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ESPN Deportes: WBC Championship Game Was Network’s Most-Watched Baseball Game Ever

March 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This just in from ESPN Deportes about the World Baseball Classic:

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ESPN Deportes’ exclusive Spanish-language coverage of the 2013 World Baseball Classic concludes with record-breaking numbers during the Championship Game between Caribbean rivals Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico last Tuesday, March 19. The telecast delivered a 3.2 Hispanic household coverage rating with 173,000 Hispanic household impressions and 236,000 viewers (P+2), to become ESPN Deportes’ most-watched baseball telecast ever (beating the March 12, 2009 WBC game between Mexico and Cuba which delivered 146,000 Hispanic household impressions and an audience of 221,000 viewers – P+2). The game is also the network’s highest-rated, most-watched telecast thus far this year.

The Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico, 3-0, to capture its first WBC title. The game captured the hearts and minds of many Dominicans and Puerto Ricans, both in the Caribbean and in the United States. In addition, our Facebook and Twitter communities were all about the béisbol or pelota.

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With Puerto Rico in WBC Final, Suddenly Some Americans Feeling Proud of its Colony

March 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Last night Puerto Rico’s World Baseball Team shocked sports fans everywhere when it defeated two-time champion Japan, 3-1, in San Francisco to advance to tomorrow night’s WBC championship between the winner of tonight’s Dominican Republic-Netherlands game.

Given that the Puerto Ricans are the tournament’s underdogs, first defeating the USA and now the Japanese, boricuas on the island and on the mainland are thoroughly enjoying the last few days. This is a big deal. A really big deal.

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Looks like the pride for Puerto Rico has also hit the American social media mainstream, as the following screen grab shared by Facebook page of Jay Fonseca went viral last night, even though the poster lacked true knowledge of Puerto Rico’s relationship with the United States.

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Yes, all of a sudden everyone is rooting for Puerto Rico, a U.S. colony-territory since 1898, and a place full of U.S. citizens. since Puerto Ricans have been American citizens since 1917. When the United States team is out of the WBC, why not Puerto Rico, even though many in the know will tell you that Puerto Rico may be a US colony-territory, but it is far from being part of the United States.

The interest in Puerto Rico even lead one FOX Sports columnist to drop some knowledge about the nuances of playing for a team that is neither fully American nor fully Puerto Rican. Such is the paradox of the island-colony. And let’s not jump to conclusions yet: this is not America’s team, as the headline for FOX’s Jon Paul Morosi suggests. However, we have to give Morosi credit for at least trying to explain (in a sports column!) the Puerto Rican dilemma to others who have no clue. Here is Morosi writing about infielder Mike Aviles:

Aviles, who was born and raised in New York, is a U.S. citizen. So are his teammates who were born on the island, by virtue of Puerto Rico’s status as a U.S. territory. Debate persists in Puerto Rico over how seriously the commonwealth should pursue statehood. No one knows how a divided U.S. Congress would handle the matter if it reached Washington.

In sports, though, Puerto Rico operates as a nation unto itself. Puerto Rico has its own baseball federation and, thus, its own team in the WBC. Aviles and manager Edwin Rodriguez each referred to Puerto Rico as a “country” during interviews Sunday. After such an historic win, that was appropriate. The “small little place of about 4 million people,” as Aviles described it, is the first team to eliminate Japan in WBC play.

U.S. fans in search of a rooting interest should note that every Puerto Rican run in Sunday’s game was driven in by a player born on the mainland: Aviles delivered a tone-setting RBI single in the first inning, and Alex Rios — the native of Coffee, Ala. — struck the clinching two-run homer in the seventh.

“My mom and dad were born in Puerto Rico, my grandparents were born in Puerto Rico,” Aviles said. “I’ve always said, if I had an opportunity to play for the USA or Puerto Rico, I’d always pick Puerto Rico. It’s my heritage. It’s who I am. It’s what I’ve been my whole life. I’ve been Puerto Rican. Regardless of whether I was born and raised there, it’s my identity.”

We understand that Morosi is trying to paint the Puerto Rican team as a mini-U.S. team, and even though it might be a stretch (did he not see how many Puerto Ricans were thrilled to have its team defeat the Americans last Friday?), he does gets points for at least TRYING to explain the issue with a little bit of intelligence. Other mainstream media types should follow suit.

