MLB Showdown Obsession

 There is little more that's nerve wracking for a Hall of Fame hopeful than being on the bubble on your final year of eligibility. It also happens to be your best bet to make the cut. Voters will usually ignore some guys on the ballot to give love to those final year names as their way to show love, and if you get enough of those guys, your usually lackluster turnout in voting might get enough of a boost to get that coveted 75%. One extreme example is Vic Raschi in 1975, who usually lived at a mere 1 or 2% of voting, ballooning to just over 10% in his final ballot. Far from what was needed but a nice example of the kind of support a man can get when voters only have one more chance to show respect. An example of a successful push is Ralph Kiner who in his later votes had been reliably in the high 50s-low 60s. For his 15th and final opportunity, reluctant voters were finally giving him the votes and he barely hit the threshold at 75.2%, one single vote over the requirement. As for t...

 It's that wonderful time, again. The World Baseball Classic begins as it seems Japan looks to prove they're better than all the other countries. As the 2026 edition gets started, let's take a moment to look back to 2023 where something truly unique went down... On March 13, 2023, round 1 (called the group stage this year) was continuing in Pool D as Israel faced off against Puerto Rico at LoanDepot Park (Home of the Miami Marlins). Advancement to Round 2 was still very much up in the air with Israel at 1-0 and Puerto Rico 1-1, but on this day Puerto Rico made a statement as their pitching staff combined to toss a "perfect game". Why wasn't it a proper perfect game? WBC rules got in the way in multiple ways. Back in 2017, Marcus Stroman was playing for the United States as he took a no-hitter into the 8th inning during the finals against Puerto Rico. He was able to do that because the rules had fewer limitations on pitchers during the championship round. Round...

 Japan may have been the 2 time champions going into the 2013 WBC, but neither time were they unbeatable. The Dominican Republic had a chance to dominate in a way that no other country would be able to say that "they got lucky!" The Dominican Republic began by beating Venezuela 9-3, followed with a 6-3 win over Spain then just to flex handed Puerto Rico a 4-2 loss to sweep Pool C. Round 2 began with a 5-4 nailbiter win over Italy, then came the United States for the biggest test yet in the tournament. DR passed the test with a 3-1 win, punching their ticket to the semi-finals. Pool 2 play ended with a rematch against Puerto Rico, which DR won again 2-0 to sweep yet another group of games. As the only undefeated team remaining, Dominican Republic pushed aside the Netherlands 4-1 to lock up a spot in the championship game. Japan, meanwhile, finally lost a game that mattered as Puerto Rico set up a third battle, this time with more than just bragging rights on the line. Edwin En...

 Puerto Rico is a tiny island, but they hold a disproportionate amount of baseball talent for their small size. This is a fact that they exploit the heck out of in international competition. They seemed like a lock to escape the opening round of the WBC like they did in 2006 and 2009, but they were ready now to push their run even further in 2013. While they shared Pool C with the powerful Dominican Republic, it just meant they needed to beat up on the other teams. And beat up they did as they were victorious over Spain 3-0, then Venezuela 6-3. Their advancement secured, their matchup with the Dominican Republic was merely for seeding, so their 4-2 loss wasn't devastating. What was more devastating was their round 2 loss to the United States, 7-1. Now at risk in the losers bracket, Puerto Rico had no room for error as they ousted Italy 4-3 to set up a rematch with the USA to determine who would advance to the semi-finals with the Dominican Republic. Victory this time belonged to Pu...