“The World Baseball Classic is out of the nest. Now is the time to let it fly.

The American victory over the Dominican Republic, in Sunday’s semifinal, was shown opposite the Academy Awards and still drew a bigger viewing audience than the 2025 All-Star Game did. If that isn’t a mandate for change, how about the jam-packed crowds in Miami to watch the Dominicans, Puerto Ricans and Venezuelans? It’s proof that Miami loves baseball, as long as it’s not played by the Marlins. But it also launches the WBC into something that we should pencil in, at least once every two years. And not at the shank of spring training, either.

No, the WBC should replace the All-Star Game in alternate seasons, right there in the middle of July, when everyone is lathered up and in rhythm, when there would be no pleas from the MLB team executives to hold people out of competition, when baseball is the lone focus and when every other major sport is dormant.”

“Arte Moreno, the Angels’ owner, normally speaks to the media once a year.

Even then, he’s overexposed.

His 2026 observations went over about as well as his $245-million signing of Anthony Rendon.

“The number one thing the fans want is affordability,” Moreno said. “They want safety, and they want a good experience when they come to the ballpark. Believe it or not, winning is not in their top five. The moms want to bring their kids. They make about 80 percent of the decisions. Wanting to win is what the purists want. For me, I’ve always wanted to win. It’s just, what’s the cost of winning right now?”

“There is still October baseball in Pittsburgh. It usually lasts one day.

On Oct. 13, a troupe of Pirate fans, of various ages, gather at the site of Forbes Field and call up the radio broadcast of World Series Game 7, 1960, with Chuck Thompson and Jim Quinlan at the microphone. They observe the seventh inning stretch. They visualize the desperate pitchers of the Pirates and Yankees, trying to get somebody, anybody out. At the end, Bill Mazeroski hits the home run, like he always does, and everybody goes home happy. The rest of the month is devoted to watching others play. The Pirates themselves haven’t lost a World Series game since 1979. “