So I’m reading my Twitter feed this morning and I see this:
“Bases now loaded with 2 out. Éric Gagné will now come out the bullpen to pitch for Canada. #wbc2017”
So the news is out. There is a time machine in Miami. And Eric Gagne is driving it.
For baseball fans, Miami is hosting Pool C of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, first round, pitting the WBC defending champions, the Dominican Republic, the USA (who will square off today at 6:30pm EDT), Canada and Columbia.
Columbia is an exciting team to watch, qualifying for their first WBC this year, nearly upsetting the USA last night, with starter Jose Quintana (Chicago White Sox) tossing no-hit ball for 5 and 2/3rds. The USA, with many familiar major league players on their roster, had to rally for a 3-2, 10 inning win.
The camera pans to the Columbia bullpen, and it’s Ernesto Frieri, former Angel’s closer is warming up. Another player who had disappeared from the radar not long after leaving the Angels a few years back. Ernesto will alway have a special spot of honor with the Flanagan family. It was Ernesto who arranged to get my late brother Bobby, his son Riley and daughter Delaney into the Angels dugout just before a game in the summer of 2013, on Bobby’s last trip to California.
Editor’s note: For fans that want to watch the games, they are being streamed on the MLB Network and via the At Bat app. If you have Google Chromecast, you can stream directly to your TV. (plug the Chromecast into your HDMI on your TV, then hit the little TV screen icon on your phone)
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