The World Baseball Classic has been everything I could’ve wanted and more. Every single game, even the ones that seem to have little stakes, has made me rife with excitement. It’s clear that the players are all-in, and that makes it easy for me to be too.
There are so many moments that I would love to write 1,000-word essays about — maybe I’ll crank out a full tournament retrospective when this whole thing’s done and dusted, but I can make zero promises (you know, life and all) — but Saturday’s action has really stuck with me. It started with a thrilling 8-6 victory for Japan over Korea that solidified the fact that the Japanese, led by Shohei Ohtani and all his glory, were once again not to be messed with. Sure, the Koreans gave Samurai Japan a run for their money, but in the end the Tokyo Dome was still singing the praises of the home team.
Then the Netherlands and Ozzie Albies had their moment in the sun. Down 3-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Albies absolutely drilled a ball into the right-field seats at loanDepot Park to give the Netherlands a thrilling victory that will surely be remembered for eternity in Dutch circles. As Albies rounded the bases in jubilation, his teammates ready to greet him at home plate, the Nicaraguan players on the field and in the dugout could only look down at the ground. It was one of those moments that is equal levels amazing and wonderful and also completely demoralizing and hard to watch. One team’s dreams were coming true while the others were snatched right out of their hands.
But that wasn’t the only walk-off of the day. Enter Darell Hernaiz, whose walk-off homer in the bottom of the 10th against Panama is the definition of joy. In many ways, baseball is the epitome of joy, especially for the residents of Puerto Rico. That tiny island loves the sport so much, and Hernaiz is the personification of that adoration. He leaped and screamed and smiled his way around the bases. He was mobbed by his teammates not at home plate, but halfway down the third-base line. Puerto Rico’s roster is not at 100 percent — far from it, actually — but you wouldn’t know it in that moment. Hernaiz was a hero, one his country will never forget.
As the night was coming to a close, and the folks on the East Coast of the United States were putting their heads on their pillows, Taiwan and Korea were in the middle of a knock-down, drag-down fight. Taiwan was fighting for its tournament life. Korea, to a lesser extent, was too. Nine innings weren’t enough to decide the outcome. Good. The game was so good, nobody wanted it to end. Taiwan took the lead. Korea tied it. Taiwan took the lead again. Korea snatched it away. Taiwan said, “No you don’t!” and scored two runs in the eighth. Korea retaliated with a tally in the ninth. Tied again. Off to the 10th it was. And in the 10th, Taiwan scored, and Korea could not. Taiwan, which had gotten off to such a lousy start in the WBC, had a tiny sliver of hope it could make it to the knockout stage. And even though those dreams weren’t realized — Korea ended up advancing anyway — that moment will be one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
So, yeah. Saturday was great. Tonight could be even greater.
The United States can’t beat Mexico in baseball. It’s inexplicable. The U.S. has much more talent than Mexico — how can the results be this lopsided? I have no answer. All I know is that the best U.S. team of all time will have a chance to avenge all those losses tonight at Daikin Park in Houston. The best the U.S. has to offer will be taking the field. Mexico’s pitching staff is depleted, but the lineup has been delivering bangers throughout the first two games of the WBC. Which country will win? I have no idea.
All I can ask of you is this: watch the game. I hope that my posts about the WBC have driven at least one person to watch the tournament and love it as much as I do. It’s one of those things that hooks into you like a stingray barb the second you get your first taste of it. The WBC is intoxicating, at least in my experience, and it’s games like tonight’s USA-Mexico clash that make me all the more in love with it.
The plucky Mexicans, the underdogs that they are, have gotten the best of the Americans three consecutive times. There’s no way it happens again, right? The only way to find out is to watch, so do it!
(It’s at 7 p.m. ET on FOX. Get your rabbit ears out and turn on that dang channel!)