WBC artifacts document the tournament

Written by: Alex Coffey

Albert Pujols steps up to the plate and smacks a home run – but isn’t donning the Cardinals red and white. Mike Piazza squats behind the plate, but instead of his jet black chest protector, he’s wearing a Dodger-esque blue. And on the mound, Johan Santana sports Venezuela’s red and yellow, as opposed to the Twins’ pinstripes.

In 2006, the advent of the World Baseball Classic gave baseball fans all over the world the chance to see their favorite players in a different light. Rather than following them within the context of one of Major League Baseball’s 30 teams, spectators were introduced to each player’s cultural background, as 16 teams competed on an international stage.

Now in its fourth ‘season,’ the WBC is back and as popular as ever, boasting big names like Giancarlo Stanton, Xander Bogaerts and Robinson Canó and inciting nationalistic fervor on Twitter under the hashtag #WBC2017.

“It’s no secret our country has been going through a lot of problems,” said Colorado Rockies outfielder Carlos González to USA Today, a native of Maracaibo, Venezuela who played for Team Venezuela at the 2017 WBC. “This is a good way to show the world we’re a country full of talent. It would be great to bring joy to our country by winning the championship.”

Documenting the tournament every step of the way from its inception, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum has collected artifacts that range from fan paraphernalia to game-used rosin bags. Of the 16 artifacts accessioned after the inaugural World Baseball Classic, maybe the most unique was dirt from the pitcher’s mound, taken after the Final between Japan and Cuba. The dirt evokes memories of Daisuke Matsuzaka’s 95 mph fastball which would ultimately lead Team Japan to three of the team’s five victories and earn him MVP honors.

Three years later, David Wright saved Team USA from early elimination with a ninth-inning, two-run single, sending the Americans to the semifinals in the 2009 Classic. The bat he used to do it is now preserved in Cooperstown, along with a cap belonging to his then-Mets teammate Carlos Beltrán, who was holding down the fort in center field for Puerto Rico when Wright got his game-winning moment.

“That’s right up there at the top,” Wright responded to USA Today when asked where it ranked among the greatest hits of his career. “I mean, you’re talking about representing the United States of America. I never thought that we’d be dog piling in March. But it was pretty special and something I’ll always remember.”

And in 2013, donning his Dominican Republic cap in typical sideways-fashion, Fernando Rodney earned his seventh save of the Classic in the Final, as his home country shutout Puerto Rico, 3-0. Rodney’s Team Dominicana shirt was donated to the Hall of Fame, along a ball used during the game.

“In the Dominican Republic, the No. 1 pastime in baseball,” said manager Tony Peña. “It is what we live for. In the Dominican Republic, all little kids that are growing up, they want to be a baseball player. When you see this ball club play, they play out of emotion, because it is our culture.”