In case you missed it, the World Baseball Classic was back in 2009, with 16 countries from around the globe vying to wear the next WBC crown.For many, baseball doesn’t exist outside the limits of Major League Baseball, where birthplace and ethnicity have become secondary statistics.

So if the greatest players from baseball’s greatest stage compete at the international level, then the United States must be number one, right?

Wrong.

Baseball remains the most diverse major sport in the world, with over 30 percent of Major Leaguers born outside of the United States, and foreign-born minor league players hovering at an astonishing 50 percent.

As baseball continues to grow globally, foreign-born players have flooded Major League markets, leaving the United States a limited selection with which to finalize their roster.

Despite their hot start to the ’09 WBC, the United States team found themselves just short of bringing home international hardware. Although U.S. Olympic teams sport one gold and two bronzes, baseball at the Olympic level is typically sub par to that of our friends from the Far East and Latino neighbors from the south.

This year, team USA’s incredible march through the WBC ended in Los Angeles when Japan eliminated them for the second time in as many Classics. It’s a shame to be outplayed in our game, on our turf, in what was unfolding to be our year.

Maybe baseball isn’t just America’s national pastime anymore, as countries from around the world have transformed the game, inserting their own culture and swagger to emerge as legitimate contenders.

But perhaps the real enemy is Major League Baseball itself, encouraging many American players to choose their professional affiliate over the World Baseball Classic. What happened to pride and patriotism? Where did playing for your country lose its integrity? Does no one remember the Dream Team? How about the Miracle on Ice?

As pathetic as it sounds, maybe the United States should take a page out of the international book and play for the name on the front of the jersey, not the back.

The United States is as responsible as anyone for sparking baseball interest worldwide, but consistently falls short of international domination, and remains desperate for a World Baseball Classic title.

Armed with Phiten necklaces and funny swings, the Asian brand of baseball will remain king of the American pastime in 2009, and leave baseball nation much to question about the fortitude of the red, white, and blue.

Paradox?

I think so.