Created by Major League Baseball, its Players Association and multiple other baseball leagues around the world, the World Baseball Classic is an exhibition baseball tournament which pits countries against each other. Similar to the Olympics, the WBC is an international tourney of national teams, but unlike the Olympics, it features star players from Major League Baseball. The added star power was supposed to increase the interest among fans, but hasn’t caught on as much as expected.
While the rest of the world has become more enamored with the WBC, the U.S. fan base has yet to embrace the new tournament. Television ratings have been less than stellar and often viewers look in on half empty stadiums. During the 2009 WBC, the event never cracked TicketNews’s Top Sports Event rankings. The baseball community is hopeful the next WBC, scheduled to take place in 2013, will be a greater success.
