SCOTTSDALE — As the Giants went through infield drills Tuesday, Logan Webb walked up and down the first base line, chatting with teammates and showing them some of his new equipment. It was a very normal morning — except for the fact that Webb was the only one wearing a different jersey, and his new spikes are red, white and blue.
The longtime staff ace currently is part of a different staff, but he’ll have a somewhat familiar assignment. Before making a fifth consecutive Opening Day start for the Giants, Webb will pitch the World Baseball Classic opener for Team USA.
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa made it official on Monday during a workout at the Giants’ minor league facility. Webb will face Brazil on March 6 in Houston for the first game of pool play.
“I’m super excited,” Webb said. “It’s an honor just to play for the team, let alone pitch the first game. It’s kind of my job to set the tone so I’m excited about it.”
If Team USA advances — a lock given that Pool B also includes Great Britain, Mexico and Italy — Webb will pitch the quarterfinal on March 14, also in Houston. That would be his first must-win outing since Game 5 of the 2021 National League Division Series, but he’s not looking ahead that far.
“That will be very exciting, but we’ve just got to take it one game at a time,” he said. “So we’ll start with that first one.”
While Tuesday’s game at Scottsdale Stadium was just an exhibition, it was the first time this group had been together in the same dugout. Bryce Harper said after the game that the team’s stars have been blowing up a group chat for several months, but it was still a bit different when they all finally gathered. The first BP group at Scottsdale Stadium included Harper, Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Alex Bregman and Kyle Schwarber.
Webb spent some time chatting with the Giants in the morning and then joined Team USA for stretching and work on the back fields. For much of the game, he was leaning on the dugout rail with right-hander Paul Skenes, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner.
Skenes will also make two starts for Team USA and Tarik Skubal will make one appearance during pool play. If they reach the championship, New York Mets right-hander Nolan McLean will take the mound.
Webb is a two-time All-Star and is friendly with many of the game’s best players, but this is still different. There’s much more downtime than at an All-Star game, and the team will have lengthy bus rides to a training facility outside Houston in between pool play games. There will be plenty of time to talk baseball, and Webb is trying to soak it all in.
“It’s been awesome,” he said. “You’re in a room filled with MVPs and superstars and Cy Young winners.”
Tuesday’s game was Webb’s first from the visiting dugout at Scottsdale Stadium, and at times it was awkward. He’s excited about the progress made by young Giants right-hander Blade Tidwell, but he was on TV when Alex Bregman took Tidwell deep.
The hope, Webb said, is that the offense that showed up Tuesday against his regular-season teammates is there all March. That would be particularly helpful for a player who has gotten notoriously poor run support in recent years, and in his first game, at least, Webb should have little to worry about.
Team USA is the favorite to win the whole tournament, with Japan and the Dominican Republic viewed as the other main title contenders. Webb could be away from Giants camp through the championship game on March 13, but he plans to take advantage of the time.
There are plenty of stars to learn from, including a former rival. Clayton Kershaw came out of retirement to join the pitching staff and Webb is eager to spend more time around the longtime Los Angeles Dodgers ace. He doesn’t anticipate the rivalry getting in the way of the tradition of talking grips and exchanging tips when big leaguers get together.
“Honestly, last year I met him at the All-Star Game and he was open there, so it’s kind of just building off of that,” Webb said. “It’s (been) a lot of shooting the s— right now but hopefully once we start getting into more serious games we’ll have more conversations.”
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