During my vacation to Puerto Rico, I had the privilege of attending a World Baseball Classic Pool A game between Panama and Canada. As a Philadelphia Phillies fan, I was thrilled to be sitting 10 rows behind the Panamanian dugout, and directly facing 3rd base, where the familiar face of Edmundo Sosa was stationed for the day!
Sosa is not a Phillies star and he is not an everyday starter, but he is one of the most reliable and useful members of the team. Last season he started at 6 different positions (2nd, 3rd, SS, CF, LF, & DH) and had a .276 batting average, as a utility backup player.
Sosa was a clear locker room leader for the Panamanian National Team at this year’s World Baseball Classic. He was one of a few MLB players on team Panama, and scored a vital run to help solidify an upset win over team Canada.
This World Baseball Classic has successfully pointed out that the American-brand of baseball is lame. The Panamanian team celebrated loudly as the aging infielder Ruben Tejada hit a lead-swinging infield base-hit, meeting the scoring runners at home plate! “Rubie! Rubie! Rubie!” chanted Panamanian fans.
American baseball players come off as the fun police, akin to Roger Goodell’s approach to football. The early professionalism drilled into American baseball players have made them take the game entirely too seriously.
The Philadelphia Phillies have had a jarringly caucasian roster for the last few years, which is why it was no surprise that the Phillies have zero relevance in Rincon, San Juan, Aguadilla, or the World Baseball Classic. At the official store of the World Baseball Classic and in the San Juan Airport, there were racks of MLB Caps… not a single Phillies hat in sight.
The only Phillies shirt in Estadio Hiram Bithorn was being worn by my fiance as we cheered on Edmundo Sosa. Throughout our trip we never saw a jersey, shirt, or hat representing Philadelphia baseball – it was all Mets, Yankees, Dodgers, and surprisingly Mariners gear.
The Phillies have had a predominantly white core of players for the last 3-4 seasons and have failed to do much of anything, the 2008 World Series Champion Phillies were a melting pot of representation. The modern Phillies have an air of entitlement that hangs over the roster, there have been a handful of players that you could call whiners and complainers. Bryce Harper is more known for his whining and haunting TikToks than his play, Castellanos whined his way out of Philadelphia, and players like Bohm and Stott have picked up on this behavior.
Philadelphia baseball, much like every other work space on Earth, could benefit by embracing diversity. Diversity is good for interpersonal dynamics, diversity is good for international business, and diversity is good for baseball.
Edmundo Sosa stood out as an outspoken leader in the Panamanian clubhouse, and showed a side of him that Philly sports fans have likely never seen. I hope Sosa brings that swagger home to Philadelphia with him this season and pushes the Phillies and himself to new heights.
Panama was eliminated by Columbia from the World Baseball Classic on 3/9/26.
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