Chapter 1: What are the initial reactions to the WBC roster reveal?
Yeah, there should be some passion. This doesn't have to be boring. There's no two people I'd rather have on more than these two. Sean Spradley and Alonzo because it is a time where I must have their opinions. I must have their expertise. It is the perfect time to do this podcast. It will be the perfect time anytime, 365 days a year to have these guys on.
But this, as we sit here, it is the perfect time because we have rosters.
Chapter 2: Which players are surprising additions to the WBC teams?
We have rosters. We have WBC rosters. Sean, say hello. What's going on? It's about time, man. It's about time. We have rosters, actual rosters, not guessing. Look at the gleam in his eye. Oh, my goodness. There there there's Christmas and then there's WC roster reveal day. That's that's Sean Sprawling's Christmas. That is my Superbowl.
Chapter 3: How do the hosts compare the WBC to other major sports events?
It really is. I mean, if you had your choice, here's the ultimate test. If you had your choice of a really solid matchup between Aaron Nola, team Italy and Jamison tie on against team Canada, uh, or watching the Super Bowl, which would you do, Sean? Oh, come on. There's no contest. Not even close? I mean, Italy and Canada are two of the most underrated teams in the WBC. I'm taking it.
Alonzo, I should have said something like Brazil and the Czech Republic. Israel. If it's Brazil-Czech Republic, then I get to watch Daniel Masaki go up against Marek Kloop. I'm so down for that. I like that it's already like deep cuts already right after. Good on you, Sean. We're like, okay, all right, can you give a matchup for each team? Give us, all right, let's start here. Let's start here.
Chapter 4: What insights do the guests share about Team Mexico's roster?
There's a lot of ways we can go with this. Give me, because you just mentioned two names who I have no idea who they are. Give me a name that you are familiar with that nobody knows that might be a good story. Joseph Contreras. Already got one. Oh, see? Joseph Contreras. Go ahead. Educate us. Educate us, Sean. You know the name Jose Contreras? Is this his son?
It's his 17-year-old son playing for Brazil. His mom is from Brazil. Jose Contreras is from Cuba. He's playing for Brazil, and it's going to be one of the best stories in the WBC. Did we know this? Did we know that was coming? We knew it was an option. We knew he was eligible for Brazil, but I didn't think he was actually going to play or get selected for the WBC.
But he's one of the top 10 pitchers in the 2026 high school class. But he's 17.
Chapter 5: How does the insurance issue affect player participation in the WBC?
He's a 17-year-old senior in high school. And he's going to be drafted in probably the first round of the 2026 draft this year. Like, he's a top high school arm, but he's going to be playing against Aaron Judge. Oh, so good. That was so good. That was such a good poll. That was so awesome. By the way, excellent hat, Alonzo. Coincidence, I think not, but we know Alonzo. Okay, yeah.
This is where we're going, yeah. Yeah, yeah. So obviously, in case people don't know, he's wearing a Team Mexico hat, which I forget, Sean, when we did the tiers, Mexico was in the... Kind of like we're good, but we know we aren't going to win sort of category? I had Mexico in whatever the second tier was that we had.
We have the big three, and then we had the tier that it's like I would not be surprised if they won. They could make a run at it. Okay. All right. Alonzo, are you optimistic that Mexico could make a run?
Chapter 6: What are the standout players to watch in the upcoming WBC?
Let's just get this out of the way. I am. I mean, Sean will correct me if I'm wrong here, but Mexico made it pretty far. They just ran into these Japanese guys that are okay. But they have depth. The roster has a lot of big leaguers. Oh, yeah. And that's always a good thing, right? And the name, the cut I'm going to go with is a guy that some of us are familiar with, but some are not.
It's Joey Ortiz. I think that dude is going to make some noise come WBC time. If you don't know who he is, infielder for the Milwaukee Brewers, the Milwaukee Brewers. But there's other dudes. A guy you're familiar with, Bradfoot, Jaron Duran. Yeah, he was basically a pinch runner last time. Alec Thomas, another guy that's an outfielder. We've adopted him. We've embraced him in the culture.
