The Josh Innes Show - World Baseball Classic

Episode Date: March 18, 2026

I don't really know why I don't care about the WBC. I was into the Olympic Hockey. I just can't wrap my arms around the baseball tournament... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

All right, everybody. Welcome in, all up, Innes. Hello. I was thinking about this today when I'm seeing all these people talking about the World Baseball Classic, and I didn't really watch any of the last game. I don't know why. Oh, well, because I was still pretty intoxicated from the St. Patrick's Day stuff. I say it was pretty intoxicated. I mean, I was pretty intoxicated. But, you know, then I got home and I took Ross for a walk and all that stuff. And didn't end up doing anything watching the ball game. really just didn't care. You know, that's the thing is I just didn't give a shit, you know,

like, I, I know that the internet would have you believe that this was the biggest thing ever and, and all that. It doesn't do anything for me. I mean, I really got into the Olympic hockey for whatever reason, and maybe because the Olympics feels more legitimate, you know, maybe that's it. I don't know if that's the reason or, you know, because the Olympics, it's an established billion-year-old event. So when you think about the Olympics, it feels like a more credible thing and the World Baseball Classic feels like this kind of made-up fairy tale entity. And I'm well aware that everything is a fairy tale made-up entity. Not everything is, you know, just ordained by God.

It wasn't like a big bang and then boom, we had a World Series or something like that. I'm fully aware. But I think that, I don't know, I just, I don't view it as a legitimate thing. And I don't think Americans really care about it. I think it's a big deal to some of these third world countries that are competitive in baseball, which, by the way, is remarkable. When you really think about it, it's remarkable that there are these third world countries

that are so good at baseball considering that they are third world countries. Like Venezuela is a third world country. By every account, it's seemingly a hellhole. Like when Trump says, you know, these shitty countries or these shitholes or whatever, like, yeah, it's dickish to say, I guess. But it is. I mean, it's accurate.

Like some of these places are basically third world countries. So it's just fascinating that these kind of places can produce that higher level of baseball player or athlete like that. It is a remarkable thing. I don't think that's disputable. But they care about it more because it's more important to their psyche, I guess. Like, I'm trying to find the best way to put this. Like, in America, there's a thousand other things going on, and every sport has its own professional. league that people truly give a shit about.

So, like, the World Series is a big deal. I mean, you heard it on the broadcast. Like, I keep seeing these videos of Derek Jeter and A-Rod or any of these guys talking about it, that the World Series is far more important than winning the World Baseball Classic. And, you know, the World Baseball Classic is not really an Olympics. It's closer to, like, the Four Nations thing that we saw during hockey, which admittedly, I got into the Four Nations as well.

I don't know why I get more into the idea of American hockey versus the United States. the world versus this. Maybe it's because, and maybe this isn't the most fair thing, but it's very possible that it's because America is still like the high end of baseball, right? Like nobody considers America the hotbed for hockey talent. You know, it's Canada, it's these different countries. And while it's obvious that a bunch of amazing baseball players come from the Dominican Republic and Cuba and Venezuela, a very large percentage of, of very good baseball players do. Baseball is still, at its core, an American sport that, in theory, is dominated by Americans.

Just not in the World Baseball Classic, where they lost to Venezuela. But it's still an American game. It's the American pastime, and it is a game that at its core is still dominated by American athletes, right? So I think to me, I get more into the hockey stuff because America is the true blue underdog in those things. I mean, in the same way that some of these other countries like Venezuela and Cuba and the Dominican Republic are more into this, because they're the underdog in this. And it's something that matters to them. They are passionate about it. Why are they passionate about it?

Because real talk, they live in shitty countries. They live in the kind of countries you leave for America. Of course, you can't explain that to any of these idiots on social media that just want to root for countries that aren't America because they hate America, because they hate America, because they hate America. hate Trump. And since Trump represents America and MAGA represents America to these people, oh dear God, you root for America. But anyway, let me play a few commercials. And then we will continue. Warning, the following film is so intense. We are only allowed to advertise it for 15 seconds. Excuse me? Sussie Bates. They will kill you. Only in theaters March 27th. And that's the thing, man.

Like, you start to think about the way people in this country view this country. I don't know that you will find that kind of attitude in any other country. Like, I don't believe that you can go to, like, Venezuela. And Venezuela's got all of its fucking issues. Tons of issues, right? I mean, it's a third world country, basically, right? But they have immense pride in country. They want to leave the country to come to America.

Cubans want to leave America to Cuba to come to America. Dominicans in baseball want to leave the Dominican and come to America, but they still have immense pride in country. And you see it, like I keep seeing these posts on social media. Wow, look at the passion that we're getting in the World Baseball Classic. Yes, because essentially this is what these countries have. This is their point of pride. What other point of pride is there in Venezuela or Cuba or the Dominican Republic

are some of these other countries. There's not a ton of pride other than pride in country and in sport, and that's why it mattered to them. Like this matters. Just like America winning the 1980 gold medal against the Soviets mattered. These types of things matter to certain countries. And the World Baseball Classic is never going to full on matter to the people of America. So what ends up happening is you see these people that post inane things.

