The 2nd World Baseball Classic is approaching shortly. Players from the Major Leagues are getting ready to represent their native countries in the tournament. 2 years ago when the first World Classic was introduced it had mixed reactions from owners such as George Steinbrenner bashing it publicly. Some argue that since it interferes with spring training season it should not happen in March, while proponents of the Classic argue that it actually helps the players get ready for the season by having them compete in competitive games instead of games that don't really matter.
Personally I like the World Classic. It's fun to see our favorites playing with other great players and representing their countries. We get to look at some other players from other countries like Cuba and Japan who might one day play in the majors. I also think that playing competitively is better than the meaningless spring break exhibition games. I think the mindset is a lot different in wanting to help your country win the trophy, therefore you start redeveloping your skills instead of perhaps trying a new stance or a new windup. It puts the player in the mindset to win right away that carries over to the start of the regular season. This could benefit players such as David Wright who has had a slow start in the pass as well as crosstown first basemen Mark Teixeira who is notoriously a slow starter. I know Derek Jeter said of the last classic that it got him going better for the regular season.
I personally think it's better than Winter Ball in one of the winter leagues. There are more injuries from the winter leagues than there were from the World Baseball Classic.
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