Alex Rodriguez was born in New York and lives in the United States. He plays a game that is still considered the national pastime and has taken full advantage of the country's free market economic system by signing the largest contract in sports history. So why would Rodriguez want to play for the Domincan Republic, a country he called home for only a small part of his childhood?

The inaugural World Baseball Classic, which is scheduled to start in March, has raised some questions about the national identities of some of the game's greatest players. Is Mike Piazza really Italian? Is Doug Mirabelli, for that matter? International competitions historically have created some strange bed fellows between athlete and country.

David Regis, a former defender for the U.S. national soccer team, became an American citizen only weeks before the 1998 World Cup. Born in Martinique, Regis grew up in France and had lived there his entire life. However, because he was married to an American, he was able to exploit a loophole and gain citizenship in an unusually speedy fashion.  He then became eligible to play for the U.S. and eventually suffered through three embarassing losses in the 1998 tournament. 

Khalid Khannouchi, one of the world's best marathon runners, had competed for Morocco in international meets before deciding he wanted to run for the U.S. in the 2000 Olympics. He had lived in the U.S. since 1993 and married an American in 1998. But after bungling several attempts to gain citizenship, Khannouchi's efforts were successful after he also took advantage of the system. Finally, it appeared the U.S. had a shot at the gold medal in the marathon. But before the Olympic trials, Khannouchi injured himself and could not run, leaving U.S.A. Track and Field back where it started -- without an elite long distance runner. Khannouchi's efforts to change citizenship, nevertheless, seemed pure.

But a lot of athletes like Regis appear to change nationalities so they can play in elite competitions because they're not good enough to be selected by their own country's national team. Alex, a defender for the Japanese national team, was born in Brazil and gained citizenship in his adopted homeland in 2001, just a year before he took the field  in the 2002 World Cup with players named Nakata and Inamoto. It's somewhat understandable why Alex would feel compelled to switch national allegiances in order to chase a dream, especially when a team like Brazil is loaded with talent. However, his actions should also be recognized as selfish, because national teams should not be viewed as clubs. Furthermore, national sport federations should not woo athletes like free agents.

And that is why it is difficult to understand the motives of Alex Rodriguez, a player who would be one of the leaders for the U.S. squad. The same is true for Mike Piazza. While Piazza could help baseball by attracting a new market to the game, he would be better served suiting up for the U.S, even if he is the second-string catcher behind Jason Varitek. He is American, after all.

And so is Alex Rodriguez, a superstar who many are counting on to make the right decision.