GLENDALE, Ariz. — Adrian Gonzalez had some harsh words for organizers of the World Baseball Classic.
“They’re trying to become the World Cup, but they’re not even close to being the Little League World Series,” the Los Angeles Dodgers first baseman said Wednesday.
Gonzalez’s Mexican team beat Venezuela 11-9 Sunday in Guadalajara, leaving both teams tied with Italy for second in Group D behind Puerto (3-0). The World Baseball Classic Twitter account initially announced Monday’s tiebreaker game would be between Mexico and Italy. But the WBC technical committee determined the tiebreaker — runs allowed per defensive inning — meant Italy (1.05) and Venezuela (1.11) advanced and not Mexico (1.12).
The Mexican Baseball Federation objected that the ninth inning of Sunday’s game should count as a partial inning, even though Italy scored five runs without Mexico getting any outs.
Gonzalez, a veteran of four WBCs, said he won’t play in any more. He said Mexico’s general manager called the two WBC representatives in Mexico seven times and sent several text messages and emails before Sunday’s game inquiring about what Mexico needed to do mathematically to advance. Gonzalez said WBC representatives never responded.
“So during the game when they posted it on the broadcast, they came into the dugout and I said ‘Hey, we just need to win by two,’” Gonzalez said. “When we had first and second, no outs in the eighth or ninth, whatever it was, we didn’t bunt because we felt we’re already up two. … We win the game, and they change it on us.”
Gonzalez said he spoke with Kim Ng, Major League Baseball’s senior vice president for baseball operations, and was told the WBC technical committee was not responsible for the information disseminated on Twitter by the WBC and MLB.
“You’re MLB! What do you mean you’re not accountable?” Gonzalez said he responded.
Dodgers teammate Joc Pederson walked up to the crowd of reporters around Gonzalez and said: “Unbelievable, huh? What kind of rules are those?”
“Mexico! Mexico! Mexico!” Pederson chanted loudly.
“Going into the ninth inning, our strategy we had talked about, was if we gave up a run, we would intentionally walk somebody and balk him in to tie the game, and try to win the game by two in extras,” Gonzalez said. “But because we were told you had to win by two, we went for the win.”
“So the whole game strategy changes by what we were told,” Gonzalez added. “Unbelievable. And all they said afterwards was ‘Well, that’s what we decided.’”