The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is a global baseball tournament that occurs every three years. It consists of powerhouse teams, holding players from the best leagues across the world. This year it begins on March 5th and finishes on the 17th. Teams and schedules have been fully released into four different brackets (A-D), playing in various locations.
The top two teams from each bracket move onto the semifinals (eight teams in total). The winners will then be selected to play another team in a single-elimination match, which then goes to the semifinals and eventually the championship.
The WBC was created in order to grow baseball as a sport and take it to an international level. At first, there was a good amount of controversy around the WBC. Owners did not want their star players to get hurt, drug testing was planned to differ from the Olympics (even though the concept of both events were the same) and there were a plethora of insurance issues. Eventually, the WBC was able to get past all this, largely thanks to a deal made surrounding insurance for player contracts. Now, baseball has gone international and is setting viewership records every year.
This year Bracket A (Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Panama, Puerto Rico) will play in San Juan, bracket B (Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico, USA) will be in Houston, C (Australia, China Taipei (Taiwan), Czechia, Japan, Korea) will be in Tokyo and bracket D (Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Venezuela) will play in Miami.
On the opening day of the WBC some expectations were being set. Japan, the reigning champions, dominated Taiwan (13-0), setting the tone and showing that they were just as strong as when they won. The United States (U.S) beat Brazil (15-5). And the Dominican Republic (D.R) destroyed Nicoragua 12-3.
Starting on March 7, bracket play started to heat up since the playoffs were approaching fast. Some big games were now being played and the best teams began to separate themselves. Japan and Korea, regarded as one of the biggest rivalries in international baseball, played each other and the matchup lived up to the hype, ending in a thrilling 8-6 Japan win. Both teams would end up qualifying for the playoffs. Group B held a tight race between the U.S, Italy and Mexico but eventually Mexico would be eliminated. Within group D, Venezuela and the D.R began to run away and take the division. Canada and Puerto Rico both went 3-1 to advance from group A.
Heading into the quarterfinals, Japan would be set to play Venezuela and Italy was to play Puerto Rico. While Japan and Puerto Rico were both heavy favorites in these games, they both suffered defeat in the first round. Key players from Venezuela, Ronald Acuna Jr., Maikel Garcia and Eugenio Suarez, provided clutch offense, allowing them to propel themselves over Japan. Andrew Fischer and J.J. D’Orazio, a part of team Italy, also erupted on the offensive end which gave Italy the edge over Puerto Rico in the game resulting in a final score of.
The other side of the bracket consisted of the U.S who would play Canada and the D.R who would play Korea, both playing in the States. The U.S would go on to beat Canada, 5-3, largely due to a star performance in pitcher Logan Webb, who threw 4.2 scoreless innings, and backed by a stable offense. The D.R would go on to mercy rule (ending a game due to one team winning by so many) Korea, 10-0. Fernando Tatis Jr. and Austin Wells would combine for half the teams runs batted in (RBI) and pitcher Christopher Sanchez would go 5 scoreless.
In the semifinals, Italy and Venezuela were to play in a match that would send the winner to the national championship stage. Italy found themselves with a lead most of the game, that was until the seventh inning. Following a momentous Eugenio Suarez homerun, Venezuela would still be down 2-1, thanks to a Maikel Garcia RBI single, a Ronald Acuna Jr. RBI single and a Luis Arraez RBI single, the Venezuelan team would be up 4-2 which would eventually be the final score. As well, the Venezuelan pitching staff closed the game by throwing 7.2 scoreless innings, halting a strong Italian offense.
The team that would meet Venezuela in the championship would be decided with whoever won in a head-to-head matchup, the U.S or the D.R. A very close and intense game was given, runs were only scored through homeruns. The D.R started in the second inning where Junior Caminero would go on to hit the team’s 15th home run in the tournament, setting a new record in the WBC, also giving them 1-0 lead. This lead would be short-lived as a Gunnar Henderson homerun would tie it and a Roman Anthony homerun would give them the lead, solid pitching on both sides would give us a final score of 2-1, U.S moves on.
In a championship game that would set astronomical viewership records, the United States and Venezuela would put on a game that would not disappoint. Venezuela would take an early lead 2-0, keeping a powerhouse U.S. quiet on the offensive side. This would last until the eighth. Following a Bobby Witt Jr. walk, Bryce Harper would hit a clutch 2-run homer to tie the game. In the top of the next frame though, Venezuela would strike back, Eugenio Suárez would deliver an RBI go-ahead double to give them the lead. A momentum swing big enough to halt the U.S in the bottom of the ninth. Venezuela wins 3-2 and delivers their first ever World Baseball Classic Title.
