[Gator]

Originally Posted by Crowbar

I have been thinking about my next semi-fictional set-up, something different but exciting.

Inspired by my own country's succesful turn in baseball the last few years, winning the 2011 Baseball World Cup among things, although I get the impression not one single American/Canadian cares for that cup at all. I remember the day we won, was looking at all American news sites, none mentioned it in the quick search I made.

Since that time, I have the distinct impression that they only care about the MLB. I always wondered why the final was called "world series", don't get me wrong, I absolutely love MLB history, but I always thought about it. It's like the world only exists out of the US baseball league, there's nothing outside. It's like calling the FA Cup in England the "world cup".

And my feelings were only boosted when I found out how it almost seems like people acted lightly about the World Cup.

Just some thoughts.

Anyway, has anyone had succes in making a set-up somewhat close to World Cup? At least some way to feed people at the end of each season into a yearly playoff tournament?

Just to confirm your impression, I am confident that very few Americans are aware that a baseball world cup exists, much less care about who wins it. In America only MLB matters, with perhaps the college and little league world series a distant second and third. Baseball is an American creation and as a result there has never been any need or desire by Americans to look beyond our borders for a measuring stick of our worth in the sport. I think we rejoice in the knowledge that our game has been embraced and is growing in some nations around the globe. MLB is trying to nurture this with the admittedly clumsy WBC. However, that said, my own opinion is that the game ultimately does not lend itself well to international play as any tournament format can offer little more than an exhibition as a true world champion would require playing a large sample size of games to determine which team was truly best.