An electric factory: The World Baseball Classic
Despite some contrasting loud opinions, the WBC is great for the sport
March 22, 2023
For two weeks, some of the best baseball players in the world competed, representing their countries in the World Baseball Classic. In March, before the MLB season even began, fans saw some of the most electric and most-watched baseball games of the year.
The tournament started with 20 teams split into four pools. From there, two teams from each pool advanced to a single-elimination playoff bracket where the last team standing won.
The tournament ended Tuesday when team Japan took down team USA in a 3-2 game that was by far the most anticipated matchup.
Several players became fan-favorites of their respective countries and even outside of them. Lars Nootbaar captured many hearts while playing for his mother’s native country of Japan. Freddie Freeman honored his late mother by representing Canada, and several other players such as Trea Turner, Mike Trout, Francisco Lindor and more called these games the most important of their careers.
Group Stage
Pool A was one of the craziest of the four. All five teams finished with the same exact record, 2-2. Based on tiebreakers, Cuba and Italy moved on, leaving the Netherlands, Panama and Chinese Taipei on the chopping block.
Pool B saw Japan finish a clean 4-0, automatically giving themselves a bid into the playoffs. Australia was the second team to qualify, finishing 3-1.
Korea, a tournament favorite alongside Japan and USA, was shocked to finish 2-2 and on the outside looking in. The other two teams in the bracket, Czech Republic and China, had a tough draw with their pool, leading to their elimination.
One of the most-watched pools was pool C, which had two 3-1 finishes moving on in Mexico and USA. Despite winning their first-ever WBC game, Great Britain was eliminated alongside Columbia and the Freeman-led Canadians.
The final pool saw an upset that rivaled Korea. The Dominican Republic went 2-2, losing to the two teams that moved on, Venezuela and Puerto Rico. Israel and Nicaragua also saw their tournament runs end in pool play.
Other than the upsets of Korea and the Dominican Republic, the matchup between Japan and Korea was the biggest story of the group stage. 44% of households in Japan watched the game, and the 62 million viewers made it the most-watched WBC game of all time.
Quarterfinals
The beginning of the playoffs already saw several electric moments. Following the seventh inning of the quarterfinal matchup between USA and Venezuela, the former held a 7-5 lead. In the top of the eighth, the Philadelphia Phillies’ recent free-agent signing Trea Turner came to bat and delivered a grand slam and one of the loudest recorded crowd reactions in a baseball game in what was a 9-7 USA victory.
In a shocking outcome, Mexico took down Puerto Rico 5-4 behind the back of timely hitting in the home stretch of the game. Despite being down 4-0 after the first inning, the pitching for Mexico shut down a potent lineup for eight innings, a key to their massive upset.
In the other two quarterfinal matches, Cuba took down Australia 4-3 to take on the USA in the semis, and Japan took care of business in a 9-3 win against Italy.
Semi-Finals
The two semi-final games were the tale of two stories. First up was USA vs. Cuba.
From the get-go, the Americans dominated the game. In all but one inning that the team hit, they scored at least one run en route to a 14-2 victory. Turner continued his hot streak with two HR and four RBIs in the game, leading the offense to their massive outburst.
As for the other game, Mexico vs. Japan saw Japan trail for nearly the entire game. Mexico took an early three-run lead off the back of a Luis Urías home run off young sensation Roki Sasaki.
Mexico held onto that lead into the fifth inning when Kazuma Okamoto of Japan drove a ball into deep left field. Mexico’s Randy Arozarena stood at the wall for what felt like an eternity before timing a perfect jump to rob the potential home run and save a run from scoring.
Then, in classic Arozarena fashion, he was seen signing autographs in the outfield following his robbery and tossing baseballs into the stands once he made his way back into the dugout.
The game was not over yet, as in the bottom of the seventh, Japan responded with their own three-run home run to tie the game and swing the momentum. Mexico took the punch and immediately swung back, scoring two in the top of the eighth.
After a run in the bottom of the eighth made it a 5-4 game, Japan had one more chance to tie the game or win it in the bottom of the ninth. A Shohei Ohtani leadoff double and walk put runners on first and second for Munetaka Murakami, one of the most feared sluggers in Japan.
Murakami, who struggled all tournament, came up with a double to the wall that gave Japan the win but also gave the world one of the greatest calls in baseball history from the Japanese broadcast.
After the game, Mexico’s manager Benji Gil shared a sentiment that was commonplace among fans after the thrilling game.
“Japan advances, but the world of baseball won tonight,” he tweeted.
Championship Game
Japan vs. USA. The perfect pairing of two Tournament favorites and the faces of baseball both domestic and international.
In the top of the second inning, the American hero of the WBC Turner hit his fifth home run of the tournament, tying the record for most ever in a single appearance. Japan responded quickly, with a Murakami HR of his own and a Nootbaar RBI groundout.
Pitching held things close for both sides, as two solo HR, one from either side, was the rest of the offense in the 3-2 Japan victory. Despite losing the game, the Americans had nine hits, failing to find the clutch hit with runners up to tie the game.
However, the most notable pitcher vs. hitter match came with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Two of the best players in the sport and major league teammates: Trout vs. Ohtani. With the game on the line, Ohtani came up big and struck out his Angels teammate on a 3-2 slider away, finishing off the perfect run for Japan and becoming the only country with three WBC Championships.
Adding to his legendary resume, Ohtani was named WBC MVP for his 1.345 OPS and 1.86 ERA, both legendary in their own right.
Fans will not see another WBC until 2026. Still, in the three years separating this edition from the next, more players will find the motivation to want to represent their country in the Tournament that is getting more and more prestigious with each passing installment.