You know, I've never been a big Yankee fan. I've not despised them the way some do, I'm just... indifferent. Generally, I've rather admired them for their historical significance. They've done something that will probably never be overcome in the remaining history of man (sorry, but with free-agency, it's probably just not possible for another team to do). Heck, I can even be seen often wearing a comfy Yankees hat that I got while in New York City visiting my sister in 2000. And lets not forget the Yankees shirt I sometimes wear, having bought it at a Yankees game, in Yankee Stadium, in 2004.
So, please, don't mistake me as a Yankee-basher when I say the Yankees have done something not particularly classy, very un-Yankee-like if you will. They practically bashed the World Baseball Classic (PDF). While I don't hold up the WBC as the pinnacle of baseball, with the absence of baseball on the future Olympic stage, it's very important for the sport's global standing that it have a world stage of some kind. Do they not see that the lack of a forum for the world's great baseball teams harms the sport, and even the Yankees themselves?
Well, if you don't feel like reading the article, fine... but you MUST read the sign they posted:
"Thank you for expressing your concerns. We are sorry that certain players will not be present for portions of spring training. These players have elected to participate in the World Baseball Classic. The World Baseball Classic is an event sanctioned by the commissioner of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
The New York Yankess did not vote to support this event. Any comments you have regarding the World Baseball Classic should be directed to the commissioner of Major League Baseball or the Major League Baseball Players Association."
(yes, they misspelled "Yankees")
Seems a little like biting the hand that feeds them, huh?
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