Red, white and bros: World Baseball Classic creates lasting bonds for Team USA
LOS ANGELES - Don’t take this the wrong way, Team USA says, but they don’t want to go home.
They cringe at the thought of flying to Florida and Arizona and rejoining their real teams for the final week of spring training.
Most of them were strangers when brought together two weeks ago, but they’ve since gotten so close, no one wants this World Baseball Classic to ever end.
Team USA plays Japan at 9 p.m. (ET) Tuesday, and if they win, will play the WBC championship game Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium.
And on Thursday morning, at the latest, they will go their separate ways.
“I can’t believe I have a 162-game season coming up,’’ USA third baseman Nolan Arenado of the Colorado Rockies told USA TODAY Sports. “I feel like this has been my season with the boys. It’s been so much fun.
“I feel like I’ve been with these guys for years, and it’s been what, six games? Six games! It’s crazy thinking about that, but when it’s life or death every game, you really get close to them. It’s been awesome.’’
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They gathered together March 6 in Fort Myers, Fla., traveled across the state to Miami, flew to San Diego, bused three hours up to Los Angeles, and here they are for the final hurrah.
They not only have won, reaching the WBC semifinals for only the second time in the event’s four editions, but built close-knit friendships and a unique camaraderie that they’ll carry throughout their baseball careers, and perhaps even life after baseball.
“In a tournament this intimate,’’ USA center fielder Adam Jones says, “you get a good sense of the guys around you because we're going into battle with each other. I look at it like the military. You go into it not knowing who is to your right and to your left, but you figure out very quickly.
“The team that's been assembled, it's just a cohesive unit. Everybody wants to be there for the next person. It's not like an I, I, I. Everything that's been spoken in that clubhouse has been ‘we,’ and you see the sacrifice the individuals are making for the greater good of this team.’’
Most have played on different teams in the All-Star Game. The have been to award banquets together. And they play against one another during the season.
Yet, nothing like this.
These two weeks together have actually altered preconceived opinions that some of the players had toward one another, in some cases, dramatically changing their viewpoint.
“Jonathan Lucroy is completely different than I thought he was,’’ shortstop Brandon Crawford of the San Francisco Giants says of the Texas Rangers catcher. “On the field, he’s so serious. He doesn’t really talk a whole lot or say anything to anybody. But he’s funny, he’s sarcastic, everything. He’s so much different than I thought he was.
“You get to learn a lot about guys when you’re sharing buses, airplanes, clubhouses, and being together every day like we have been.’’
First baseman Eric Hosmer of the Kansas City Royals has been riding to the ballpark together each day with Paul Goldschmidt and Christian Yelich, getting closer to each of them.
Yet, of all the players Hosmer barely knew upon his arrival, no one has altered his viewpoint more than pitcher Marcus Stroman of the Toronto Blue Jays.
“We played against them in the playoffs, and I’ve seen him off the field,’’ says Hosmer, “but I really didn’t know much of him. Now, seeing how he prepares, seeing his mentality on the mound, it’s something special to see, man.
“There’s just no fear in his game. I have a completely new perspective of him.’’
The most difficult aspect of their newfound kinship, starter Tanner Roark of the Washington Nationals says, is that they’ll soon be competitors facing against one another in a few weeks. He would love to get closer to All-Star outfielders Giancarlo Stanton and Christian Yelich of the Miami Marlins, but when his team is facing them 19 times a year, it creates a bit of awkwardness.
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“You can’t get too close, at least with the hitters,’’ Roark said. “You still have to have that competitive edge against all of these guys.
“I mean, I’ll talk to them, but I don’t go deep into their psyche, just because for me, it’s a mental game out there.
“And Yelich and Stanton are great guys, too, dang it!’’
By the weekend, they’ll be back in their different major-league camps. Little wonder they joked about petitioning Commissioner Rob Manfred, seeing if they can form their own team for the regular season.
“It would be a fun team to play with all year because we have so many great guys in here,” says reliever Pat Neshek of the Philadelphia Phillies. “It might cost a little money, but it would be so much fun.’’
In the meantime, players are frantically exchanging phone numbers before they depart. They’re taking pictures. Yes, even autographs, with noted collector Neshek proud to say he’s amassed more than anyone.
When they all go their separate ways, and the season starts, they plan to keep in touch. They will text one another. Maybe an occasional phone call. And for a few, a close-knit bond will endure.
Daniel Murphy of the Washington Nationals, Paul Goldschmidt of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Buster Posey of the Giants have already made plans to create an email thread where they will exchange Bible verses each week.
“It’s really cool to have a setting for guys to come together like we have,’’ Murphy says. “We’ve had some great conversations about our faith, and Jesus, and what he’s done for us.
“What we built here will go beyond these couple of weeks, and hopefully beyond baseball.’’
And, if they happen to win the World Baseball Classic, it could be a celebration of a lifetime, achieving a feat that will forever stay with them, accomplishing what no USA team has ever done.
“There’s something about the American flag that seems to pull it all together,’’ said Hall of Famer Joe Torre, who put together the team. “It’s a unique situation that creates an unselfishness. You have All-Star games and things like that, but when you’re playing for your country, it’s different.
“And it’s a good different.’’