Programming Alert: WBC Title Game
March baseball gets serious
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. Tonight’s game called for a midday column. I look forward to sprinkling in more of these throughout the season.
The closer on Team USA’s 2017 World Baseball Classic championship squad wasn’t needed in the finals, not with his team taking an 8-0 lead into the final frame against Puerto Rico.
Luke Gregerson earned his keep — and the last of his three WBC saves — the night before. With the US clinging to a 2-1 lead in Dodger Stadium, Gregerson finished off Japan with an eight-pitch ninth inning.
Tonight’s championship game between Team USA and Japan wraps up two weeks of high-intensity competition.
This tournament has been full of upsets and excitement. Australia took down Korea early in pool play. Great Britain ensured an automatic bid in the 2026 WBC, in large part by defeating Colombia. And both last night’s thriller between Japan and Mexico and the quarterfinal game between Venezuela and the US have validated the classic in WBC.
Really, this is a public service announcement to all baseball fans. You are going to want to watch tonight’s game (7 PM ET / 4 PM PT on FS1). During the knockout stage, each game has showcased Major League talent playing with College World Series energy. We’re not going to see this brand of baseball with this pool of talent again for three years.
Earlier today, I spoke to Gregerson, whom I got to know after he was acquired by the Padres as the player to be named in the trade that sent Khalil Greene to the St. Louis. Gregerson, a right-handed reliever, made the big league team in 2009 out of Spring Training. He had a nasty sinker/slider combo. Nothing he threw was ever straight. He was a ground ball pitcher who could also miss bats. He had a slider that would dive, dart, or sweep, depending on how he released it. Over his career, Gregerson struck out more than one batter per inning.
In 2017, Gregerson began the season by winning the WBC and finished it by winning a World Series with the Astros. I was curious to learn about those bookending experiences.
“The World Series, the playoffs, it’s stressful. It’s nerve-racking,” says Gregerson. “There’s so much pressure while you’re out there because you just played 162 games… and you want to finish strong. But playing on Team USA was more like a college all-star team, where everybody was just out there having so much fun and enjoying themselves. Obviously you want to win. I mean, you’re representing your country. But I think the fun factor is much higher. Knowing that [the tournament] is just so short, and you’re with all these guys that are just such amazing athletes and such amazing baseball players, you almost get the sense that, ‘Man, if I don’t do it today, the guy behind me is going to pick me up, or the guy behind him is going to pick him up.’
“I think the fun level compared to the playoffs — the playoffs are stressful and fun. This is less stressful and more fun.”
The fun didn’t wear off for Gregerson. On Saturday night, while the US was rallying late against Venezuela, the father of three was at dinner with his wife, kids, and other family members.
“I’m sitting at this nice restaurant, outside with my phone on the table. And I’m peeking at it the whole time,” he admits. After big hits from Team USA, his cheers drew questions from those around the table.
He had to explain: “Look, sorry, guys; there’s no TV out here. I gotta watch this.”
He’ll be watching tonight. So will I.
We think you should, too.
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