“It was pretty clear that he was going to play for the Dominican team. He said he would announce it. Two days later, he said he wasn't playing at all.”
“We are gathering all of the information that they need to have, and we hope to finalize the meetings of the major leagues [that finish Monday in New York] in order to give them all of the details.”
“First, I think Barry is a very big attraction. I hope he changes his mind. Second, we want to beat the best team in the world. I hope he's there because he's the best hitter in the world. It's great to have those names in the WBC.”
“They know how important this tournament is for our country. We love to play baseball. What better chance to represent your country than to try to win the world cup? People here breathe, talk and live baseball.”
“We'll make sure they all know what they're here for. We will let them know that this is not for individuals, it's a team. We need to do what we need to do and they all seem to understand that and that's a great start.”
“For us, it's a big event and you can see how many stars came out. They all know what we are here for and they all know our goal. The first thing we let them know is that this is not about the individual, it's about the team. They all seem to understand that and it's a great start.”
“This is an opportunity for our country and an opportunity to show the world that we are not as bad as we have been in international competition when it comes to baseball. When it comes down to the amount of people, we do have the best players in the game.”
“I don't think it helped a lot of major league players. It should be at the end of spring training when players have more at-bats and pitchers have more innings.”
