Moises Alou says World Baseball Classic will likely be his finale

He tells Moises to take the bat that he is holding and to cast it onto the ground…

Moises Alou says he’ll likely turn down offers he has received to play this season, including one from the Philadelphia Phillies, and end his 18-year career after the World Baseball Classic.

And so his final professional at-bat may come in the Classic. The Dominicans play their opening game in Puerto Rico against the Netherlands on Saturday.

“I think I’m going home after this,” Alou said. “I haven’t decided 100 percent, but it looks like it. I’m tired of nagging injuries. Every day it’s something different.”

...“My bat is there,” he said. “If somebody from the American League had called, I was willing to do that. But nobody called.

“I can’t play in the field every day, and it’s hard for me to be a backup. Everyday players hate to pinch-hit. When you get a day off, you hope you’re winning 10-0 so you don’t get in the game.”

...“If this is my last rodeo, it’s going to be a nice one,” he said. “Hopefully we can win it all.”