Daily Dirt: ‘It was an honor to be your captain’

Daily Dirt for Thursday, March 23, 2023

I wonder how long it will be until the Japanese professional baseball league will be a part of MLB? Ten years? 20? Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 560 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Some final thoughts on the recently completed World Baseball Classic, thanks to two of MLB’s biggest stars and the game’s commissioner:

• Mike Trout: “I already told them I’m doing the next one, so I’m already in. If I’m DHing, playing left field, whatever they want, I’m in, I’m in. And I think that’s coming from all the guys, talking to them and just how proud we are wearing that across our chest … In the ninth inning, hearing the ‘U-S-A’ chants, it’s special, man. It’s hard to sum up into words what these last couple of weeks have meant to me. I had the time of my life representing that USA on my chest! The energy was electric and made the WBC a moment I’ll always cherish. So thank you all so much. It was an honor to be your captain.”
• Shohei Ohtani: Before the championship game, Ohtani told his Japanese teammates, “Let’s stop admiring (the U.S. players) … if you admire them, you can’t surpass them. We came here to surpass them, to reach the top. For one day, let’s throw away our admiration for them and just think about winning.”
• MLB commissioner Rob Manfred: Talking about the next WBC, he said, “We have talked about timing until your head hurts. There’s just no perfect time. You can’t really do it after the playoffs because so many have (not been playing for a few weeks). We have talked about something in the middle of the season. I think on balance, although it’s not perfect, that is probably the right place for it.”

Three personal comments about the 2026 World Baseball Classic:

• It will be something beyond huge. Many of the MLB superstars who skipped this year will be getting in line to be a part of Team USA.
• That includes front-line pitchers. The U.S. will not have to pitch Merrill Kelly in the next WBC championship game. That’s not a shot at Kelly, who I give a lot of credit to for willing to be a part of the U.S. team. But let’s be honest. Kelly is hardly a world-class ace.
• It’s going to be a long three years waiting for the next WBC.

2. This week’s tribute to disgusting food is going the medal-stand route. I couldn’t decide on just one. Enjoy:

• Gold medal: Kiviak. To make kiviak, a traditional Inuit food from Greenland, up to 500 small birds called auks are stitched up inside a sealskin and stored under a rock for three months. Once the birds are done fermenting, they are eaten for special occasions. I wonder what they eat on non-special occasions.
• Silver medal: Kale pache. This may also be called sheep’s head soup. It is a traditional slow-cooked dish in Iran. It’s also made with the sheep’s hooves as well as its head. Hooves? Well, of course.
• Bronze medal: Cuy. In Peru, people have been raising and eating guinea pigs — called cuy — for about 5,000 years. They are usually served fried or roasted whole. I wouldn’t think there would be any guinea pigs left after 5,000 years.

3. For anyone who has ever participated in a fantasy baseball league knows the value — and humor — in a well-crafted team name. These were the 10 funniest I found this week online as the 2023 MLB season draws nigh:

• All Betts Are Off (Let’s not hate Mookie just because he hit into that key double play in the WBC championship game against Japan)
• North Correa (Rather harsh, Carlos Correa haters)
• Bryce Krispies (Rather elementary, but effective)
• Hold Me Closer, Tiny Dansby (When you can combine Sir Elton John and baseball humor, it’s a glorious day)
• Syndergaardians Of The Galaxy (Don’t forget, “Thor” is pitching for the Dodgers this year)
• Triston The Night Away (obviously, in honor of Guardians starter Triston McKenzie)
• No Soup For Yu (As in Darvish, I presume)
• We Down With OBP (This is dedicated to Don O’Brien)
• Twist And Trout (For some reason, it doesn’t seem right to make fun of Mike Trout)
• Funky Cold Mussina (Nothing wrong with a little old school fantasy humor)

Steve Thought O’ The Day
I don’t understand the appeal of eating dead birds that have been fermenting for three months. What am I missing?

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. While he waits for the next World Baseball Classic, he will sit quietly in his mancave praying for the Cleveland Indians to win the World Series for the first time since 1948.