MLB Showdown Obsession

 This may be a tired point, but Puerto Rico technically isn't a country. They're a territory of the United States that we just kinda let do their own thing and pretend to be their own country. As unstoppable as a combined forces team would be, PR are a formidable force all on their own. The pool C host proved this by sweeping by the competition in round 1; 2-1 over Panama, 8-3 over Netherlands, and a 7 inning mercy rule 12-2 win over Cuba. The winning streak continued in round 2 with a 7-1 victory over the Dominican Republic. The good times came to a screeching halt when they were next stunned in a 6-0 defeat against Venezuela. In a must-win final game of round 2, Puerto Rico got eliminated, falling 4-3 in a revenge victory for Cuba. The Mets team and farm system feature a large selection of Puerto Rican talent, so get ready for a lot of one team. Beltran was entering his sophomore year in Queens and his card shows just how in his prime he still was. Cabrera is almost tolerable...

 The Braves franchise features a unique trophy case. They currently stand at four World Series championships from three different cities. They have a title from 1914 while in Boston; a Milwaukee title from 1957; and the more recent 1995 and 2021 titles while representing Atlanta. And while they didn't have numbers to retire from 1914, and 2021 is still too recent for guys to gain such honor, the other two titles have plenty of greats to feature. #3 - Dale Murphy Murphy debuted in 1976 and spent the next few seasons touring around the infield to find a permanent spot in the lineup. In 1980 he took up the outfield and he found his place in Atlanta until his trade in 1990. He was an all star in 1980, but as a Left Fielder in 1982 it all really clicked. 1982 was the beginning of a few impressive streaks: six straight all star nominations ('82-'87), five straight Gold Gloves ('82-'86), four straight Silver Sluggers ('82-'85), and most impressive of all his back-t...

 When you think North America, Mexico tends to be one of the big 3 countries you think of along with Canada and the United States. But while Canada and the USA get grouped together pretty much all the time in WBC pools, Mexico trades places year to year into the Central America dominant pools some years as well. In the inaugural WBC, they matched up with America and Canada (...and South Africa because they had nowhere else to go, I guess). Mexico debuted with a 2-0 loss to the Americans. They rebounded with a 10-4 beatdown of South Africa. With a final matchup with the 2-0 Canadiens looming, Mexico needed to win and win big to advance. Their 9-1 victory not only allowed them to win the pool via tiebreakers, but they beat Canada so bad that their RA/9 average was swelled and they went from 2-0 and ready to advance to eliminated. The second round saw Mexico drop back to back games; 2-1 to South Korea and 6-1 against Japan. At 0-2, they were once again in need of a big win to hopefull...

 The class of 1966 wasn't exactly a large one, but while the previous years induction featured one player who had his career before the World Series era and before many fans were even born yet, this years crop, while just two men, definitely would be more memorable and rank high on the quality list. The BBWAA certainly didn't need any run-off elections this time with their guy, and the Veterans Committee wouldn't be getting any flack for their selection, either. Both Ted Williams and Casey Stengel stood among the best of the best of their bodies of work. Also inducted: Casey Stengel - Manager  (New York Yankees / New York Mets / Boston Braves / Brooklyn Dodgers)