International Baseball, Part 3

I apologize for the shorter updates as of late; a combination of a full schedule and a fairly large project in the works has kept me busy. However, I would like to keep following this story, partly because the growth of baseball abroad fascinates me and partly because I’ve loved following the World Baseball Classic.

The Netherlands and Italy are doing a great job of keeping it interesting, too. Italy shocked Mexico and Canada to make the top eight, while the Dutch team has knocked off the last two runners-up in Cuba and Korea. The latter gets to face two-time champ Japan next, although both teams are guaranteed to advance to the final four. You could even argue that Puerto Rico, another top quarterfinal team, is something of a success story given the hit baseball’s popularity there took after it was added to the draft.

I’m still rooting for the United Sates, but I can’t say I would be unhappy if any of the teams left won. If Italy or the Netherlands win, though, it really helps out my ideas from the first column.