The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) featured over 600 players representing 20 countries. Due to relaxed eligibility requirements, over one quarter of the players represented countries that differed from their birth nation. Through the lens of Social Identity Theory, the guiding research question of this study asked how identity is enacted and discussed when player nationality either aligns or does not align with the country they represent in the WBC. All WBC games featured on Fox networks were analyzed and any phrase describing a player was transcribed and coded utilizing a performance, personality, and physicality taxonomy resulting in 5937 phrases attributed to 547 players. Results indicate that those with aligned birth countries and WBC teams were depicted more positively with a higher rate of comments about their talent, experience, and composure. Those with misaligned teams and nationalities were described in greater detail regarding their backgrounds and connection to their WBC team. U.S.-born players representing a different country received significantly more comments pertaining to their U.S. roots; the reverse was true for those born abroad as their birth countries were more often referenced when they aligned with their WBC team thus suggesting a degree of in- and out-grouping by the commentators.

中文翻译：

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共同竞争，国家分离：2023 年世界棒球经典赛上的身份与国籍

2023 年世界棒球经典赛 (WBC) 共有来自 20 个国家/地区的 600 多名球员参赛。由于资格要求放宽，超过四分之一的球员来自与其出生国不同的国家。通过社会身份理论的视角，本研究的指导性研究问题是，当球员国籍与其在 WBC 中代表的国家一致或不一致时，如何制定和讨论身份。福克斯网络上播出的所有 WBC 比赛均经过分析，并且利用表现、个性和体能分类法对任何描述球员的短语进行转录和编码，最终得出 547 名球员的 5937 个短语。结果表明，那些出生国家和 WBC 团队一致的人被更积极地描述，对他们的才华、经验和沉着的评价更高。对于那些团队和国籍不一致的人，我们更详细地描述了他们的背景以及与 WBC 团队的联系。代表不同国家的美国出生的球员收到的有关其美国血统的评论要多得多；对于那些在国外出生的人来说情况正好相反，因为当他们与 WBC 团队结盟时，他们的出生国更经常被提及，这表明评论员在一定程度上进行了内部和外部分组。