BY STEVE KUBITZA

The World Baseball Classic is the only tournament of its kind. It is baseball’s “World Cup,” and is in its third installment this year. While soccer is far more popular than baseball worldwide, the WBC deserves more coverage than it’s getting.

In the U.S., the games are broadcasted, but not on basic cable channels.MLB Network is broadcasting the games, but many Americans do not have the channel at their home. This is especially true for the older demographic, many of whom are baseball fans.

ESPN Deportes is also broadcasting the games, but the games are Spanish. Deportes is also not available on basic cable packages.

ESPN is the major sports channel in our country, but it has elected not to cover WBC games. The network is currently broadcasting college basketball conference tournament games, so that is one factor influencing the lack of coverage.

It is frustrating more fans aren’t able to see an event of such relevance. This may be a sign of baseball’s declining importance in our country, or simply a result of a scheduling conflict with basketball. The true reason will be evident as time goes on.