World Baseball Classic in full swing!

John Manuel, my friend, pro scout, Minnesota Twins is in Florida for spring training. And don't you know, the World Baseball Classic is actually a major big deal tonight before we get to the final tonight with the United States and Japan, which has to be the best thing that we could possibly have hoped for.

Can we go back to last night's? I mean, we got we had Sasaki, the 21 year old ace from Japan. I don't know if he's the ace, but he's dynamite, who was dealing until the three run home run that made it three nothing and then Japan countered. I mean, have there ever been that many people inside Miami Marlins Park? I think only the game before when it was the US Venezuela has been the bigger one.

That's what's making. I mean, a game last night was just a great baseball game in any venue in any tournament, which is a great baseball game was back and forth with a lot of talent on the field. I was just really impressed by this guy's going 102 for four innings and how competitive after the first inning, how competitive Mexico's at bats were. And that's, you know, a bunch of big leaguers in the lineup. You know, rowdy to us is at 30 home runs. He thought parade is a really good hitter. I mean, it's a good line up and down, but it's not the US lineup in the first inning. Sasaki just carved them up.

Made a Rosa Rayna look terrible. He dominated and I thought, well, this was going to be easy. And then it wasn't. So Mexico's at bats, their quality of their bats and how just pitch to pitch up and down the lineup was so high quality that really made it a great game. And, you know, Japan had to reach deep, but really, I guess ultimately things just got away when they could not get through the eighth inning without guaranteeing that they see Ohtani in the nights. And man, it's so fun to watch the best player in the world. Get a chance to show out when it matters and when he leads off the night with that double and just you see a guy that big run that easy and that fast. He's a breathtaking player and it was a breathtaking comeback.

John Manuel Pro Pro Scout Minnesota Twins here and that's where I wanted. I really want to hit this first before we get to whatever we saw last night in terms of strategy and all that. And yes, I'm going to go there for a second, but it's all it's all right. People understand what's coming. The fact that Ohtani who has this much pressure on him playing for his home country because we know he's got that pressure and that he could step up in the ninth inning first pitch and have just no doubt hit a seed into right center field. It actually took a good play. Forget who the center fielder was from Mexico to keep that ball from going to the wall because he would have been on third.

I mean, who knows if it goes all the way to the wall. He's so fast. He might have scored so it was just rising to the occasion in that moment tells you everything you need to know about show. I mean, isn't it great to see the great talents and sports where the crown easily. I mean, I think sometimes we see Mike Trout has a hard time in that spotlight.

Yeah, whether it's on the field or off it. Oh, Tommy, where's it for an entire country and he wants it. I mean, did you see his quotes about BP? His BP show was epic video on Twitter about it. It's very fun. A lot of video on Instagram about it.

That's very fun. And he was quoted after we're just saying he wanted to send a message. He knew that Mexico was watching. So he wanted to let them know that if they made a mistake, that's where it would land.

I mean, who does that? That's like Jordan, the layup line, just throwing down some extra ones just in case, just for intimidation sake. That's what we want the best players in the sport to do.

I'm convinced that if a tiny English, if English were his first language or if he were fluent in English, that he would just be an insane star. He would be the person who would cross over because it's just so good, but also because of personality. He wants to be the man. I mean, if he could wear Ric Flair robes into the box and then this robe, he would do it.

So I guess I should say Charlotte Flair now to show that I'm up with current wrestling. But the point is, he wants to be the man and the U.S. has to beat the man tonight. Yeah, they're going to. He says he's ready to pitch in relief. He wants to get his at bats in first. He's ready to pitch in relief if he has to. This could be the ultimate Los Angeles Angels moment if it's Otani versus Trout. I know there won't be any moments during the regular season.

It doesn't appear that they're allowed to be. But this could be the ultimate Angels moment if Otani is pitching in the ninth against Trout. I mean, my money's on Otani on that one. Yeah, I know. But if it's Otani against Trey Turner, maybe my money's on Trey.

I mean, maybe I'll put my money on the one who's cell phone number I have. Hashtag humble brag. But I mean, how good has Trey been? It's just so neat that you think of a better word to see a dude like that. I mean, just grow and develop again.

So but you see, for some of these U.S. players, the pressure they responded to. And I guess another one who just does it on the down low. Paul Goldschmidt. Yeah, I don't think average sports fans know who he is.

Obviously, baseball fans do. But this guy's really incredible. And he doesn't run pretty. But that guy runs really well for a big dude. He at the base of his base running the other day was a thing of beauty in the Cuba game. He's done that many times in his career.

He's stolen 20 bags. And if you play fantasy baseball, even at 35, Paul Goldschmidt's going to get you a few steals more than the average first baseman. Right. I kind of wonder how the Cardinals ever lose when they have Aaron Otto and Goldschmidt.

For crying out loud, that should be illegal. So on the same team at the corners and they're so good in this tournament and they were so good and they were on this team six years ago when they won. So an Aaron Otto was great during that tournament. So the U.S. team has no pushover. But, you know, when the tournament started, everyone wanted to see either Japan Dominican or Japan U.S. for the championship.

