Evidently, many sports fans are excited for the World Cup to hit the United States this upcoming summer, but I’m even more excited for what’s going on before it: The World Baseball Classic! Every four years, the world’s best players come together to represent their countries in an exciting tournament. Many familiar faces from Major League Baseball hang up their usual jerseys to go back to a reminder of where they came from and make their countries proud. The initial tournament in 2006 has grown into a beloved tradition that baseball lovers can’t wait for.
Naturally, there are favorites going into the classic, often including former victors Japan, the United States, and the Dominican Republic. Of course, there are other powerhouse teams like Puerto Rico and Venezuela, and underdogs like Italy and the Republic of Korea, but the playing field is even when it comes to cultural pride and recognition. How did it work out this year?
Pool Play Recap
The tournament is broken up into four pools to start, located in San Juan, Puerto Rico; Houston, Texas; Tokyo, Japan; and Miami, Florida. Each pool has five total teams represented, including one team that plays in a qualifier to enter the tournament. The pool play section included some big wins like Japan vs. Chinese Taipei (Japan won 13-0 in seven innings) and Dominican Republic vs. Netherlands (Dominican Republic won 12-1 in seven innings). Contrarily, it also brought us some nailbiters like the extra innings Puerto Rico vs. Panama (Puerto Rico won 4-3 in 10 innings). The pool play was a great chance to see all sorts of match ups and for many to see their countries play on the biggest global stage in baseball. The pool play ended with eight teams moving on to the Quarterfinals Round: Canada and Puerto Rico from Pool A, Italy and USA from Pool B, Japan and Korea from Pool C, and Dominican Republic and Venezuela from Pool D.
Playoffs start with Quarterfinals
Onto the next! Each pool brought their winner and runner up to the states to compete in an elimination style sector of the tournament. In a quick first game, Dominican Republic defeated Korea in a 10-0 run rule competition, notably with a walk-off by everyone’s favorite token white boy, Austin Wells. This Yankees player leaned into the Dominican heritage from his mother’s side and created a memorable impact on the team and tournament. Next, Team USA took on Canada and won 5-3. Strong performances by Alex Bregman and Pete Crow Armstrong on offense allowed the team to push through to the next round against the Dominican Republic. In a somewhat surprising third game, Italy beat Puerto Rico 8-6 in Houston. Although Puerto Rico’s Willi Castro and Christian Vazquez came on strong with a home run and a two-run single respectively, Italy pushed through to outscore them. Finally, Venezuela came through strong off of a recent loss to beat the reigning champion Japan 8-5, securing the last spot in the Semis. There were two leadoff home runs by two of the MLB’s biggest names, Shohei Otani and Ronald Acuna Jr., but the Venezuelan bats persisted and shocked many that favorited another Japanese title. With these four teams left, all eyes turn to Miami for the last three games of the classic.
The sweet Semis
The much-anticipated semi-finals round brought joy and sadness to many fans across the world. The round opened with the exciting match up of Team USA vs. Team Dominican Republic. The first run of the game came from an electric home run from Junior Caminero, who had been on fire at the plate throughout the tournament. The USA bats responded with two solo homeruns from relatively newer MLB stars Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony. From there, it became a defensive warzone. Strong pitching from USA’s Paul Skenes and the DR bullpen, as well as two major homerun robberies from Julio Rodriguez and Aaron Judge helped to prevent any more runs from being scored on either side. The game ended in an extremely controversial last strike call in favor of Team USA, who moved onto the final game. DR fans remained grateful for the energy and commitment the team brough to the tournament, as well as the new record of 15 total home runs throughout the tournament. The second game brought Team Italy and Team Venezuela together. Italy opened up the scoring when J.J. D’Orazio drew a bases loaded walk allowing Zach Dezenzo to score. Then, they made it 2-0 with a force ground out with the bases still loaded, allowing Jac Caglianone to get to home plate. From there, Venezuela turned on the offensive fire with a home run from Eugenio Suarez and 3 single RBIs from Ronald Acuna Jr., Maikel Garcia, and Luis Arraez over the course of the game. The Venezuela bullpen was able to hold it down for a 4-2 victory and a ticket to play for the title against the United States.
No crying in the world Baseball classic Finals
Finally, we reached March 17 and the championship game. Stakes and energy were high with potential for a first-time tournament winner or a repeat of the 2017 classic. Venezuela got the bats started with a sacrifice fly ball from Garcia allowing teammate Acuna Jr. to score in the third inning. Wilyer Abreu continues the fire in the fifth inning with a solo homer. The U.S. struck back in the bottom of the eighth inning with a two-run bomb from Bryce Harper, allowing Bobby Witt Jr. to score as well. The last inning brought tension and excitement with a tie, until Eugenio Suarez locked in with an RBI Single to bring the score up to 3-2. Finally, even with the home team advantage, the U.S. offense couldn’t come back against closer Daniel Palencia, leading to Venezuela’s first ever tournament title. Both finalist teams played hard and had a few players recognized as all-tournament team members, but arepa power persisted in the end!
As the dust settles on the WBC, it’s great to look back on this tournament as a part of the big sports year that is 2026. Now it’s time to move onto the MLB season to see which stars come out on top. Congrats to all of the players, and check out the MLB Website for a full rundown of your favorite team’s tournament run!