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Friday, March 30, 2001

By JIM CAPLE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Did Olympic baseball leave you somewhat underwhelmed last summer? Did Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Neill and Pat Borders fail to keep you from switching to "Survivor" reruns? Did the U.S. team seem too little like the game's best players and too much like the Tacoma Rainiers?

Are you still dreaming of the day when the game's best players from around the globe finally meet in a true World Series?

Mariners Season Preview Photo Gallery

Don't lose hope. It could happen. And sooner than you think.

Not in the Olympics, though. Because the Olympics are held in the summer during the middle of the baseball season, the schedule won't allow it. Unlike in the NHL, where teams don't play every day and the schedule could absorb a two-week shutdown during the All-Star break, there is no way to schedule an Olympic baseball tournament unless major league owners are willing to accept 10 or so fewer games (and the resulting revenue losses). That's not going to happen.

There is talk, however, of a World Cup tournament that would be played during the winter, perhaps in February before spring training, and bring together the best players from seven countries, plus Puerto Rico.

"I haven't heard of any movement on that, but there's been discussion about it, and they're talking about 2003," Mariners general manager Pat Gillick said. "I don't know if it will happen that quick, but I think it will happen."

There are a number of obstacles that baseball must clear first. For one thing, owners must be convinced that a World Cup tournament would be worth risking injury to their best players. Gillick says he wouldn't have any problem doing so, but not all teams would necessarily be so supportive. Then there is the matter of insuring the players against injury, compensating the players for their play and determining the best time and location to hold the tournament (either in the Caribbean or in a domed stadium in Japan or North America).

Ted Heid, Seattle's director of Pacific Rim scouting, doubts whether all that could be coordinated.

"I've played it out over and over in my mind, and I don't think it can be done," he said, adding that if it could, "It can't be about the money. It almost has to have that Olympic flavor."

Of course, that Olympic flavor left a bitter taste in many mouths when the U.S. basketball team alienated fans around the world with their boorish behavior and frequent routs of inferior competition.

Though baseball players could offend as well (imagine Gary Sheffield complaining about his hotel room in the Dominican Republic), the tournament would be refreshingly competitive, much as the Olympic hockey tournament was with NHL players in 1998.

The U.S. might be the favorite in such a tournament, but not overwhelmingly so. If a World Cup were played this year, the U.S. could pitch a starting rotation of Randy Johnson, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux and Tim Hudson, with Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. and Mike Piazza providing the offense.

That sounds impressive, but the Dominican Republic could counter with a team that includes Pedro Martinez, Sammy Sosa, Manny Ramirez and Vladimir Guerrero (depending on eligibility guidelines, Alex Rodriguez could play as well, as the son of Dominican parents, a prospect he wouldn't rule out).

Puerto Rico could field a lineup of Ivan Rodriguez, Robbie Alomar and Edgar Martinez. Venezuela could send out Magglio Ordonez, Andres Galarraga and Omar Vizquel, while starting Freddy Garcia.

Other likely participants would be Japan (with Ichiro Suzuki, Hideo Nomo and Kazu Sasaki), Australia, Canada, Korea and possibly Cuba.

There would be difficulties coordinating the teams and players, but the tournament would be worth it.

"It would be an interesting series," Gillick said.

Interesting? It would be extraordinary. Just imagine the U.S. versus the Dominican Republic in the championship game, with Clemens pitted against Martinez. Or the U.S. versus Cuba, with El Duque facing his former country and Fidel Castro in the stands. Or Venezuela versus Puerto Rico, with the U.S. fuming in the stands and wondering what went wrong.

It certainly beats last summer's Olympic fare of Ernie Young stepping to the plate against the fifth-best pitcher in the Appalachian League.

Where in the world are the best players?

Excited about the All-Star Game this July in Seattle? Then imagine what a World Cup tournament among these All-Star teams would look like:

UNITED STATES

C-Mike Piazza, N.Y. Mets

1B-Mark McGwire, St. Louis

2B-Jeff Kent, San Francisco

SS-Alex Rodriguez, Texas

3B-Chipper Jones, Atlanta

OF-Barry Bonds, San Francisco

OF-Ken Griffey Jr., Cincinnati

OF-Darin Erstad, Anaheim

SP-Randy Johnson, Arizona

Cl-Todd Jones, Detroit

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

C-Alberto Castillo, Toronto

1B-Jose Offerman, Boston

2B-Luis Castillo, Florida

SS-Miguel Tejada, Oakland

3B-Tony Batista, Toronto

OF-Manny Ramirez, Boston

OF-Vladimir Guerrero, Montreal

OF-Sammy Sosa, Chicago Cubs

SP-Pedro Martinez, Boston

Cl-Armando Benitez, N.Y. Mets

PUERTO RICO

C-Ivan Rodriguez, Texas

1B-Carlos Delgado, Toronto

2B-Robbie Alomar, Cleveland

SS-Jose Valentin, Chicago White Sox

3B-Mike Lowell, Florida

OF-Jose Cruz Jr., Toronto

OF-Bernie Williams, N.Y. Yankees

OF-Juan Gonzalez, Cleveland

SP-Omar Olivares, Pittsburgh

Cl-Roberto Hernandez, Kansas City

VENEZUELA

C-Ramon Hernandez, Oakland

1B-Andres Galarraga, Arizona

2B-Miguel Cairo, Tampa Bay

SS-Omar Vizquel, Cleveland

3B-Carlos Guillen, Seattle

OF-Bobby Abreu, Philadelphia

OF-Richard Hidalgo, Houston

OF-Magglio Ordonez, Chi. White Sox

SP-Freddy Garcia, Seattle

Cl-Ugueth Urbina, Montreal

UNITED NATIONS

Or how about this All-Star team, with no more than one player from any country?

C-Mike Piazza, U.S.

1B-Carlos Lee, Panama

2B-Robbie Alomar, Puerto Rico

SS-Edgar Renteria, Colombia

3B-Vinny Castilla, Mexico

OF-Larry Walker, Canada

OF-Andruw Jones, Curacao

OF-Ichiro Suzuki, Japan

SP-Pedro Martinez, Dominican Republic

SP-Orlando Hernandez, Cuba

SP-Freddy Garcia, Venezuela

SP-Chan Ho Park, Korea

Cl-Danny Graves, Vietnam

DH-Dave Nilsson, Australia

-- Jim Caple

GMs dialing long-distance

The 16 foreign countries (and Puerto Rico) represented by major leaguers on opening day rosters last year:

Aruba-3

Australia-1

Canada-12

Colombia-2

Cuba-9

Curacao-1

Dominican Republic-71

Japan-6

Jamaica-1

South Korea-3

Mexico-14

Nicaragua-1

Panama-8

Puerto Rico-33

Venezuela-31

Virgin Islands-1

-- Source: Major League Baseball