But yeah, we get it. The U.S. loves an underdog, and if this baseball team can help to shed more light on Puerto Rico, that would surely be a good thing. Especially to those who don’t understand why many Puerto Ricans see the island as a “country” and not just a U.S. territory or a 51st-state wannabe. As Morosi writes:

Winning has a way of doing that. The young eyes in San Juan, Carolina and Ponce must be mesmerized by the sight of their countrymen humbling the world’s biggest baseball stars.

“What we’re doing here is starting to give the little kids more hope that good things can happen, good players can come out of that small little area,” Aviles said. “It’s a small little island, but that doesn’t mean it has to be forgotten about.”

One more win, and they’ll be telling stories about this team for generations. And if it’s against the Dominican … well, that will make the fairytale better. Only in America, indeed.

It would surely be something if the island-colony could pull it off. Although we doubt that if it happens, the mainland U.S. will be rushing to join the team at a victory parade. To think that a baseball team can make Americans notice Puerto Rico again. Only in America, indeed.

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PARODY VIDEO: Obama Addresses US Baseball Loss to the Dominican Republic (HUMOR)

March 15, 2013 by Leave a Comment

President Obama has addressed the United States’ World Baseball Classic loss to the Dominican Republic last night.

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Palkepuede.com produced this video.

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#ThisIsAmerica Reaction to ESPN Deportes Simulcast on ESPN was Never About Baseball

March 11, 2013 by 3 Comments

All of a sudden monolingual English speakers were really into a World Baseball Classic game between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. At least that is what one could conclude last night when ESPN ran the ESPN Deportes’ Spanish-language simulcast on the flagship network. The game, which the DR won 4-2, got an 0.3 overnight rating (ESPN got a 0.6 rating last Sunday for an NBA game and we are pretty sure that the game in Spanish would have beaten any “30 for 30″ ESPN would have run instead). No matter, since if you were online last night, you would have assumed the END OF AMERICA was coming and that there were a lot of upset people who wanted to catch this baseball game in English, even though the same game was being broadcast in English on MLB Network at the same time.

So no, the ESPN outrage wasn’t about baseball at all. It was all about ignorance. As Deadspin so beautifully put it, “‘Is It Me Or Has ESPN Been Taken Over By Wetbacks?’”. Or check out the Storify we did just two minutes after ESPN Deportes announcer Ernesto Jerez, one of the best voices ever, started talking.

Yeah, social media can mostly be for dummies. This was just another case of it, and these four tweets that Deadspin found only confirmed it:

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When you have actually human beings who don’t know the difference between Puerto Rico and Mexico, or between speaking Spanish and speaking “Mexican,” you got issues.

And then you have this one, which we will frame for eternity:

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You can find more at #ThisIsAmerica. You get the picture.

When we asked ESPN about the reaction, we were lead to a statement that they already shared before: “The World Baseball Classic provides a great showcase of how ESPN’s resources can document a global event with strong multi-cultural appeal. Having the exclusive Spanish-language rights to all 39 WBC games on ESPN Deportes provides us with unique opportunities to serve fans across our television, audio and digital properties. These two WBC games are the latest examples.”

So while ESPN will not address how many of its fans are a bunch of ignorant nativists, at least we can understand the business reason why the network did what it did, and that is a good thing. As one outlet said:

Not everyone was happy to see it, but in full honesty, it’s a smart move. With a light NBA schedule plus the college basketball conference tournaments transititioning from the mid-majors to the “BCS” leagues, why not put the WBC on the Mothership en Español?

Now ESPN does not have the English language rights to the World Baseball Classic, that belongs to MLB Network. But ESPN signed up for the US Spanish language rights for its Deportes channel. And just last week announced that Sunday night’s ESPN Deportes simulcast on ESPN would be the first of two such instances during the WBC, the other would be this Tuesday afternoon on ESPN2.

You ask, “Why would ESPN do this?” First, it’s a way to siphon off some viewership from MLB Network. Yes, the games are being aired in Spanish, but if you don’t get MLB Network, this is a way for you to watch the World Baseball Classic.

