Should the World Baseball Classic grow and thrive as the forces behind it are confident it will in time, the players who are participating in the inaugural event's 'Pool D' will have played a key role in getting this tournament off the ground

The 16-team tournament has Olympic-like appeal in its format and philosophy, but its long-term success depends on how well it is embraced by the fans
And the fans' blessing may ultimately hinge on whether the dozens of stars who will take part can elevate this first Classic to a level befitting the caliber of players involved

If the rosters for 'Pool D' are any measure of how high-powered the competition will be, this World Baseball Classic will be one for the ages

The Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Italy and Australia teams competing in the 'Pool D' competition at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando guarantee the most star-studded cast of any of the four opening-round venues

The list of players who could be on the field in Florida is loaded with All-Stars, home run title-winners, RBI champions, Most Valuable Players, Cy Young Award winners and strikeout kings

There will be stars in their prime from foul line to foul line, on the bench or in the bullpen

There will be numerous unknown or relatively unknowns on the teams, particularly Australia and Italy, but there were also be no shortage of household names, especially from the Dominican and Venezuela

Among the stars expected to see action at Disney include Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Miguel Tejada, Moises Alou, Wily Mo Pena, Jose Guillen, Adrian Beltre, Rafael Furcal, Aramis Ramirez, Alphonso Soriano, Bartolo Colon, Freddy Garcia, Johan Santana, Carlos Silva, Carlos Zambrano, Carlos Guillen, Bobby Abreu, Miguel Cabrera, Magglio Ordonez, Victor Martinez, Mike Piazza and Mark DeRosa

Whether you're a skeptic or enthusiast, that kind of star power commands attention

And unlike Spring Training games, where the occasional head-to-head matchup of a superstar pitcher-v-superstar slugger is entertaining, the aspect must always be tempered by the knowledge that those games do not count and those matchups must always be secondary towards both players' primary goal of getting ready for the regular season
That won't be the case in the World Baseball Classic
If Pujols faces Santana - and you can probably count on seeing that mano à mano matchup in Game 1 of the 'Pool D' bracket - both will be trying to succeed for their country

The players may be the same, but this won't be just another Spring Training game
"No one wants to look bad playing for his country, and you want to win for your country as much as you do your team when the season starts" Pujols said
"I think it's going to be very special for everybody; everybody will want to win
The fans in the Dominican and all of the countries take it very seriously, and the players will, too"

Think of the intensity of the some of the winter ball games, like the Carribean World Series, and ratchet it up a notch or two with the expected Olympic-like fervor these games could generate
Some of those Dominican and Venezuelan Winter League matchups have been known to stoke the fans' emotions in those countries to World Cup soccer levels

In time perhaps the World Baseball Classic will spark the same level of fervor from fans in this country
Skeptics would say it won't happen
But with rosters like these and national feelings involved, the skeptics could be wrong

We'll have to wait and see whether this tournament will truly soar
For now at least star power will help get it off the ground