An evaluator trailing the St. Louis Cardinals early last month was astonished by Yadier Molina's sluggishness, because he had seen how Molina led Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic -- the fist-pumping, the shouting, the inspired play.
"He looks like a completely different guy," the evaluator said, noting how Molina wasn’t showing nearly as much of that at the outset of the regular season. "Very little energy."
Similar observations have been made about other players who served in prominent roles in the WBC -- so much so, that it is now accepted as a reality by many folks in the game that some players have struggled because of their participation in spring training's great event.