to the stadiums, but those numbers and TV ratings could skyrocket if the tournament, or at least part of it, was held in the summer. I consider myself a die-hard baseball fan and I found it hard to get into the games until the semifinal rounds and I barely watched the first two rounds.  While I was watching the games and I continuously found myself thinking of ways to improve the tournament.  My solution is the same as the one Joe Girardi talked about recently . He suggested that every four years Major League Baseball should start the regular season a few days earlier and have an extended all-star break that includes the semifinals and finals of the WBC. There would be a ton of advantages for everyone involved if the WBC championship rounds were moved to the middle ...

Cue the World Baseball Classic haters. It seems they may have a case, at least in regards to player injuries. Rising star shortstop Didi Gregorius has just left his team, the Netherlands, to return to the Yankees facility in Tampa, Florida for further testing on a right shoulder injury. When or how he suffered the injury seems to be unknown. The preliminary MRI show "hematoma of the subscapular muscle," a swelling and bruising in a muscle in the lower part of the shoulder blade. I’m no doctor, so naturally I have no idea of the severity of those results, but this is certainly terrible news. No injuries are welcome, but shoulder injuries are extremely alarming, especially when it is the throwing shoulder (which it is). Photo via Getty Images

The second round of the World Baseball Classic got underway this past weekend with teams from the Netherlands and Japan already securing spots in the championship round. The other two remaining spots will be decided by the end of this week, with teams from the United States, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico vying for those two spots. The Yankees have been well represented in this tournament, with six players and two coaches representing their respective countries. With this edition of the WBC just over half over, I’m here with an update on how the Yankees throughout the tournament are doing. Photo Credit: Koji Sasahara/Associated Press

On March 6, baseball will once again embark on its annual failed attempt to create a worldwide tournament for the sport. Unlike the excitement generated by Olympic events, such as the basketball tournament, the World Baseball Classic has always been a bit of a drag. In less than two months, 10 Yankees will suit up for their respective countries, the most prominent being Dellin Betances, Didi Gregorius, Tyler Clippard, and Luis Severino. The risk is simply not worth the reward. Unlike the Olympic games, which invoke a unique sense of patriotism, the WBC has consistently failed to capture worldwide attention. The probability of injury, as the Yankees came to learn the hard way in 2013 at Mark Teixeira's expense, in conjunction with a genuine disinterest displayed by the American public in the event, makes the WBC unworthy of continuance.