Throughout the offseason, the CBS Sports MLB experts will bring you a weekly Batting Around roundtable breaking down pretty much anything. The latest news, a historical question, thoughts about the future of baseball, all sorts of stuff. Last week we discussed Vladimir Guerrero Jr.’s future. This week we’re going to tackle an MLB version of the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
Should MLB hold the World Baseball Classic over the All-Star break like the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off? What would be the best format?
R.J. Anderson: I’m fine with the World Baseball Classic remaining in the spring — simply put, it’s nice to have meaningful baseball happening before Opening Day.
Beyond that, there are a lot of logistical issues that stem from trying to relocate the whole tournament to the All-Star break. It takes about two weeks, from start to finish, and there’s no chance MLB (among other leagues) is shutting down its schedule for that long. You might argue that they split the tournament in half: hold pool play in the spring, then the quarterfinals onward during the summer.
That scenario seems more feasible (it would still require a few more days off than the league usually allows), but I think there are some consequences worth highlighting: for starters, you’d have to worry about player getting hurt during the first half of the regular season, weakening the teams that advanced to the knockout stage; you’d also have to worry about players withdrawing, either to actually get an in-season break, or, if their teams were unexpectedly good, to focus on the playoff race.
Maybe I’m overstating those risks — the NHL has still put on a fun tournament despite the same potential downsides — but I think MLB has a good thing going with the WBC and I’m not sure there’s real incentive to make sweeping changes at this point.
Matt Snyder: I think both events are perfectly fine where they are. I fully realize that there are people out there who are outspoken against both events, but that doesn’t mean they speak for everyone. Plenty of people enjoy both exactly how they are.
I also think R.J. makes an incredibly important point, which is that the All-Star break is actually only a few days and the WBC as a whole cannot possibly be played in that timeframe. This means we’d be forced to start the tournament and get down to the final four teams before then pausing the entire event until the All-Star break. The teams could look totally different by the middle of July and any momentum from the previous rounds will have been totally lost.
Not everything is for everyone. Some people aren’t going to like the WBC or the All-Star Game. That’s life. Both can continue to live as they are.
Dayn Perry: I agree that it’s fine like it is. There’s no ideal solution in terms of scheduling, but hitting pause during the middle of the season seems like a big ask for players and contending teams. Participation levels among U.S. pitchers is probably going to be an issue no matter when you hold the tournament. Just keep it like it is. It works well enough, and it’s growing in popularity.
Mike Axisa: No, leave the WBC where it is. 4 Nations has been blast because it’s a best-on-best event, not because of when it’s taking place. Give me a nice big 20-team WBC in March. MLB has the best All-Star Game of the four major North American sports in part because it’s a small commitment (go pitch your one inning or get your two at-bats, that’s it) and I don’t see the need to replace it with anything. The WBC is a lot of fun. I wouldn’t mess with it. The All-Star Game doesn’t need to be “fixed” anyway.
For the sake of talking it out, an MLB version of 4 Nations could be eight teams split into two brackets. Play a round robin to decide the top two teams in each bracket. Those teams play a game to decide the bracket winner, then the two bracket winners meet in the 4 Nations 8 Nations Championship Game. The schedule could look something like this:
- Days 1-3: Round robin games (six total, per two day)
- Day 4: Both bracket winner games
- Day 5: Day off
- Day 6: Championship Game between two bracket winners
Canada, the Dominican Republic, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and USA are the obvious candidates to be the eight teams (sorry to Australia, Cuba, and Taiwan). Japan and South Korea are very into international competition and would likely pause their regular seasons for an 8 Nations event. The other six teams could easily fill out rosters using players in MLB and Triple-A.
Maybe you could squeeze that into an eight-day break, though more likely MLB would have to set aside nine or 10 days, and that’s an eternity in baseball. Players complain about the Wild Card Series bye and that dramatically improves their World Series odds! Also, it would be difficult to line up pitching. If Team USA wants Tarik Skubal to be their ace, but he doesn’t line up to pitch Game 1 of the round robin and then the Championship Game, tough luck. The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off has been a blast. I don’t think MLB needs its own version though. The WBC is fine the way it is. (Now, if you want to talk about an MLB version of the NBA Cup, I’m all ears.)
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