Team USA on bonding, pausing rivalries and saying farewell to 'the fireman'

HOUSTON – Even on a team loaded with star power, there’s always one player who will inevitably wear the “rookie” label and go through the necessary initiation process before he’s truly invited to sit at the big kids’ table.

In the case of Team USA, that player is 21-year-old Roman Anthony, a rising star with the Red Sox who this week was tasked with providing stereo equipment to be used during rides back and forth on the team bus, ahead of the start of World Baseball Classic pool play in Houston.

“He obviously was forced to go buy a gigantic speaker, and they had Toby Keith blasting,” manager Mark DeRosa said.

Given the World Baseball Classic is a tournament that is as much about national pride as it is about competition, it should come as no surprise that the song of choice was Keith’s hit “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” – though it’s unclear who actually selected that tune.

“I don’t touch the music,” Anthony said. “I had the duty of getting the speaker, making sure it was there today, and then handing it over to the guys who want to play the music.”

Team USA has been training together for about a week, and while winning the whole thing is the shared goal, the players are just as determined to also enjoy their time together as teammates. During a final tuneup on Thursday at Daikin Park in Houston, players relayed some of those fun, fleeting moments while preparing to play Brazil on Friday.

Bus rides, apparently, provide a lot of levity – especially when sing-a-longs are involved.

“I do not sing,” Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber clarified. “But it was just more about getting the boys together. It is just something that, since I came up into the big leagues, it brings that kind of camaraderie together.”

That bonding has been well-received so far.

“We have a great group,” Anthony said. “Since day one, it’s been easy to kind of just blend well with this group and be around this group of guys. It’s been an awesome experience for me. It’s been a huge learning experience. It’s been a blast.”

How about a truce?
Sellout crowds are expected at Daikin Park for much of pool play in the coming days, with packed houses pretty much guaranteed when Team USA plays.

Spectators are expected from all over, but it’s fair to assume many will be Astros fans who might not be accustomed to rooting for some of the players on Team USA’s roster. And that could elicit some alternate reactions when they take their at-bats.

Consider Cal Raleigh, for example. He’s Team USA’s catcher this week, but in more normal times, he’s the Mariners’ star player – the one most likely to be booed when Seattle comes to town.

Raleigh acknowledged the “heated rivalry” with the Astros – “they don’t like us, we don’t like them” – but thinks the reception this time around might be a tad friendlier.

“But I think wearing ‘USA,’ I think for a little bit of time, they will cheer for us,” Raleigh said. “That is how baseball is. You want those kinds of things happening. You want to have those kinds of rivalries and those tough games. It's usually what you get here. But … I think they will put that aside for country pride.”

Slugger Aaron Judge, who is used to strong reactions from opposing teams’ fans when he travels the country with the Yankees – including in Houston – called Daikin Park “a great place to play” and forecasted a friendly environment waiting for Team USA this weekend.

“Had some tough memories here, had some good memories here,” Judge said. “It's part of it. Now, getting a chance to wear the red, white and blue – going to have a lot of great memories in here, I think.”

Kershaw’s final farewell
Team USA pitching coach Andy Pettitte cited left-hander Clayton Kershaw as a main reason he’s not losing as much sleep this time around as he did during the WBC in 2023.

Although the WBC is a separate tournament that has no bearing on the regular season, there’s still a lot riding on these games. That comes with the added responsibility for coaches and managers to keep the participating players healthy, intact and ready for the 162-game schedule that awaits them when they return to their Major League teams.

The lone exception, of course, is Kershaw, perhaps the most relaxed player at this tournament. He retired after the Dodgers’ World Series win last year, is representing Team USA as a last hurrah and will be under no pitching restrictions throughout the WBC.

“That’s why we told him, ‘Hey, you’re the fireman, dude,’” Pettitte said. “[In an] emergency, you be ready.’ He said, ‘I’ll be ready when you need me.’"

Kershaw didn’t pitch particularly well for Team USA in a pre-WBC matchup with the Rockies a few days ago, but that’s not likely to be a factor when pool play gets started this weekend. With everyone else adhering to pitch counts and health a top priority, Kershaw is going to be a go-to option if things start going sideways.

After all, what is there to lose?

“Just to know you have someone out there that can do that, it frees you up,” Pettitte said. “It helps you sleep at night, where we did not sleep much the last WBC. We were so nervous about each day with the pitching and how we were going to make it work.”