Right. And we got Japan U.S. And I'm really I'm really excited because it's a it's been a very competitive tournament. It's been exciting. It's been great for fans and great TV.

I hope we get a great you know, I hope we get a showcase game for the gold medal game because I really think the tournament has significantly grown this year. I feel like it's made a little more dent in the public consciousness. And I think half of that is because people have still been shouting.

This is meaningless in the in the midst of all this meaningful, exciting day. Well, two things were meant for the inadvertent help to two things about that. And I'm going to spare us the why did Japan bunt with first and second and nobody out in the eighth and then not do it with first and second and nobody out in the ninth? Because I didn't I don't understand why they didn't in the night.

As it turned out, we scored two runs by not bunting and one run by bunting. So I'm going to leave that there for the people to hear. So your point has been made. The I I think people were drawn to the scene between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and the energy in the building for that particular game. And then they were drawn to it for the the the sadness of Edwin Diaz injury.

And once they had already seen that, they were like, well, maybe I'll check this out. And basically, certainly every game Japan has played has been an unbelievable fascination. But the games have been so good and the atmospheres have been so good that I think people are drawn to it. And now all of a sudden you stumble on last night and now we have the title game.

So people are going to be invested in it. I think tonight we'll do pretty good numbers here. But the numbers in Japan are Super Bowl numbers. Sixty two million people watched. Not this one, because we don't know the numbers from last night, but 62 million people watched what their quarterfinal game.

I was just insane game. Korea, like I think, was already eliminated. So that was really just a game, a spite game for Korea. So, you know, there's a lot of bad blood between those two countries.

And basically, like when the Japanese prime minister comes to Korea, he has to apologize for World War Two every time he comes over, basically. I mean, I've been to Japan, Korea game. And the intensity of that rivalry is is something to behold. I mean, state and Duke and Carolina rivalry like right.

Not in a sense like, yeah, that hatred is real. I respect that. But Japan, I think the thing is, is that it's really been a passion of the Latin American fans turning every game into a Caribbean series game.

To me, that's taken us to another level. So kudos to the fans in Miami. You know, when I went I went in San Francisco, I know the first two classics, the big moments were in L.A. and Dodger Stadium in 2017 when you had the U.S. play or you had Korea and Japan play. I mean, Japan, you know, they're like on your forward. I haven't kept track, but there's several Japanese language of daily newspapers in Los Angeles.

So there's a huge Japanese population there. So there have been pockets. But for this, it's been for every game, whether it's I think, like you said, the D.R. Puerto Rico game or it was an elimination game because Venezuela came correct and had its best tournament it's ever had. And with a really tough out, obviously, with the U.S. Silvio Bracho would maybe the worst to pitch in the history of baseball. Trey Turner, that grand slam. But when Venezuela beat the D.R. that set up that Puerto Rico game and they beat Puerto Rico. I think that Puerto Rico Dominican game winner take all games of advance and that an extra intensity.

And the way Puerto Rico played that game did capture a lot of people. So it's just been exciting. I mean, Adam, I'm all in for the tournament anyway. But I mean, it's been better than I expected. So it's really been fun. It's just been a lot of fun. It's fun. Baseball is good. Yeah.

Have more fun. Baseball. You know me. I'm a I'm a huge baseball fan. I have not been behind this because I just didn't think that you could get the best American players to buy in the the the Dominicans, the Puerto Ricans, the Venezuelans, the Japanese, the Koreans who play in big league baseball would would do it because their cultures are different. I still don't know if the best Americans, although we have great American hitters.

Right. The pitchers are not as interested in this, although we've got I mean, certainly good pitchers. Who are we going to see tonight? Who is our starting? Merrill Kelly. Who? Merrill Kelly of the years of the Diamondbacks, former Durham Bull, by the way.

I believe in 2013, Merrill Kelly. Jason Hammel, not available. Yeah, we're going to get Merrill. We're going to get Merrill Kelly. And I think we're going to get some Kyle Freeland, one of my all time favorite scouting stories. But that's another another story for another phone call. But I think Kyle Freeland of the Rockies is the first down of the bullpen.

It's really well on pool play. OK. And then maybe Brady Singer of the Royals. The U.S. is just hoping to survive until it can get to its bullpen. And no offense to the target in the audience. But let's hope we don't see Daniel Bart again. Daniel Bart. OK, then be that Daniel Bart. Great guy. But I think we've let him pitch in less stressful games for the Colorado Rockies. Let's let him close for a last place team. And he's fun to watch. But the other day was.

Yeah, I was painful. Let's just avoid that. Let's just get Shohei Ohtani on the mound in the ninth inning against Mike Trout and enjoy it. John, many fun for everyone.

That would be John Manuel, pro scout, Minnesota Twins. I appreciate your time, my man. I'll see you when you get back to town. Adam, I will. Next time we talk, I won't act like I'm being interviewed in the public in Sarasota.