MLB Scoop

Reports today indicated that, like in the time before the 2006 World Baseball Classic, Alex Rodriguez is leaning towards representing the Dominican Republic at the 2009 WBC.  The American-born son of Dominican immigrants, A-Rod was solicited by friends on the DR squad to represent the team of his ancestors rather than the team of his birth.  This time around, apparently David Ortiz is leading the lobbying effort.

I am all for players representing the nation of their choice in the WBC — however, once a player picks a side he should be locked in.  A-Rod chose the USA as his international team, and that choice should be made to stick.

Two main examples of International sport that we can look at here are the Olympics and international soccer.  In the Olympics a player is free to represent any country he is eligible for and can switch sides from one Games to another.  This would be the example that favors A-Rod’s move.  However, in international soccer, once you have played a game with your senior international team, you are locked into that team for life.

The soccer model offers a superior option because it brings a sense of continuity over time, and forces players to think hard before they choose to represent a country on the international stage.  Nick Markakis, for example, may not have represented Greece at the 2004 Athens Games if he knew it would lock him in to Greece as his international team for the rest of his career.   There would be a price for the exposure gained by performing on the international stage in the weaker squad of a WBC minnow like Italy, for example.

The Olympic model would allow players like A-Rod to switch sides at their whim.  Maybe an aging Derek Jeter could one day represent Ireland under A-Rod’s type of logic, since he’s got some Irish on his mom’s side.  Maybe a spurned Roger Clemens could come back and pitch for the Dutch.  The problem is, however, that this type of swapping makes a joke out of the competition.  A-Rod may feel both American and Dominican, but for the sake of treating the WBC like a real attempt at a Baseball World Cup, baseball should look to the sport with the most success at spreading its profile through an international competition.

One day I hope the Cubans get their wish of a WBC every two years.  If that day comes, this rule would be all the more important.  Major League Baseball ought to look at the World Baseball Classic as their single most powerful tool for spread the game into new international markets (and thus tapping new sources of revenue).   Locking players into one international team is an important step towards making sure the contest can be taken as seriously as the great international soccer tournaments.