A fluke injury to Edwin Diaz after Puerto Rico beat the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic has led to questions regarding the value of the tournament. USA stars Mookie Betts and Mike Trout firmly support the WBC amidst the controversy.
Team USA says WBC is worth it despite injury criticism
Trout: “This is the funnest experience I’ve had… You’re still playing baseball in Spring Training.”
Betts: “Way better than getting 4 ABs on the back field. I encourage those watching to come play” pic.twitter.com/84QcEr5YJQ
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 16, 2023
‘Captain America' Mike Trout did not mince words in support of the tournament when speaking on his own experience so far.
“Being a part of this atmosphere, it's special. It means a lot to me. I knew going in it was going to be a good time, but I didn't know it was going to be this fun.”
Fellow star in the outfield Mookie Betts then put it simply after Trout weighed in.
“To echo what Mike said this is so much fun, so much fun.”
Betts and Trout are two of the primary faces of the game, and supporting the World Baseball Classic so publicly bodes well for the future of the tournament. In reality, blaming the WBC for the injury to Edwin Diaz does not make much sense.
Betts mentioned it when he spoke, but injuries can happen to anyone at anytime. Every season sees players go down during spring training, so it is impossible to say the WBC had really anything to do with what happened to Diaz.
The support from the USA stars will not curb all the criticism, but the outfielders have bigger concerns in mind. They are preparing for a WBC Quarterfinal matchup against Venezuela that will take place in Miami on Saturday. USA will look to continue down the road of defending their World Baseball Classic title.
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