On Tuesday, USA Baseball
and Major League Baseball revealed the 30 players who are expected
to take part in the first round of the WBC. Wells was one of the
six outfielders selected for the Team USA roster, which doesn't
have to be officially submitted until March 2. The Americans'
first game will be on March 7 against Mexico at Chase Field, home
of the Arizona Diamondbacks.
"It's an honor,"
Wells said about being selected. "It's a chance to represent
your country. I think it'll be great for [the players] as far
as getting our minds focused on games that actually mean something.
I think that's something you lack in Spring Training. It's a chance
to get your timing down with your adrenaline flowing like it's
the regular season."
Wells joins center fielder
Johnny Damon of the Yankees, center fielder Ken Griffey Jr. of
the Reds, center fielder Randy Winn of the Giants, right fielder
Jeff Francoeur of the Braves and left fielder Matt Holliday of
the Rockies. With the surplus of center fielders, a couple of
the players could be shifting to different spots.
"When you look at
the Gold Glovers out there, you look at guys that can play, including
Vernon Wells," USA manager Buck Martinez said on a conference
call. "And certainly Jeff Francoeur is a guy that has played
himself into prominence in a very short period of time.
"There's a lot of
talent in that outfield. I have talked to Johnny Damon about possibly
playing left field as well, and he is very comfortable with that,
too."
Wells earned his second
consecutive American League Gold Glove Award last year, becoming
the first Toronto outfielder to win the honor in back-to-back
seasons since Devon White won five straight from 1991-95. Wells
tied for second in the AL with 12 assists and committed no errors
last season. He has just one error in his past 696 total chances.
Toronto was also led offensively
by Wells, who finished the year with team highs in home runs (28)
and RBIs (97). He has topped 20 homers in each of the past four
seasons, with his best showing coming in 2003, when he hit .317
with 33 homers and 117 RBIs.
If Damon plays in left
field and Martinez starts Griffey in center, that might push Wells
to right field. Wells has played more than 600 games in center
and just 16 games in right in his career -- none since 2002.
"I'm sure I'll be
mixing in a couple different positions," said Wells. "It'll
be a change [if I have to play right], but it's just a matter
of taking some fly balls off the bat during batting practice and
getting used to it. From there, hopefully, it'll be like riding
a bike."
Griffey has 10 Gold Glove
Awards to his credit, but he has struggled with injuries the past
few years. He suffered a strained right foot last season and had
surgeries on his both left knee and right hamstring in September.
He still had a .301 average and hit 35 homers and 92 RBIs for
Cincinnati.
The Americans open camp
at Chase Field on March 3, train for two days and then play an
exhibition game against San Francisco on March 5 at Scottsdale
Stadium.
After the first round,
the WBC rosters can be changed before the start of each round
only if a player suffers an injury. The 22 players left on the
Team USA provisional roster turned in on Jan. 17 are eligible
to fill in at that point.
