Logan Webb was outstanding for Team USA in his two World Baseball Classic starts but had to watch the shocking final loss to Venezuela from the dugout as a bystander. In addition to the disappointment, the San Francisco Giants pitcher has been forced to deal with what he believes is inaccurate accounting of the way his country approached the tournament.
Webb tried to combat that on Thursday when speaking to reporters at Giants camp.
"I feel like there's a narrative that we didn't care," he said per Justice delos Santos of the Mercury News. "That's complete bull----. I think we probably cared the most out of every team, to be honest with you. We do things in different ways than some of the other teams, but we care a lot."
It's totally understandable that Webb would take issue with conversation that he feels is entirely misguided and unfair. There was a stark difference in the way the Americans conducted business as opposed to champion Venezuela. It was more stoic and businesslike, but again even saying that is a bit of a generalization. Bryce Harper's epic home run trot after tying the winner-take-all game with a home run in the eighth inning stands out as a huge show of emotion but there are countless examples of Team USA being appropriately fired-up along the way.
But here's the thing. Anyone who contributed to such a "narrative" is such an unserious person that their opinion cannot be taken seriously. Team USA wanted to win. Badly. They are world-class athletes and competitors who work tirelessly to reach the top of their craft. The WBC is a unique opportunity to win with different teammates and cement new elements of their personal and shared legacy. It's easy to say Webb should ignore it when it's not your personal integrity and drive being questioned but I'll do it anyway.
Sadly, Webb and his American colleagues should come to expect the worst ideas to bubble up to the surface following defeat. Heck, they were already doing that when Mark DeRosa made a careless, yet entirely meaningless, error when speaking about whether or not Team USA had advanced out of pool play. Which, by the way, was fueled by the same idea that his team would not be trying as hard to win their final game against Italy.
The Giants hurler was 2-0 and surrendered just one run during his 8 2/3 innings while doing his part for Team USA. He looked like a guy who cared. So did everyone else. Right through the moment some of them took off their silver medals.
Now, as far as them wanting to win more than anyone? Thankfully, that's something we don't have to argue about.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Logan Webb Rips Narrative That Team USA Did Not Care Enough About WBC.
