Is the World Baseball Classic worth the injury risks? The Cincinnati Reds say yes.
GOODYEAR, Ariz. – The hot takes started as soon as Edwin Díaz was helped off the field after injuring his knee in the celebration of Puerto Rico’s win over the Dominican Republic to advance in the World Baseball Classic.
There were those who called it a “meaningless exhibition.” Former ESPN anchor Keith Olbermann tweeted, “WBC has always been a threat to what actually counts: The season. Kill it.”
Díaz, the older brother of Cincinnati Reds reliever Alexis Díaz, is expected to miss the 2023 season after he underwent surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his right knee. It’s the type of injury that makes teams hesitant to have their players participate in the international showcase.
What do players who participate in the event think of the backlash?
“I disagree with that,” said Reds reliever Ian Gibaut, who pitched for Great Britain. “It’s an awesome tournament. It means a lot to guys, I’m sure to both Díaz brothers. This is the first time they got to play together. I’m sure it meant a ton to them. I’m sure they had been looking forward to this for years. It stinks that it happened.”
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Gibaut was a dual citizen as a kid before his British passport expired. His dad is from Jersey, a small island in the English Channel, and he still has family that lives there. He was excited to pitch in the World Baseball Classic beforehand, but the actual experience “blew my expectations out of the water.”
“Even like a huge big-league game, the atmosphere was still different,” Gibaut said. “I felt like the fans were engaged every single pitch, not just a big moment in the game. By no means was the game I was pitching a sold-out crowd, but it felt like a huge crowd was there because every single person was going crazy. It really was special.”
The World Baseball Classic may not register as much with an American audience, but its popularity has grown across the globe. It averaged 25,275 fans per game in the first round of the tournament, including 36,198 fans per game at the Tokyo Dome in Japan, according to Major League Baseball.
Japan’s game against Korea registered a 44.4 TV rating in Japan, which outrated all sports competitions during the Tokyo Olympics. In Puerto Rico, 62% of all people watching TV tuned into its game against the Dominican Republic.
Five Dominican players were asked by La Vida Baseball if winning the World Baseball Classic or the World Series meant more to them. Four chose the World Baseball Classic and one, 2009 World Series champion Robinson Cano, said it meant the same to him.
“People underestimate what it means to play, coach and represent your country on a world stage,” said Reds assistant pitching coach Alon Leichman, who was the bullpen coach for Team Israel in the 2017 World Baseball Classic and pitched in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. “I think sometimes it gets lost in the shuffle. You go to Asia, and you put Israel across your chest, there is more than just baseball there.
“I think guys – even guys that have never been to Israel and have Jewish heritage – really come back with a sense of belonging to something a little bigger than themselves. You see that in the big leagues, representing Cincinnati, but when it’s your country, it’s just on a whole different level.”
Gibaut loved the diversity of the rosters. Team USA and the Dominican were filled with MLB All-Star players. The Czech Republic roster was filled with players who live in the country and play in the Czech league. Czech pitcher Ondrej Satoria, who works as an electrician in his day job, struck out Shohei Ohtani in their game against each other, and Ohtani asked for his jersey afterward.
Leichman, who declined an offer to join Israel's coaching staff this year because it was his first camp with the Reds, says Czech is a great example to grow a sport in a country because they rely on homegrown players in the international showcase instead of imported players from the United States.
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A 21-year-old pitcher from Nicaragua, Duque Hebbert, struck out Juan Soto, Julio Rodríguez and Rafael Devers when he faced the Dominican Republic. The Detroit Tigers, who had a scout at the game, immediately signed Hebbert to a minor league contract afterward.
Gibaut played alongside Alex Webb, a pitcher who reached High-A in the Reds’ organization, and now works as an engineer.
“He’s still out there chucking up 90 mph,” Gibaut said. “I’m like, wow, that’s impressive on its own. It’s cool to see different guys coming from different directions. Guys who haven’t played in a couple of years coming back, playing and punching out a guy like Trea Turner or something. Just cool things like that you don’t get to see ever. It’s definitely a special tournament.”
The injury to Edwin Díaz was disappointing for the sport, but it doesn’t change how much pride players feel participating in the event. There are some teams who keep tight restrictions on players – Soto, for example, wasn’t allowed to play in back-to-games at the beginning of the tournament – but the Reds try to keep more of a hands-off approach.
“Because what they’re doing right now is the most important thing they’re doing,” Reds Manager David Bell said. “I don’t feel like it’s my place to get involved. I know what it’s like as a manager to have other people trying to get involved.”
As players filter back to their teams after being eliminated in the World Baseball Classic, it’s clear why players are drawn to it.
“You see how people react to it,” Gibaut said. “That’s how much it means to them. It’s definitely something that needs to stick around. I’m looking forward to the next one.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Edwin Diaz injury: Cincinnati Reds say World Baseball Classic is great
