TUCSON, Arizona — Baseball coach Ben Granger is used to coaching men's recreational games in Tucson. But, on this day, the level of talent is a notch or two higher.
Granger's job, along with Edgar Soto of the Arizona Sports Tourism and Film Authority, was to assemble the best baseball payers living in Tucson for an exhibition game ahead of the upcoming World Baseball Classic qualifying games.
At first, there were fourteen players.
"Every day, people were calling me saying, I could to this. I can do that."
Soon, there was a full roster of forty players. They include, former Chicago White Sox pitcher Lorenzo Barcelo, current minor league baseball player Ryan Grabasch, and former University of Arizona pitcher George Arias Jr.
"I think it's just a surreal experience," said Arias Jr. "Watching the WBC growing up, I think it's cool to be a part of it."
The World Baseball Classic will have four teams vying for two spots. Joining Germany are Brazil, China, and Columbia.
Today's game was originally supposed to be against China, but was changed to Germany.
"The objective for today is to throw strikes," said Arias Jr. "Hopefully, we still got that in the bag."
"I'm not exactly sure what's going to happen but I think we'll give 'em some competition," added Granger.
Arias Jr. did his part, pitching a 1-2-3 second inning. However, Germany won 9-1. Granger was pleased to field a team representing Tucson, and also be a small part of the upcoming World Baseball Classic.
"We're trying to sell out the World Baseball Classic," said Granger. "And, to let everyone know you can play professional baseball in Tucson and get a crowd. That's what we want to see."
