Gary Sheffield has no desire to play during major league baseball's offseason. Not even for the United States.

Several MLB players said they would be honored to play in the World Baseball Classic, which features countries in a World Cup-style tournament. The groups for the tournament were unveiled Monday.

Sheffield, though, won't be part of the U.S. team.

"My season is when I get paid," Sheffield told the New York Daily News. "I'm not doing that. ... I'm not sacrificing my body or taking a chance on an injury for something that's made up."

"A lot of guys feel that way. They won't say it like I will, though," he added.

If other players feel like Sheffield, Miguel Tejada (Dominican Republic) and Dontrelle Willis (United States) were not among them. They seem to like the idea dn can't wait to play.

"I just hope I make the team," Willis said jokingly.

Tejada said fans back home would look forward to the event, which baseball hopes will be played a second time in 2009.

"They're going to be really excited to see all the players on one team," he said.

The 16-nation, 18-day event opens March 3 in Tokyo or Taiwan, where Group A will include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and China.

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The United States will be in Group B, which starts play March 8 along with the other groups and will be based in the United States.

Cuba, Puerto Rico, Panama and the Netherlands are in Group C, which will be in Latin America, and the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Australia and Italy are in Group D, which will be based in Florida.

Major League Baseball has spent more than a decade discussing the tournament and hopes the event will gain in prestige, such as soccer's World Cup.

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Sheffield didn't hold playing in the World Baseball Classic in the same high esteem as playing in the Olympics.

"This isn't the Olympics," he told the Daily News. "That's a big difference. This is something you made up."

"A lot of guys say, 'Give it a shot, give it a try,' but I don't think so."

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