In addition, ESPN has language in its contract allowing it to put games on any platform it chooses. Since the World Baseball Classic games are being aired in Spanish, it’s not in conflict with MLB Network’s contract so the games can air on the Mothership and the Deuce. Had Sunday’s game involved Team USA, MLB Network may have raised a stink, but with it having two teams from the Caribbean, MLB signed off. And with ESPN’s wider distribution, it might have a bigger cable rating than MLB Network.  A Spanish language broadcast of two Caribbean teams makes sense for ESPN with that growing demographic. It’s also a way for ESPN to get around not having the broadcast rights to certain international sporting events. If more viewers are going to tune in for Spanish lanugage WBC coverage than whatever documentary or program ESPN was planning to show, it’s a success for the network.

And you also got to hear Jerez give his signature homerun call twice last night. How can anyone hate that?

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Reaction to Mexico-Canada WBC Brawl Just as Sad as Actual Fight

March 10, 2013 by 3 Comments

Let’s get this straight: last night’s bench-clearing brawl between Mexico and Canada at the World Baseball Classic in Phoenix’s Chase Field was ugly.

However, we don’t know what is sadder—the actual fight or the reactions and consequences after the fact. Here are a few things you should know:

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No one will get disciplined. Yes, you read that correctly. There will be no suspensions, according to reports:

The ugly brawl led to seven ejections, but WBC officials said in a statement that no fines or suspensions would be issued.

“Because at least one club —and potentially both— will not advance to the second round, WBCI has determined that disciplinary measures would not have a meaningful corrective impact,” the statement read. “Thus, discipline will not be imposed beyond today’s seven game ejections.”

Blame the WBC format for all this. Canada entered the 9th inning with a 9-3 lead against Mexico, but because one of the tiebreakers to advance to the second round involves run differential, there was still incentive for Canada to run up the score. So this is what happened:

Former University of Illinois catcher Chris Robinson inadvertently triggered a benches-clearing brawl in the ninth inning of Canada’s 10-3 victory that eliminated Mexico from the World Baseball Classic.

With the possibility of Canada, the United States and Italy potentially all ending up 1-2 in the Pool D round-robin, Team Canada manager Ernie Whitt’s team was mindful that run differential breaks tie. Even though it had a 9-3 lead in the ninth inning, Robinson led off with a bunt single. The Mexican pitcher, Arnold Leon, plunked the next hitter, Rene Tosoni, and things turned wild after he started walking toward the mound.

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It got even uglier before it got better. The report continues:

Whitt almost pulled the Canadian team off the field after fans started throwing objects. He said coach Denis Boucher was hit in the head with a bottle and that another object just missed coach Larry Walker.

“We want to play the game hard,” Robinson said. “We play it properly.  You get an opportunity to help a team, help your teammates (in any way), that’s something to do. That’s the way that we play as a whole.  That’s the way I’ve always played.”

Like Whitt, Mexico manager Rick Renteria blamed the situation on the unusual format, which could penalize a team for following normal baseball etiquette.

Said Renteria: “The tournament, it has different rules … In a normal setting, a normal professional setting, I should say, a 9-3 bunt in that particular situation would be kind of out of the ordinary.  But based on the rules that have been established in this tournament, the run differentials and things of that nature … those things may occur. It was just a misunderstanding.”

Larry Walker needs to chill. The Canadian coach and former MLB star had this to say about Mexican pitcher (and Boston Red Sox) Alfredo Aceves: ““I had a hold of him, and I think I saw Satan in his eyes.” Satan? Really?

This isn’t the first time that Canada and Mexico had issues on the baseball field. Here is a story from 1991, when the countries played in the Panamerican Games in Cuba:

According to the Mexicans’ account of the fight, catcher Alex Andreopoulos of Canada set off the incident when he called catcher Alberto Vargas of Mexico, the first to bat in the top of the sixth inning, a “third-world chili eater, a tortilla eater.”

Vargas reportedly replied that Mexico could still beat Canada at baseball anytime and the fighting ensued.

A statement by Harvey Bailey, a Canadian team official, gave a different account.

“The trouble began when Canadian catcher Alex Andreopoulos was called out on a controversial play at second base to end the fifth inning,” Bailey said in the statement.

“When the Canadian team took to the field to begin the sixth inning Andreopoulos and a player in the Mexican dugout began talking to one another before the benches cleared.,” the statement said. “I was in the stands and I saw the Mexican player run onto the field first.”

Players, coaches and officials rushed onto the field from the dugouts as the shocked crowd booed.

