A Foreign World Champion
In the Near Future, There Will Be a WORLD Series
In the near future, there will be an international baseball tournament, and a short time after its inception, there may be a "foreign" World Champion.
Major League Baseball's Opening day in 2000, 2004, and 2008 took place on foreign soil. Exhibition games in 2008 were played inthe Peoples Republic of China, and last season, fans and especially the players, thrilled at the excitement provided by the World Baseball Classic. Commissioner Allan "Bud" Selig has emphasized that baseball must expand into international markets, and his leadership is allowing that to happen.
Spring Training in Havana
Looking back, it seems anomalous, but in 1946, it was a different world,yet there are amazing similarities to baseball today. In July of 1946, Bob Finch, one of Brooklyn Dodgers' president Branch Rickey, announced that the Dodgers would hold their 1947 spring training in Havana, Cuba. In January, 1947, Mr. Rickey completed the arrangements, announcing that the Royals would join the Dodgers, with the latter team also making short trips to Venezuela and Panama.
The Yankees' Foreign Tour
The Yankees, it seems, always must always outdo their rivals. The Bronx Bombers were scheduled to play Brooklyn six times in Havana, and it was speculated that the Bronx Bombers would join their arch rivals in Venezuela as well,but that was only part of the traveling for them. The Yankees would play 44 exhibition games, 14 of which would be on foreign soil before the Yankees finished spring training at St. Petersburg, Florida. There would be 5 games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 6 games in Caracas, Venezuela, and 3 in Havana.
St. Louis Was the Far West
Legendary sportswriter, Arthur Daley, facetiously wrote that Yankees' owner Larry MacPhail wasn't going to stop at Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Havana. "A future schedule could include Rio de Janiero, Natal, Dakar, Casablanca, Cairo, Bombay, Bangkok, Shanghai, Manila, Honolulu, and Los Angeles." Yes, Los Angeles. Remember, St. Louis was as far west as baseball went until the great WalterO'Malley was seduced into abandoning Brooklyn.
Players Are Their Country's Team
It will not be too far into the future that there will be an international baseball tournament, and a short time after its inception, there will be a World Champion that may not be a major league team. Realistically, few players toil for their home team and in 2008, many players aren't U.S. citizens. A real international baseball tournament -- an expansion and refining of the World Baseball Classic -- will allow fans to see teams comprised of players who are citizens of the country their team represents. Imagine the fierce competition between a SammyKahlifa facing a Jason Marquis.
References:
- Daley, Arthur. "Around the World With MacPhail." New York Times. 13 February 1947, p. 31.
- Drebinger, John. "Brooks, Bomber in 6 Games Abroad; Far-Flung Spring Flights Cover Caracas and Havana." New York Times. 14 January 1947, p. 33.
- Effrat, Louis. "Fourteen Games Abroad Booked by Yanks; Team to Play in Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Cuba Before Training in Florida." New York Times. 18 January 1947, p. 16.
- McGowen, Roscoe. "Gregg Gives 3 Hits in 7-0 Conquest; Brooks Will Train in Havana in 1947." New York Times. 20 September 1946, p. 51.
- McGowen, Roscoe. "Royals May Train With Dodgers at Havana Camp." New York Times. 7 January 1947, p. 35.