But Randy Arrozarena is obviously leading the way out there in the outfield. And listen, I'm a huge Benji Gill guy.
Chapter 7: How do the hosts feel about the competitiveness of different teams?
I love Benji. Having had chatted with him prior, that's one of those dudes that you hear him talking, it's like, yeah, I'm going to run through a wall for you. Um, then you throw that culture in mixed in with, you know, the Alejandro Kirk's of the world.
Uh, you know, you, you have, and then you have kind of some, some other dudes, like a guy that, that not a household name, even probably in Mexico, Javier Assad. Like those, those are dudes, those are dudes. And I think they're going to be a problem. Do I think they can win it? I don't think so. Like, The American pitching, the starting rotation for the American roster is foul.
It's not even fair how deep that rotation is. And the Japanese are just a super team. There's just no other way to put it. And they still don't even have Roki Sasaki on that team. That's the crazy thing about that. But I am optimistic. Yeah, you got me ready to go. I mean, I'm ready to bump Mexico up a tier after that. Hey, don't tell anybody, though. You can't let anybody know.
Chapter 8: What are the final thoughts on the excitement surrounding the WBC?
I know that when you talk about Benji Gill, Sean, he's nodding his head like he's breaking his neck. He's nodding his head so much, right? I mean, Sean, you're a big Benji Gill guy, right? He's awesome, man. He is... He is MLB manager ready. He is MLB manager material. I got to interview him on WBC Central after the tournament in 2023.
And it's funny you said about that they just ran into Japan, Alonso. I asked him, I was like, if you could make any... Like, if you could have made any change to that 2023 roster, what would you have done? And he was like, can I pick two players? Because there's two names that come to mind. And it was Andres Munoz and... Roberto Osuna.
He was like, if I could have the back end of my bullpen, he's like confident they would have beat Japan. And I mean, it makes sense. Like you kind of just run out of pitching once you don't have the depth, but having Andres Munoz this time is going to be huge. Him and Robert Garcia, like that eighth, ninth inning is going to be money. Like I really liked the pitching for Mexico.
Ooh, there you go. We got people that lower the heart rate. You just threw the cougar in the car. All right. Taj Bradley, Taiwan Walker, Javier Assad, Jose Urquidy. That's actually a solid rotation. Yeah, and you still – yeah, dude. And then you have Robert Garcia in there too. It's that you have – This may be the best team that the Mexicans have sent to the WBC.
And listen, they've been holding their own for a long time. They went toe-to-toe with the Canadians, literally and figuratively. So it's not like there's a bunch of schmucks. I've heard this for a long time.
There's a lot of untapped talent in Mexico, and the WBC has kind of shown that not just with players but with management because there's also some jabroni named Vinny Castillo that's on that managerial staff too. They have dudes, right? So I'm stoked. When I saw the – even just the reveals of guys have been so cool by the Mexicans. So I'm all in. Listen, they won that.
They've already won the reveal game. It's not even a question. And by the way, since you guys rattle off basically every player on the Mexico roster, you forgot the only one you didn't rattle off, I will say, my guy, Brendan Bernardino. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, Bernie. So let's go. Used to work in the Chili's, told a great story about having to clean up poop in the front way.
And he said, he just walked away. I said, nope, no more. And next thing you know, he's playing for Team Mexico. Congratulations to Brendan Bernardino. All right. Well, like we said, it was roster reveal day. And so, Sean, I'll start with you. You have a really good idea what these rosters are going to look like. But was there any surprises?
Was there any like, ooh, I didn't realize he was playing or I didn't realize he was going to be on that team? If not, that's okay. But I would really love it if there was a surprise. Yeah, I think so. Full transparency, I am very overstimulated trying to process 20 rosters all at once, because I think for most like baseball fans, when something like this happens, you're following your team.
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