TBNL: Mental breaks; WBC Qualifiers

Okay, I took a few days off here. It was a needed break.

Writing has long been a labor of love for me. It’s something I enjoy, something that helps me relax and relieve stress. It’s something I feel I’m pretty good at.

In some ways, sometimes I feel like it’s also all I really know how to do.

Writing this newsletter has been enjoyable so far. I have found a good groove and that’s resulted in more frequent content than I honestly expected. There are things I like about what I’ve been doing, but there are also some things I could do differently. Maybe even better. I have ideas I want to incorporate.

The tough part is growth here has been slow. Slower than I anticipated.

While I love and appreciate all of you for the support, more than 50% of my subscribers would fall into the “friends and family” category. That’s not a great ratio if I’m hoping to build an audience big enough to justify asking people to pay a monthly fee.

The growth (or lack thereof) has been discouraging. Money may not be the main driver behind why I do this, but it doesn’t help to know that I can likely go to one of several established outlets and be paid for my efforts.

A break was needed to think.

WBC Qualifiers

With the next World Baseball Classic scheduled for 2026, there will be plenty of news over the coming year, especially as players show an interest in playing for their respective home countries.

WBC Qualifiers also begin on Friday in Taiwan with the first four teams — Chinese Taipei, Nicaragua, Spain, and South Africa. The top two teams from the pool will advance to the tournament next year.

Brazil, China, Columbia, and Germany will match up for the final two spots in the second qualifier pool during the first week of March in Tucson, Arizona.

Rosters have been submitted, but some changes have already been needed.

Columbia was forced to replace outfielder Óscar Mercado, for instance, once he signed a minor league deal with the Phillies last week. Mercado elected to focus his attention on winning a bench role in spring training. The 30-year-old is a .237/.289/.388 (81 OPS+) hitter in 973 PA over parts of five MLB seasons. He split the 2024 season with San Diego and Detroit’s Triple-A affiliates, batting a combined .222/.308/.405 in 361 PA.

Giants infield prospect Jose Ramos was named as Mercado’s replacement. The 22-year-old hit .283/.426/.384 over 177 PA in the Arizona Complex League last year.

Columbia still has a strong roster featuring several players with notable MLB experience and is likely a favorite in the Tucscon qualifier.

Chinese Taipei — the #2 ranked team in the world according to the World Baseball Softball Confederation — is the clear favorite in the Taiwan qualifier. They have the strongest roster in the pool, mostly featuring players with experience in the CPBL. Yu-Min Lin and Po-Yu Chen figured to play key roles on the pitching staff. Lin, 21, pitched 104.1 innings across three levels for the Diamondbacks last season. Chen, 23, threw 134 innings for Pittsburgh’s Double-A affiliate. Both are left-handed.

Former Yankees pitcher and CPBL Hall of Famer Chien-Ming Wang is expected to serve as the team’s pitching coach, though that has yet to be confirmed.

Outfielder Tzu-Hao Chen, who signed the longest and largest contract in CPBL history just before Christmas, is also on the roster.

Elsewhere, around the sport …

• Gary Sheffield collected 2,689 hits over his 22-year MLB career. Gary’s son, Noah, started his freshman season at Florida State last weekend. The younger Sheffield picked up his first hit in Sunday’s 10-0 victory over James Madison, singling to left field as a pinch-hitter in the 8th inning. The shortstop had been viewed as a Top 25 prospect from Florida coming out of high school.

• Across the country, Rintaro Sasaki went 6-for-14 with a pair of doubles and 8 RBI during Stanford’s opening series against Cal State Fullerton. The freshman made headlines when he elected to forego the NPB Draft in order to enroll at Stanford, ultimately hoping that would expedite his path to the major leagues. Sasaki set the Japanese high school home run record (140) during his time at Hanamaki High School — where Shohei Ohtani went and his father is the baseball coach.