I want to start by first of all by sending you all my very best wishes for 2023. I wish to follow this up by also thanking each and every one of you for every article you've read and for every time you've shared one with family and friends. Also, a big thank you for your comments and interesting perspectives that allow me to look at angles I may have previously missed. Here's to more compelling stories and ideas in the coming year.
Before looking ahead to 2023 I do want to reflect a bit on the year that was. In MLB, we saw the first "normal" season since 2019 as the world begins to manage life post-Covid. And what a season it was. We were treated to a historic home run binge by Aaron Judge, a new and still exciting playoff format and an unlikely push to the World Series by the Phillies. Dusty Baker also got the final feather in his hat as a manager all but securing a spot in the Hall of Fame. Speaking of the hall, some important historical wrongs were righted with the induction of Buck O'Neil, Tony Oliva, Jim Kaat, Minnie Miñoso and Gil Hodges. Big Papi also got his big day on the very first try.
Outside of MLB, Munetaka Murakami redefined the possible in Japan, eclipsing the cherished single season home run record of the great Sadaharu Oh. Orix Buffaloes would walk away with the Japan Series title. In Korea, SSG Landers rose from the capped their turnaround from a 92 loss season in 2020 with a dominant championship run in 2022. And in Taiwan, the Brothers did run it back with a second half storm that carried into a sweep of the Monkeys in the Taiwan Series. In the WBC qualifiers, we saw the reassertion of Panama and Nicaragua as international baseball powers. We also saw the rise of Great Britain to baseball prominence and the latest chapter in the Czech miracle. The game is growing all over the world and will continue to do so.
2023 will be a year of change. MLB will feature larger bases, pitch clocks and shift restrictions that had been debated for years and in some cases already implemented at minor league level. We will also see a balanced schedule for the first time, further blurring the lines between American and National leagues and just about completing the century long consolidation of both leagues into one cohesive body.
We will also see the return of the World Baseball Classic after six very long years. Once again, we will get to share games with people from all over the world from Canada to Australia and even the mother country herself, Britain. In both America and Asia, there will be great suspense as the hopes of millions hang on one pitch, one swing, one key defensive play. There is also the group of death to look forward to (Group D funny enough) and I am pleased to inform you that I plan on being in Miami to see it for myself. Fourteen years after being at a WBC game for the first time, I look forward to experiencing the thrill of international baseball live once again.
In Asia, in Latin America and beyond, the game will continue to grow. Prospects will sign from places where you would never dream baseball is played. More young men will have a chance to escape poverty, to realize dreams that eluded their fathers, and to carry the pride of their nations on their shoulders. Baseball will be spoken in languages that were once foreign to it and here on our shores, new storylines and legends will be written, the ghosts of which will continue to inform the game a century from now. In Hall of Fame voting, already we have seen one wrong righted with the induction of Fred McGriff and hopefully more deserving players will take their place in Cooperstown.
Whatever happens, I hope to share it with each and every one of you, to document it, analyze it and appreciate the historical importance of it. I also hope more people will join us along the way and that the joy of baseball will continue to spread. Happy new year everyone.
-Izzy
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