That’s not an answer, that’s circular reasoning.

But if I’m a player, the real reason I wouldn’t play is that I get paid to play baseball for a particular MLB club. Why bother risking injury and investing my preparation time for something the MLB owners cooked up to get some more money? Yes, this will assist in marketing the game, and it’s quite possible I might see some benefit from that… except my career may not extend long enough for the benefits of these games to mean anything in terms of adding to my bottom line.

As to whether anyone will care about the WBC if it has long enough to build a traditional following — not sure I see that. The Olympics and World Cup benefit from having had time to compete in a less-crowded sportsmarketplace for the eyeballs of fans and their pocketbooks. They’re established as global competitions, such that kids grow up longing to represent their country in those respective comeptitions. Perhaps kids in other countries will feel the same way about the WBC someday, but speaking as a proud flag-waving American, I don’t see kids here wanting to grow up and play in the WBC so much as they’ll grow up wanting to be a Phillie, a Brave, a Dodger, a Cub, or (if their soul has been removed) a Yankee.

And please don’t tell me that an MLB season is “more artificial” because the players aren’t logically grouped by nationality. My reason for calling it contrived is because MLB created it as a marketing tool, not because they’re looking to put together a more coherent system for organizing players. That’s before we get to the teams often including players born in one nation but competing for another based on ancestral links that are sometimes tenuous. And the lines between nations are nothing if not artificial in the first place.

Everyone who derides the WBC as “just an exhibition” has to realize that people once said the same thing about the World Cup. What changed? Nothing but the passage of time. There is absolutely nothing tabgible or structural that makes the WBC any more of an “exhibition” than the World Cup, it’s just been around longer.

As Kiwi says below, if anything an MLB season is more artificial. WBC teams are logical groupings of players representing their countries. MLB teams are random combinations of players playing under a corporate banner. That’s actually far more contrived than the WBC.

I do appreciate your WBC enthusiasm, though. Contrary to what the haters insist, it’s actually good, passionate baseball. Last night’s Panama-Colombia elimination game was tense, exciting, and well-played. Apparently it’s too much to ask of the baseball media to report on the actual games though, instead of just telling us who won’t be playing 5 months from now.

In all seriousness, the NZ vs CT game is pretty much the first time NZ baseball will be shown live on television down here. If they progress to the final tournament, it will be a huge boost for the sport in this part of the world.