Uncorking Baseball

Bruce Bochy prepares France for the international stage

Welcome to Warning Track Power, a weekly newsletter of baseball stories and analysis grounded in front office and scouting experiences and the personalities encountered along the way.

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When the competition committee approved rule changes last week, the timeless romance of baseball left the yard.

It can be jarring to witness present day becoming ancient history before our eyes. But come Opening Day next year, the game will be different. Next season, among other changes, a pitcher’s ability to attempt pickoffs will be limited. Additionally, a pitch clock will be instituted.

“It’s a dinosaur now,” says Hall of Famer Alan Trammell about the now-fleeting untimed game and its conventions.

Under Rob Manfred’s leadership, baseball’s rules have been constantly tweaked or overhauled. In turn, the commissioner is regularly criticized by traditionalists, purists, and former players over his heavy-handed approach to “fixing” the game.

These rule changes were motivated by a desire to create more action and make the game more appealing to a wider audience. I just don’t know if the lack of interest in Major League Baseball is because games last 30 minutes too long.

Consider this: the NBA Instagram account has more than 70 million followers. The NFL’s account includes more than 25 million followers. What’s your guess for MLB?

How about nine million?

Mike Trout is shy of two million followers on his personal account; Ohtani has 1.5 million followers. NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo has more than 13 million fans tracking his social posts; Jimmy Butler, well over seven million followers.

Are fewer pickoff attempts going to sway a generation that engages with its sports heroes over social media?

Instead of constantly changing the game, maybe MLB needs to support it.

Do you know what begins today? It’s the Regensburg Qualifier for the 2023 World Baseball Classic. In the Bavarian city situated along the Danube in Germany, six teams battle for two spots in the main tournament, which takes place this spring.

South Africa faces Spain this morning; first pitch is at 7:00 am ET. The second game of the day is the one I’m looking forward to (and will be awake for): France vs. Great Britain.

While that matchup holds much more allure on the soccer field, I’m excited to see what the underdog French, led by manager Bruce Bochy, can accomplish.

I worked with Boch for a couple years in San Diego, beginning in 2005. One of my most memorable encounters with him came one year before I began in baseball, while I was still working at Wine Spectator magazine.

Bochy, who was born on a U.S. airbase in France, belonged to a dinner group in San Diego with his wife and several friends. When it came time for the Bochys to host, he was expected to offer an array of French wines to complement the meal.

He was honest with me. Just because he was born in France didn’t mean he knew his way around the country’s wines. If ever there was a way for me to demonstrate value to a Major League skipper…

I did my research. I prepared lists of French wines — Burgundy, Bordeaux and more — and filtered them by availability, quality and price. I sent a thorough email.

A few days later, Bochy and I spoke for about 30 minutes, and we set his wine-buying strategy. I think we both hung up that day feeling good about what had transpired.

One year later, now as a part of the Padres baseball operations group, I watched as the manager planned his starting lineup against the Pirates — who would start at third base, the struggling veteran Vinny Castilla or rookie Xavier Nady? He deliberated for about 15 minutes. In reality, Boch had likely been thinking about it for hours leading up to that moment.

We examined matchups and trends. Ultimately, Castilla got the start.

Still, I think the wine selection for his dinner caused greater stress.

Let me rein this in before we pull the cork on another bottle. Is limiting the frequency with which a pitcher can attempt a pickoff throw going to improve the game’s popularity?

Or, perhaps, could MLB spend more time promoting the game both at home and internationally?

I checked in with three different clubs; none had received any formal roster information from the league about these upcoming games. Publicly, very little has been shared.

The WBC qualifiers couldn’t compete with a high school showcase right now. This feels like independent league baseball, where the love of the game and the endless pursuit of a dream is all that fills the seats.

As for Team France, they’re trying to qualify for the World Baseball Classic for the first time ever — and it’ll be an uphill battle. I checked in with Bochy, who only had five days to work with his roster in France. Some players didn’t arrive in Regensburg until yesterday.

The Great Britain squad has a slew of players in affiliated baseball. Bochy’s French squad has none. Still, Boch believes.

“It’s a good group that has a lot of confidence going in, so I believe they will compete well,” he says.

First pitch is at 1:00 pm ET. If MLB won’t promote the game, WTP will. The games can be seen at WorldBaseballClassic.com and MLB.TV. The host country Germans and the neighboring Czech Republic are the favorites to advance to the big dance in March.

Bonne chance.

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