It doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things thatTeam USA— the United States ofAmerica,as in the birthplace ofbaseballand the home to the highest-caliber league on the planet — lost one game against Team Venezuela.
Except to theVenezuelan players and their fans, to whom it means everything. And, after two weeks of some of the most joyous and exuberant baseball that anyMarch has ever seen, that is the beautiful thing about the World Baseball Classic.
When Bryce Harper – with his distinct brand of humorless flamboyance – broke a 12-inning scoreless streak for Team USA with a game-tying, two-out, 432-foot home run in the bottom of the eighth inning, it was the sort of storybook sports moment that makes big games worth staying up late for. It gave American fans and Philadelphia Phillies fans and baseball fans who were promised a power-packed lineup something to leap up off their couches and cheer about.
It also set up an even more dramatic ninth-inning victory for the Venezuelans. When Eugenio Suárez drove in the go-ahead run, it was a moment that mattered more to an entire nation than sports should have to.
It gave the sold-out stadium something to party about because, even here in America, the crowd at loanDepot Park in Miami was overwhelmingly full of Venezuelan fans. For those back home, it was a moment of catharsis for a nation that has been racked by political upheaval, economic uncertainty, isolation on the world stage and increasing emigration to other nations in the Western Hemisphere.
That was surely part ofMLB's calculus in deciding to host the latter rounds of the WBC in South Florida, where the heavily Latino population showed up to support Team Venezuela and, through its semifinal elimination, Team Dominican Republic. This is for them. And for the fans in Japan, where practically the entire country tuned in to see some part of Samurai Japan's run to the championship three years ago. And for the small contingent of baseball fans eager to grow the game in Italy andthe new Italian fansthis year's team attracted.
In previous iterations, when Team USA was clearly not as competitive as it could have been given the domestic talent that exists in Major League Baseball, it was not terribly difficult to understand why foreign-born players were more motivated to participate. American players return to their hometowns – or at least the closest major-league city – regularly. They leave extra tickets for family and friends and perhaps the broadcast highlights their local connection.
International players leave behind those familiar people and places to be part of MLB. They travel thousands of miles away from those support systems to give themselves the greatest opportunity, and also to give the game the best possible competition. The WBC doesn't necessarily bring them home, but it connects them to their heritage.
This year, the Americans were more formidable. The roster looked like it might steamroll the whole tournament.
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Team USA didn't because baseball doesn't always behave like you expect it to in small sample sizes. Take Aaron Judge for example. The American captain was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in the championship game, and yet he remains arguably the best hitter anyone alive today has ever seen. Every baseball fan in the world should want him to suit up for the next WBC.
In truth, the USA didn't lose because the team was overconfident. Or because of their bloviating military cosplay. Or because, by the end, they started to seem like joyless bad guys in a tournament full of teams having fun playing a kid's game. They lost because they batted a collective .156 with 24 strikeouts over the final two games.
And because Team Venezuela was talented, too.
What will surely be a WBC-record setting audience tuned in to see Team USA's offense choke in the championship game. As the tournament built up momentum over the past two weeks, a line of discourse emerged pitting the WBC against theWorld Series— which is "better," which would mean more to win?
There have been 121 World Series in baseball history. This was the sixth WBC. It's crazy that they're comparable. But to watch Team Venezuela descend into tearful revelry after the final out is to believe that they are.
MLB can, and should, thank international players and fanbases for giving the tournament such instant legitimacy. It's only because they care as much as they do – and, perhaps, this year, the Venezuelans most of all – that the WBC was so competitive.
By caring so much, Team Venezuela made the American team better. And then they beat them.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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It doesn't mean anything in the grand scheme of things thatTeam USA— the United States ofAmerica,as in the birthplace...
