As if the United States and Puerto Rico needed any more motivation ahead of the World Baseball Classic championship game, it seems there’s some friction about the way the game is played — or more accurately, the way the game is celebrated.
Ahead of Wednesday night’s matchup, American second baseman Ian Kinsler made clear that he isn’t a fan of the exuberant displays of emotion shown by players from pretty much every other team in the tournament. Kinsler singled out the Puerto Rican and Dominican players in particular, whose joyful expressions have been a contrast to Team USA’s largely subdued celebrations.
“I hope kids watching the WBC can watch the way we play the game and appreciate the way we play the game as opposed to the way Puerto Rico plays or the Dominican plays,” Kinsler told Billy Witz of the New York Times. “That’s not taking anything away from them. That just wasn’t the way we were raised. They were raised differently and to show emotion and passion when you play. We do show emotion; we do show passion. But we just do it in a different way.”
Team USA is playing in the championship game for the first time in tournament history, while the Puerto Rican team reached the WBC final in 2013, losing to the Dominican Republic.
Fans will have a chance to take in both teams’ particular styles of demonstrated emotion on Wednesday evening; the game will take place at Dodgers Stadium at 6 p.m. PT/9 p.m. ET.
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