Things like, see people say, that baseball is people aren't interested in baseball just look at the reactions during the world baseball classic yes you're showing me crowds that are mostly dominican cuban venezuelan crowds going bat shit over baseball that that does not mean that baseball in america is healthy and it doesn't mean major league baseball is healthy like this isn't like it's what's the word i'm looking for i don't know what the word is but it's like when you're in a situation like this which is a totally rare example. It doesn't happen every year. It's not the day in, day out grind of baseball. It's like, you know, it's like you got to bang Pam Anderson and her prime and then like that just

miss me, that all sex is amazing because you got to bang Pam Anderson and her prime. But then in reality, you're also just bagging a lot of twos and threes after that, but you hit the lottery with Pam Anderson. That's not what sex always is. Sex is not always Pam Anderson and her prime and it's not always Yasmin Bleeth in her prime and it's not to any of the Chays, not of the Baywatch babes in their prime. A lot of times sex ain't that glamorous and it's with ugly people. It's two ugly people fucking. I'd say that on average,

most of the time when sex happens, it's two moderate looking or decent looking people, two ugly people banging, okay? You can't look at the world baseball classic and be like, yep, that's a sign that baseball is as strong as ever in America and look out, I can't wait for the season to start. You know what's going to happen when the Major League Baseball? baseball season starts.

People are going to go to games on opening day, and all the parks are going to be filled. Cincinnati, opening day mecca of the world is going to be filled. St. Louis is going to be filled, even though when I was there last year, you could have bought opening day tickets, day of, by the way. So, like, even in baseball, mecca's like St. Louis, where the team stinks, people aren't as into it. But you can go to New York and you can go to Philly. All these people in these cities are all going to be into it because it's opening day,

and hope springs eternal. And this is incredible. Then you know what happens? Day two, day three, May, June, July, dog days, your team stinks. So that's what annoys me. Like, I have no issue if you're into the World Baseball Classic. Like, it's not my bag. It's not something that I'm, like, all in love with.

I'm not enamored with the World Baseball Classic. It's not something that I pine for. It's not something that just gets my engine revved other than I wanted America to win because of the anti-America sentiment on the internet? Like mine was, I was bored and annoyed by the idea that America is so boring that we're rooting for other countries because baseball and America and the players are boring. Therefore, I was rooting for the boring Americans.

But, like, I wasn't hanging on every pitch. I honest, God, didn't. I watched some of the game on Sunday night. I would flip back and forth and watch some of the game on Sunday night and some of the big moments. And that was it. I didn't watch a second of the game yesterday. It wasn't until this morning that I knew that Bryce Harper hit a home run that tied it.

It just, it's not for me. If it is for you, I'm not going to judge you for that. And I'm not going to shit on you and say that you're a moron if you were into it. Everybody's got shit they're into. But big picture. Like, let's look at a big picture thing. So the idea is that the world baseball classic in some way proves that baseball is super duper healthy right now in America. And this proves it because they had sold out crowds.

The tickets were expensive and did you hear the energy in the building? Yes, because it's international competition. And the international competition and competitors are people that are super duper into it. Go to a major league baseball game in June and you will not have that. Thus, proving that baseball is not like super healthy. And I'm not saying it's dying or anything like that. I don't believe that. But the way people talk, and that's the other problem is everything's become political.

So everything's a war. Everything's a battle between two groups, right? You can't just say, hey, Major League Baseball is healthy right now. You have to say, oh, Major League Baseball is doing so much better than basketball. And who are the people that are going to tell you that Major League Baseball is doing so much better than basketball? Probably people who are politically right, right? Then you're going to get the basketball people who a lot of times are going to be politically left, at least on social media. And they're going to tell you that basketball is still doing amazing.

and that's the war, and that's because of these dipshit political people online. Thus, we are forced to watch these two groups of people try to dick the dick slap with each other. And stupid. Like, how about this? Neither one of these sports are anywhere near where they were. Let's see, 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago. Neither of them are. So it's like the tallest midget, like two groups of people just fighting over this shit.

They're like, oh, my God, can you? Basketball is so much healthier than hockey, and hockey is not as healthy as basketball. And it's so stupid. But there are certain things that are just obvious. And those obvious things are that you're not going to recreate what you're getting in this during the regular season of Major League Baseball. It is impossible to do so.

It is something that cannot be accomplished. It is impossible for that to happen. and that is totally fine, it can't. It's 162 game season. It's a 162 game season, and not every game is going to matter during a 162 game season. It is impossible for that to be the case.

And that's okay. But then you get people that run to social media and tell you that everything you're watching is the biggest thing ever, and it's proof of this, this, this, it ain't proof of shit. It is, you know, it's proof of, it's proof of if you put some sort of

international competition together that people might get into it. You want to know how I know America doesn't care? You got guys like Terrick Scoobel who's like, listen, man, I got my own fucking money to make. I'm not going to be worried about this shit. Major League Baseball will always be a bigger deal in the world.

Like the idea that we're watching these games on TV and people are trying to explain to you that this is bigger than the World Series. Shut up. No, it's not. To a man, they can all lie to you in the middle of this and tell you that like they'd rather win the World Baseball Classic. Name a guy on the Venezuelan team

that's on a Major League team. If he had the option to win the World Series or this, and he tells you that he'd rather win the World Baseball Classic over the World Series, that man would be full of shit. And that's totally fine. Be full of shit. But you're full of shit.

And we all know you're full of shit. But then like, I don't know. I think my biggest issue is that I just get caught up in people who overreact to shit and talk about things that we're seeing as if they are the biggest thing that has ever existed. And this is a cool little deal. a nice little thing, it's fine.

But there's nobody out there right now, player, fan, whatever, that views the world baseball classic as a bigger deal than the World Series, unless you are somebody from a third world country, and this is all you got to root for. Other than that, it's not the case. But anyway, like, fine. And maybe next time around, I'll try to get more into it. It's just, it's something I can't get into. Some people can, and that's all good.