How Will the World Baseball Classic Affect Your Favorite Teams

Whether or not you plan on following the World Baseball Classic, it is likely that your favorite team will be affected in Spring Training by this new baseball tournament. Depending on the amount of players from any given Major League team that plan on participating in the World Baseball Classic, this new competition that spans from March 3rd-March 20th could have both positive and negative effects on Spring Training as well as the entire Major League season.

First of all, many people, especially those that live in Florida or Arizona, take trips down to their favorite team’s training camps during March to watch Spring Training. Since many of the largest baseball stars of the Major Leagues will be absent, instead participating in the World Baseball Classic, this may not be the best year to plan a trip to watch you favorite team get ready for the season. Major League stars such as Albert Pujols, Derek Jeter, Andruw Jones, David Ortiz, Ken Griffey Jr., Dontrelle Willis, Carlos Beltran, Moises Alou, and Johnny Damon are all slated to play in the World Baseball Classic for their native countries and thus will be absent from a large majority of Spring Training activities. (For a full list of the country rosters and those Major League players that will be playing in the WBC go to www.worldbaseballclassic.com).
However, Arizona and Florida as well as California will play host to a wide variety of WBC games between March 3rd and March 20th. Check out www.worldbaseballclassic.com for a full schedule and list of venues. Tickets are also on sale through the website. Catching a World Baseball Classic may allow you to watch your favorite players gear up for the Major League season in a more competitive way. Instead of training and exhibition games, players will be playing hard to represent their native countries to the best of their abilities.