I have had a day to sit and think about the story about Cuba not being able to play in the WBC and I have come to the conclusion that countries which are schedueled to participate in this tounament should boycot until Cuba is allowed to play. Last night on Pardon the Interuption (ESPN, 5:30et/4:30ct PM) Tony Kornheiser and Mike Wilbon (the hosts) pointed out that in 1996, when the olympics were held in Atlanta, the Cuban olympic baseball team won the gold medal. Now, Tony and Mike did not come right out and say it, but they eluded to the fact that maybe the decision by the US to ban Cuba is not politically motivated, but is motivated sportswise (I guess you could say) in that the US does not want Cuba to play because they could win the WBC. It was an interesting thought, but I still stand by the fact that Bush and his cronies don't want a baseball team from a communist country to participate in the WBC.
If anything, the US should encourage the Cuban team to play. Why? Because it could lead to defections to the United States and could improve the players in the MLB. A bonus for the United States showing the people of Cuba what a "great" country this is and this could lead to a great talent pool for major league baseball, which is something that I think MLB needs. Because of the number of teams in the league, the teams are not as talented because the more talented players are spread out throughout the league. If we had players from Cuba and other countries come to the United Sates and stay and join a major league could improve the game immensly.
No comments:
Post a Comment