World Baseball Classic and Pitt

[PittEngineer12]

Two Panthers are representing their countries in this years WBC. WBC Pitt

I am excited for this tournament I always find it fun seeing different players interact and support their national teams.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

Two Panthers are representing their countries in this years WBC. WBC Pitt

I am excited for this tournament I always find it fun seeing different players interact and support their national teams.

Its the only baseball I ever watch and will still watch very little. I really dont like how the USA enters 3 teams (Italy and Israel). I'd rather see teams with players actually fr that country like the Czech Republic. Now if these guys are legitimate citizens of Italy and Israel, fine but they aren't. Their grandparents were born there and that's BS. Its not even like US Soccer where the Euors we get have a legit American dad.

I am interested that Great Britain has a team. I think these guys are actual British citizens either born in GB to American parents or born in the US having 1 British parent. I guess you'd be surprised how many Americans have citizenship elsewhere based on where they were born.

 

[Pitt79]

Like the Greek National Team in the 2004 Olympics, they were all American minor leaguers with a Greek parent, the baseball stadium there is in ruins now, because those Olympic games where most likely the only baseball games ever played in Greece.

 

[JD1976]

I knew an American minor league player who was on the 2004 Greek Olympic team. He said at the Olympics a Greek TV reporter did a story on how almost none of the players were actually from Greece and to illustrate the fact went around and asked simple questions like who was the President of Greece, what are the words to the national anthem, etc. Of course, none of them knew anything.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

I knew an American minor league player who was on the 2004 Greek Olympic team. He said at the Olympics a Greek TV reporter did a story on how almost none of the players were actually from Greece and to illustrate the fact went around and asked simple questions like who was the President of Greece, what are the words to the national anthem, etc. Of course, none of them knew anything.

I could understand them doing that since they were hosting the Olympics but for Italy and Israel to do the same thing every 4 years at the WBC is ridiculous. Now, as I said, if they are a legitimate citizen of those countries because one of their parents is a citizen, fine Im ok with it. I think Israel may have loose citizenship requirements so if those guys all became citizens, ok. But no way there's more than a couple players on the Italian team who have Italian citizenship

 

[JD1976]

I could understand them doing that since they were hosting the Olympics but for Italy and Israel to do the same thing every 4 years at the WBC is ridiculous. Now, as I said, if they are a legitimate citizen of those countries because one of their parents is a citizen, fine Im ok with it. I think Israel may have loose citizenship requirements so if those guys all became citizens, ok. But no way there's more than a couple players on the Italian team who have Italian citizenship

There is actually a fairly reputable Italian baseball league (when I say reputable it’s probably not even Frontier League level), but Italy could absolutely roster an all-homegrown team if they wanted. The Netherlands could too, even without players from Curaçao.

 

[Pitt79]

I could understand them doing that since they were hosting the Olympics but for Italy and Israel to do the same thing every 4 years at the WBC is ridiculous. Now, as I said, if they are a legitimate citizen of those countries because one of their parents is a citizen, fine Im ok with it. I think Israel may have loose citizenship requirements so if those guys all became citizens, ok. But no way there's more than a couple players on the Italian team who have Italian citizenship

I think Italy has their own pro league though? I knew a guy from Western PA that was Italian-American, born here who played there for a year. So, I'd think maybe they have players there? Isreal has a league too, I think?

Italian Serie A1 (Foreign) Encyclopedia and History | Baseball-Reference.com

All Major, Minor, and Independent Baseball Leagues

www.baseball-reference.com

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

There is actually a fairly reputable Italian baseball league (when I say reputable it’s probably not even Frontier League level), but Italy could absolutely roster an all-homegrown team if they wanted. The Netherlands could too, even without players from Curaçao.

I read something awhile back about an Italian Baseball League with mostly Italian players. I'd rather see those players. If they lose 18-0, so what. Or make them beat Brazil (growing baseball countries) or some other country to qualify. What about Germany? Given that we have occupied Germany since 1945, there are a large number of young athletes with a German mom. I'm sure some of them are playing pro or college baseball somewhere.

As for Netherlands and Curacao, I'd prefer that they had 2 separate teams like USA and PR but Im ok with them combining since Curacao is a "constituent country" of the Netherlands.

 

[mike412]

They do this in other sports routinely, so why not baseball? In the Olympics there always are athletes who represent a country one of their parents or grandparents was from because they couldn’t make their home country’s team. I think there is a female Pitt soccer player who has played for Mexico’s junior team.

Hell, if I had been good enough in 1968 to make the Romanian Olympic soccer team in Mexico City, I would have jumped at the chance. I can’t believe many on this Board wouldn’t have done the same thing if an opportunity to compete for a grandparent’s homeland was available.

 

[Sean Miller Fan]

They do this in other sports routinely, so why not baseball? In the Olympics there always are athletes who represent a country one of their parents or grandparents was from because they couldn’t make their home country’s team. I think there is a female Pitt soccer player who has played for Mexico’s junior team.

Hell, if I had been good enough in 1968 to make the Romanian Olympic soccer team in Mexico City, I would have jumped at the chance. I can’t believe many on this Board wouldn’t have done the same thing if an opportunity to compete for a grandparent’s homeland was available.

And I dont agree with it. I think the Olympics only requires that that country issued you a passport, which is really stupid. I doubt the WBC even goes that far. I sorta doubt the Americans playing for other teams have been issued passports by Italy and the UK and whoever. I think you can play for whoever you want as long as you have some loose affiliation with that country.