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• Chat with Joe Morgan, 10 a.m. ET Friday

I like the idea of a World Cup for baseball, but organizers apparently don't want to be confused with soccer's World Cup, so the new event will be called the World Baseball Classic. It will feature 16 nations, with many of the world's best ballplayers representing their home countries in the inaugural tournament in March 2006.

This is a great idea for growing the game internationally, and it will give the participating nations a chance to see how far they've come in terms of baseball skill and development.

Baseball fans are aware that countries like the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Japan have produced some great ballplayers – but many other countries are playing good baseball. This will give all the world a chance to see how baseball has grown in many different areas of the globe.

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