Cantu pitching World Baseball Classic

Looking at the television on Sunday morning, Jorge Cantu was mildly suprised to see himself in an ESPN commercial.

Cantu was one of four players used to advertise the upcoming World Baseball Classic, which begins in March.

In January, the Marlins third baseman received a call to participate in the commercial. Cantu is representing Mexico in the Classic, and he was dressed in his country’s uniform. Derek Jeter also was showcased to represent Team USA. Alex Rodriguez is in it for the Dominican Republic and Ichiro Suzuki is on hand for Japan.

“I saw it for the first time today, I was so pumped,” Cantu said. “Wow, they did such a great job.”

To the skeptics, Cantu said the Classic is worth watching.

“People have to watch it. It’s like a playoff game,” he said. “It’s all or nothing for every country. It’s just a lot of pride for me. Obviously, in Mexico, soccer is the national sport. But in Mexico we have a lot of baseball talent. It’s a chance to show the rest of the country the talent we have in baseball.”

– Joe Frisaro