David Lennon: World Baseball Classic was still a hit despite Team USA's runner-up finish

After watching a wildly entertaining World Baseball Classic, the most successful in the tournament’s two-decade history, comparing it to the World Series is really just missing the whole point.

The players are there because they want to compete for their countries, alongside friends who usually are opponents, and the WBC is the only opportunity to do so — until maybe the Olympics in 2028.

So when Aaron Judge or Julio Rodriguez or Eugenio Suarez is asked if the WBC is a bigger and better atmosphere than the World Series — while they’re actually playing in the tournament, wearing their country’s uniform — what would you expect them to say?

“The brotherhood on this national team, it’s beautiful,” Suarez said after Tuesday’s tiebreaking RBI double in the ninth inning gave Venezuela a 3-2 win over the United States. “What we have done on the field is proof of that. That’s why we are united with one single heart, with one single prayer.”

Those comments help illustrate why the WBC has grown into an undeniable smash hit, along with the packed, partying crowds at Miami’s loanDepot Park — a superb retractable-roof stadium that feels wasted for six months when it’s more than half-empty during MLB’s regular season.

I’ve covered playoff and World Series games for three decades, and the energy and decibel levels generated by the Venezuelan crowds were right up there with the loudest October environments. Same with the raucous Dominican fans during their 2-1 semifinal loss to the U.S.

Team USA isn’t quite at that level, probably because the majority of those fans are focused more on the individual MLB teams those players represent and the regular season ahead. But if you’re at the WBC and can see all the Venezuelan flag-waving, or the celebrating fans dancing through the hallways as they head for the exits, it’s understandable that so many players prioritize winning this tournament.

At about 2 a.m. Wednesday, I walked out behind the Venezuelan players, who were leaving for their bus — and still had arms around each other with music blasting.

It was a much different scene for the U.S. players. They accepted their silver medals from commissioner Rob Manfred with resignation, and some peeled them off before even getting to the dugout steps.

The overall experience itself, however, was meaningful to the Team USA clubhouse. And of course those players, including Judge, were knocked for suggesting that such a high-profile baseball showcase, a chance for the sport to shine on a global stage, could rival the World Series — which happens annually, not once every three years like the WBC.

“I think it’s where your feet are at the moment,” U.S. manager Mark DeRosa said on the eve of Tuesday night’s WBC final, which was started by Mets rookie Nolan McLean. “If you’re playing in the World Series this year — if Nolan and the Mets go to the World Series — he’s going to think that’s the greatest environment. But this is just different.”

The skeptics shouldn’t require any more convincing. Not after what the almighty TV ratings revealed at the tournament’s conclusion.

Tuesday’s WBC final, broadcast by Fox and Fox Deportes, drew a record 10,784,000 viewers — a 128% increase over the 2023 title game on FS1 between the U.S. and Japan (4,480,000). It also was the most-watched Tuesday on Fox since Game 4 of last October’s World Series.

The WBC’s do-or-die, winner-take-all format from the quarterfinals on definitely pumps up the hype factor and the intensity level for the players. For the first-timers such as Judge, when you take into account the international stage, it’s like nothing they’ve experienced before.

“The World Series is a seven-game series,” Judge said after Tuesday’s loss. “This is like a wild-card game every single night, win or go home. You can’t compare a seven-game series with a one-game series. You got bands playing, there’s chants going on. You don’t even hear that too much at World Series games.”

Judge ultimately did provide the right perspective. His widely criticized comments came after Team USA’s thrilling 2-1 comeback win over the Dominican Republic in their highly anticipated semifinal showdown, which was an emotionally charged night for both sides at loanDepot Park. Even 90 minutes later, Judge still had to be wired when he met with the media and described the WBC as a “bigger, better” atmosphere than the World Series.

In truth, baseball’s two marquee championships can’t really be compared. The two are very different events, with much different stakes. But for the WBC to create this type of competitive spectacle in the middle of March, during the dog days of spring training, has become a huge win for baseball, and much harder to manufacture than the World Series, which had a 103-year head start.

Bryce Harper hit the tying two-run homer for the U.S. in the eighth inning of Tuesday’s final before Suarez erased the magnitude of his moment. The WBC doesn’t have a postgame handshake line, but Harper made sure to salute the Venezuelan team himself, hugging a number of players before going back into the clubhouse.

“Obviously I want to win no matter what,” Harper said. “That’s what I play for — winning championships and winning gold medals. But in that moment, it’s not about me. It’s about us and our game . . . They had a great tournament and I just wanted to let them know, congratulations. They’re the best team in the world.”

If that’s the case, we’re not sure what to call the last team standing in October, other than World Series champions. Based on the meteoric rise of the WBC this March, among both fans and players, maybe it’s time we make that distinction.

Season’s readings

On the eve of Opening Day, what better time to open a baseball book (or two). On Tuesday, “The Bosses of the Bronx,” by esteemed New York Post sports columnist Mike Vaccaro, officially hits the bookstores. As the title suggests, it gives you the definitive blow-by-blow rundown on The House of Steinbrenner, from the bombastic King George to the more diplomatic Prince Hal.

Vaccaro, born and raised in West Hempstead, quickly realized the NBA was not in the cards after his high school basketball days at Chaminade. Instead, Vac had more of a starring role for a chain of Long Island newspapers, where his journalism career was launched. No one has a better institutional grasp of New York baseball.

Vaccaro starts in the pre-George era in tracing what it meant to be the owner of the Yankees and how the elder Steinbrenner forever molded that perception in his image, with a legacy that now weighs heavily on his son’s shoulders.

But the story of the Steinbrenners is a tale about New York City, too, and Vaccaro understandably relishes the tabloids’ role in chronicling George’s epic battles with Billy, Reggie and Yogi, just to name a few.

As someone who covered the Yankees during the late-‘90s dynasty, when The Boss was still at the height of his powers, this book brought back memories for me of a much different Yankees era. It’s also a reminder of how Steinbrenner’s $10 million purchase of the club — using only $168,000 of his own money — shaped the course of the franchise, for better and worse, right through Hal taking the reins after his dad’s death in 2010.

My former Newsday colleague, Ken Davidoff, who previously occupied this space as the baseball columnist, is now a first-time author, teaming up with Harley Rotbart, M.D., on “101 Lessons from the Dugout,” which discusses what baseball and softball can teach us about the game of life.

As kids of all ages take the field this spring, the book takes a unique and detailed approach into applying every facet of the game, breaking them down into chapters from “Keeping Score” to “Dropped Third Strike” to “The Warning Track.”

We all spend a lot of time scrutinizing baseball and softball games at every level, but we don’t often stop to think what could be learned along the way.

The book includes a foreword by seven-time Mets All-Star David Wright, now a youth coach himself. Wright ties it all together by recounting the key figures from his own development and how they taught him more about being a good person and student than a great baseball player.