It’s time for a WBC update!
Taiwan has abandoned plans to bid for a WBC pool, likely ensuring that Korea will host something.
Aroldis Chapman is now a US Citizen and says he’d play for Team USA if asked.
And if he is going to take part in the WBC, it’s going to have to be on Team USA, since Cuba has announced that, despite some negotiations to make it happen, defectors will not be allowed on the Cuban national team.
Bryce Harper is in so long as some of the other top US players are going to be playing.
Manny Machado is now on record as being on Team Dominican Republic next year.
And, finally, in what I believe is the first appearance of the WBC in a English-language fictional work, Japanese-American author Naomi Hirahara’s latest book involves a amateur detective trying to solve a murder that takes place at the 2009 WBC finals between Japan and Korea.
