Threw on Dominican Republic, Venezuela game, the intensity has me hooked on this tournament. Altuve took a walk off Neris, Luis Garcia struck out Pena with straight breaking balls after walking a couple. Really cool stuff
Insane atmosphere for this ven vs DR game. Crazier than any playoff or WS game. Luis Garcia was awesome. He looks slimmer and dominant. Ready to take that next step. This could turn into a major competition given the Latin countries talent and presence in MLB. Could deserve more than being played before the MLB season when guys are still getting jn shape.
It didn't really get fun until today. And now it's real fun. Colombia vs Mexico was so fantastic eta: also, Venezuela came to play
In the Neris Altuve battle, Neris almost took out Altuve's head on the 1st pitch. Then almost hit him in the next pitch. Announcer was saying it's harder for pitchers when facing teammates. Assuming because batter knows pitchers tendencies? Tucker got a rbi hit I believe. Maldonado had a good game.
Tell your brain "try not to throw it there...try not to throw it there...try not to throw it there" and then see what your body does with that info You'll either throw it exactly where you didn't want, or exactly where you didn't think about, or you'll throw it about 5 feet somewhere else "Don't think, Meat"
Taipei vs. Cuba is just one continuous party for the fans… like karaoke + club scene + sports all combined.
Garcia looks way more in control with his new windup. His fastball seems to have a lot of life as well, feel like his velocity started to fade last season then he came out of the bullpen in the playoffs looking fresh as ever. Have to think his playoff experience is helping him perform on this big stage, man is hopefully setting himself up for a monster breakout year.
I can't bring myself to care much, but asia and latin america are crazy about this, the atmospere is insane. Americans are interested in the success of their MLB team, but to countries without an MLB team I could see why they love this so much.
This sentiment is shared across most of the country, I don’t think team USA wins this year because they couldn’t bring out any elite pitching. I’m finding myself enjoying watching the international flair, culture the other countries are playing with. You almost wouldn’t believe baseball was created here.
If other countries continue to gain participation from the majority of their best players, and the ratings continue to do relatively well in an otherwise dead sports period before March madness… USA will hopefully be compelled to continue to try and recruit their best to play (or their own competitiveness and peer pressure will do the same)
I am in Japan and China this week, and the atmosphere is crazy just on the streets. Especially in Japan there are billboards everywhere, the news is always showing highlights and the team talks about the games every day. Even China people are following it closely. I know it’s annoying for our spring training, but this is a good thing for baseball as it will encourage more global interest and more revenue.
USA has an all star lineup with two-cent pitching. Doubt the US gets far when their best starting pitcher is worse than Mexico's 2nd best starter. Didn't expect it to show up against Mexico though.