We finally have all the World Baseball Classic rosters announced. John summed up the 16 members of the Mariners organization who will be participating in a different post, representing 11 of the 20 countries included in the WBC. You can see the full rosters here and since it’s Friday I really suggest digging in and reading some of these names. Hello, 6’8” Team Czechia pitcher Marek Minarik, you are my new favorite player.
Team USA, led by Aaron Judge and Cal Raleigh, is an early favorite in the betting
markets, but Team Japan, which features its own constellation of stars including the Sirius that is Shohei Ohtani, has a track record of success in the tournament and are the reigning champs. The Dominican Republic, starring our own Julio Rodríguez, rounds out the trio of the teams with the best odds, with all the other teams lagging well behind in betting markets.
Of the Big Three, who do you think has the best shot at winning the tournament? And which team do you think has the best shot from the teams outside that group?
I’m glad he’s making the best choice for himself but I sure wish Matt Brash was playing for Team Canada so we could see him and Josh Naylor on the same team. Personally, I’m pulling for Mexico, featuring the Mariners’ Andrés Muñoz and Randy Arozarena. I talked with Andrés about the WBC a couple spring trainings ago and he was talking about how much he loves the WBC and how excited he was to one day play for Mexico, so that’s who I’m rooting for (ABRA, Always Be Rooting for Andrés). Also the last time the WBC happened I was in Arizona and found myself on a train with a bunch of Team Mexico fans and it was a total party atmosphere. So no matter what, I feel like they’re having the best time.