Cuban police officers ran on to the field and pulled players apart. One Mexican player went back to his dugout to grab a bat, but witnesses said he was restrained by Mexican team officials.

Social media needs to chill as well. These are actual tweets:

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This Was Ugly: Canada-Mexico WBC Game Brawl

March 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Ugly happenings at the World Baseball Classic.

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Today in Phoenix, a brawl broke in the ninth inning of the Canada-Mexico World Baseball Classic game. Canada was easily winning the game, and eventually won, 10-3, but not before it all got haywire and even ignorant.

Here is what SB Nation reported:

Saturday’s Pool D World Baseball Classic game between Canada and Mexico saw plenty of aggressive play before devolving into an extended and ugly brawl in the ninth inning. After a number of hard slides and a collision at the plate involving Mexico’s Karim Garcia, Arnold Leon threw two pitches at Canada’s Rene Tosoni, sparking a bench-clearing fight between the teams.

Yahoo Sports! Jeff Passan tweeted that the situation also crept into the stands:

 

It led to even uglier Twitter reactions:

 

The scene got even worse, as SB Nation reports:

Several players were ejected, and the game was delayed for an extended period of time before order was restored. Unfortunately, when the players were ready to resume play (with Canada ahead 9-3 and the bases loaded), a fan threw a baseball onto the field, nearly hitting first-base coach Larry Walker and resulting in the home plate umpire speaking to the teams’ coaches once again.

Walker, a proud Canadian, had no problem giving his opinion of the matter to the rowdy crowd.

 

After the brawl, telling replays showed Los Angeles Dodgers player Luis Cruz of team Mexico encouraging his pitcher to throw at Tosoni.

Some postgame reactions.

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MLB Network Thinks US Official Language Is English: Think It Over

March 9, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Think it over, MLB Network.

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Last night during the World Baseball Classic telecast between Team Mexico and Team USA, the graphics group at the MLB Network wanted to shares some fun facts about the countries. They got most of the information correct, except for one big error: the United States does not list English as an official language. An honest mistake?

We can debate this issue all you want, but if you want to sound informed, read this first. And then read this. Then we can talk. In English or in Spanish.

And BTW, Spanish isn’t the official language of Mexico, either.

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ESPN to Present Spanish-Language Simulcast of Sunday’s Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico WBC Game

March 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Here’s something that caught our attention via a press release:

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ESPN will present a Spanish-language simulcast of the Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico World Baseball Classic game, Sunday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The game will be highlighted by several of baseball’s biggest stars, including Robinson Cano, Jose Reyes, Hanley Ramirez, Nelson Cruz and Carlos Beltran. Ernesto Jerez and Luis Alfredo Alvarez will provide commentary for the game. Additionally, ESPN2 will simulcast a WBC game (TBD) on Tuesday, March 12, at 1 p.m. Both games will also be available on ESPN Deportes, ESPN Deportes Radio and via WatchESPN.

In addition, the network also said this:

ESPN will televise a special edition of Baseball Tonight, Sunday, March 10, at 7 p.m., leading into the Spanish-language simulcast of the Dominican Republic vs. Puerto Rico WBC game. Adnan Virk will host the show with new ESPN Baseball Tonight analyst Alex Cora, who will be making his debut. Cora played for the Puerto Rico WBC teams in 2006 and 2009. The show will include special Spanish-language elements and segments, including Bernardo Osuna reporting on-site.

Before the baseball coverage, the network will air The Clemente Effect, :a documentary that chronicles the life and accomplishments of Roberto Clemente.” ESPN will air this at 4:30 p.m. EST. 

We can only imagine what their Twitter feed will be on Sunday when the haters start telling them that “in the U.S., we speak English.” Haters gonna hate. But ESPN is not having it. Here is what ESPN’s Norby Williamson, Executive Vice President of Programming & Acquisitions, had to say:

“The World Baseball Classic provides a great showcase of how ESPN’s resources can document a global event with strong multi-cultural appeal,” Williamson said. “Having the exclusive Spanish-language rights to all 39 WBC games on Deportes and Deportes+ for both the 2013 and 2017 events provides us with unique opportunities to serve fans across our television, audio and digital properties. The upcoming simulcasts are the latest examples.”

But, ESPN is smart. March baseball is a not a big ratings attraction, and this simulcast will DEFINITELY get attention. ¡Bravo!

