The World Baseball Classic is good because the best players care |

How to separate an exhibition from something with real interests if there is no opinion of the people involved?

Paul Skeens — pitching in the biggest game of his illustrious but underutilized career and by far the loudest stadium he'll see this year — hit Julio Rodriguez in the wrist with a 98-mph fastball.

A painful free pass loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth inning for the Dominican Republic after Team USA had only led 2-1 in the previous frame.It probably caused an entire group of Pacific Northwest sports fans to temporarily curse the existence of the World Baseball Classic.So early in the season with so much promise for the Seattle Mariners, why would their young star risk his health to perform?

About 10 minutes later, Rodriguez answered them. After a deep hit, he reached up to brace himself with the same arm, climbed the outfield wall, and stole a home run from the most powerful hitter on the planet. He clenched his fists, crossed his arms in an X shape over his chest, and screamed—not in pain, but in strength and pride. How does a showcase differ from one with real stakes if not for the emotional investment of the people involved?

Later, Aaron Judge, the man who stole the home run and also the author of the incredible defensive game, declared that the WBC crowd was "bigger and better than the World Cup".

This tournament is not the only time players have considered what is the true pinnacle of the sport - WBC or World Series.Rodriguez, for example, offered one of the most ambiguous answers: the WBC.It's a question that makes for interesting content, but for better or worse, the players don't get to choose and the fans don't have to.

Sunday night's semifinal matchup between Team USA and Team DR may be the best contemporary baseball talent ever assembled in one showdown.Actual World Series rosters include nine-hole hitters, bullpen bulk guys and fifth starters.Even recent All-Star Games haven't been stacked by some measures.And the WBC has something that every all-star game in all of sports struggles to bring into existence: effort, all in a single-elimination format.

The WBC has discovered a formula that allows the All-Star lineup to be bet on in a Game 7 format.

Received the World Baseball Medal.Google Trends shows that US interest in Dominican games is higher than other games.

Luis Severino, starting in DR one more time before he returns to a team expected to finish below .500, has thrown more pitches faster than 99 mph in 3.1 innings than he did last season.The rules of the game guaranteed him a short run, but no doubt the scene, the situation, and the decibel level raised the adrenaline.

Judge, with plenty of personal experience comparing the WBC to postseason baseball, pegged Fernando Tatís Jr. as his third-hardest pitch in three years.

Investment manifests itself differently depending on the lists.The Dominican team set the WBC record for home runs in the tournament — and, arguably, the record for bat flips and elaborate home run trots that make a functional trip around the bases in a performative celebration of national identity and personal swagger.

On the other hand, the American team approached the game as a cross between a business meeting and a military operation.If we take America's victory too seriously, we forget that it's supposed to be fun.They were so intent on fighting for the name on the front of their uniform that they made international events seem jingoistic.It was so obvious about honoring the military - Robert O'Neill, the man who claimed to have killed Osama bin Laden, was brought in to address the team last week - that I began to think he knew what he was doing.Or what the military did.

It is an aggressive, no-nonsense, competitive energy.This bothers some fans.But it also undoubtedly shows real shopping.

Broadly speaking, other countries have always been concerned about the WBC — it's not hard to see why players who have to leave their homes to practice relish the opportunity to represent their roots — and the tournament's growing success is best reflected in how seriously the U.S. team takes it.There is some prize money involved, but it appears that the level of competition established by countries like Japan and the Democratic Republic of Congo has actually worked to encourage more investment.

All sporting events are exhibitions.The location systems and the organization systems - not to mention other things about the rules - are completely done.We want to know which is the most important and we try to compare an appropriate answer by recording the important things to each other.

This year, the WBC can be trusted to do that.If you're at Sunday's game between Team USA and Team DR, maybe some days you can say you see 10 Hall of Famers on the same field.And they all want to win.

That's what makes the final result - a clear call for the end - so unsatisfying.That's why Juan Soto of the recent DR, which had more than 10 runs in the game before facing Paul Skeens, could argue that the tournament showed the Dominican as the best in baseball.

That's why we'll be watching on Monday night as Italy and Venezuela play for the right to face the USA in Tuesday's final.Which is why we'll all be coming back in three years to watch what's sure to be a similar star clash.