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The WBC Gets Political: Team Mexico Player Stopped in Arizona and Chávez Moment of Silence in Puerto Rico

March 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment

This week the 2013 World Baseball Classic moved to venues on this side of the world, with first-round games being played in Arizona and Puerto Rico. Besides the games, the WBC also got political.

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In Arizona, Yahoo Sports’ Jeff Passan reported this week that Team Mexico player Marco Estrada was stopped by police for running a stop sign. It lead to revelations by fellow teammate Sergio Romo, whose World Series fame lead to a memorable t-shirt moment he wore at a victory parade in San Francisco.

“I actually got pulled over today on the way to the field,” said Marco Estrada, a Milwaukee Brewers pitcher who has lived in the United States for 24 years, whose wife and children are American citizens and who is representing Team Mexico in the World Baseball Classic. At a stop sign, he said he looked both ways and thought he stopped. A police officer disagreed. At least Estrada was spared the indignity of being asked for documentation.

Estrada was lucky.

“I’ve been pulled over numerous times, driving a nice car,” said Sergio Romo, the closer for the San Francisco Giants as well as the Mexican WBC outfit. “The first question is: What’s your citizenship? The second question: Is this your car? And then: What do you do for a living? And it’s like, ‘Bro, you’re Mexican just like me.’ ‘Ah, but I was born here.’ And I say, ‘So was I.’ “

Las night in San Juan, before the game between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic, fans and players were asked by the Venezuelan baseball team to give a moment of silence for former president Hugo Chávez, who died earlier this week. According to reports, almost everyone complied, except for a small group of people who decided to mock Chávez’s death during this time.

The following video from Venezuela shows part of the moment of silence, where some shouts can be heard.

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10 Cool Storylines About the 2013 World Baseball Classic

March 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Yes, we love baseball and we also think that the World Baseball Classic is a cool idea. Even though many Major League Baseball teams like to complain about the WBC’s timing (it starts this weekend), we don’t care.

12 teams from all over the world. Games played in Japan, Taiwan, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Real competitive baseball in March, instead of just catching spring training games. A championship weekend in San Francisco starting on St. Patrick’s Day.

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And of course, the WBC is filled with some very interesting storylines. Here are just 10 of them:

  1. Brazil is playing in the WBC. Cincinnati Reds legend Barry Larkin is the team’s manager. Did you know that 14 players from Brazil are signed to U.S. pro contracts? Fútbol is king in Brazil, but béisbol is sowing the seeds.
  2. Spain has a team, too. Yes, Spain. It’s Spain. Spanish guys playing béisbol. That alone will get us to watch them, to see how really bad they are or if they are decent.
  3. Look at who is playing for the Dominican Republic: Robinson Canó, Hanley Ramírez, José Reyes, Nelson Cruz and, yes, Miguel Tejada. That should be a fun team.
  4. Look at who is playing for Venezuela: Asdrubal Cabrera, Pablo Sandoval, Marco Scutaro, and 2012 Triple Crown winner Miguel Cabrera. Another fun team, for sure.
  5. China’s team is All USA. Former Washington Nationals and Seattle Mariners manger John McLaren is the manager for China. His pitching coach is former Red Sox and Padre Bruce Hurst, and Art Howe of “Moneyball” fame is a coach for the Chinese.
  6. You know that the Cuban team will take this seriously. We doubt there will be any defectors this time around, but you never know.
  7. Puerto Rico has good team. Again. Carlos Beltrtán and Yadier Molina will lead the Puerto Rican team, which has always been competitive. The boricuas will also have Ángel Pagán.
  8. Will the USA win one? The Americans have never won a WBC, but this year they bring in Joe Torre to head up the team, which includes Giancarlo Stanton, Ryan Braun, Adam Jones, David Wright, and Mark Texiera.
  9. ¡Viva México! And who doesn’t love the Mexican team with Adrián González and yes, Sergio Romo? ¡ROMO!
  10. Go, San Francisco and Milwaukee. Speaking of Romo, it is official: the San Francisco Giants and the Milwaukee Brewers are the coolest most forward-thinking MLB teams right now. The Giants are sending eight players , including Sandoval, Pagán, and Romo to the WBC, while the Brewers are sending 14 players, including pitchers Yovani Gallardo and Marco Estrada, who will be pitching for Mexico.
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