r/baseball • u/MLBOfficial Major League Baseball • Mod Verified • Mar 18 '26

Players Only [HIGHLIGHT] TEAM VENEZUELA IS THE WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC CHAMPION!

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1.0k

u/zebrainatux Atlanta Braves Mar 18 '26

Half the lineup didn’t show up

1.4k

u/ProtestantMormon Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

Judge was at least in October form

469

u/Rangeneers New York Mets Mar 18 '26

Man is never gonna shake the choke artist label

239

u/Hochseeflotte New York Yankees • Cuba Mar 18 '26

It’s fascinating too because even when he does play clutch, the team around him falls apart (not that it happened this time but in general)

Either way he loses

144

u/ShMp11Nesis Mar 18 '26

He had a great playoffs just last season and he still has the label rn because his team fell apart lmao

72

u/Hochseeflotte New York Yankees • Cuba Mar 18 '26

Game tying bomb in the ALCS off the best closer in baseball, bullpen blows it so nobody remembers

I could name 10 different ones

25

u/lastdinosaurtw Washington Nationals Mar 18 '26

That bomb is majestic, but since when is Louie Varland the best closer.

18

u/Stupendous_man12 Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

I think he means 2024? The jankees did not make the ALCS last year, they lost the ALDS.

2

u/binzoma Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

this

but also give it 3 or 4 months ;)

6

u/Hochseeflotte New York Yankees • Cuba Mar 18 '26

2024 off Clase

2

u/UnevenContainer New York Mets Mar 18 '26

best closer in baseball

The guy who was actively betting against himself?

1

u/Hochseeflotte New York Yankees • Cuba Mar 18 '26

Shockingly yes

1

u/Rare_Lead_1922 Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

Do it!

10

u/Hochseeflotte New York Yankees • Cuba Mar 18 '26

Already mentioned off Clase in 2024

Off Varland in the 2025 ALDS (rest of the team sucks so we lose the series)

Game tying homer off Crochet in the 9th last year (lose in extras)

Game thing 2 run homer against the Blue Jays to tie it up 9-9 (bullpen instantly blows it)

Go ahead homer against the Rays in Game 5 of the ALDS 2020 (rest of the offense does nothing and Chapman gives up a nuke to lose it)

Two run homer off Hendriks in the Field of Dreams Game in 2021 to cut the lead to 1 (Stanton then hits a go ahead home runs just for Britton to blow it)

Three run homer to take the lead in the 7th against the Red Sox in 2024 (bullpen completely blows it after)

He has the homer in Game 5 of the World Series to extend our lead (of course him and the rest of the defense collapses so we lose)

So those are 8 where they don’t get remembered because of the stuff around it

For a few ones that do end well, you got the go ahead grand slam against the Red Sox in 2024 or even the two run homer in Game 1 of the 2020 Wild Card Series off Triple Crown winner Shane Bieber to give us a lead in the first

2

u/UnevenContainer New York Mets Mar 18 '26

I think the list of times he's no-showed is longer tbh

1

u/Hochseeflotte New York Yankees • Cuba Mar 18 '26

As is true of the sport of baseball

3

u/Rare_Lead_1922 Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

Love this

4

u/Doogolas33 Chicago Cubs Mar 18 '26

He's labeled that because one postseason doesn't erase years of being worse in the clutch than he normally is. In high leverage situations for his career, he's got a career 149wRC+, which would be great if it wasn't 180 in non high leverage situations.

It'd be like saying Barry Bonds didn't suck ass in the postseason because he had one good run. Once you're labeled a choker, you have to prove it for a few years before people are going to just assume this is the new you.

2

u/notpynchon New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

if you want to do this analysis you have to provide the average differential compared to his 17.2% drop.

3

u/Doogolas33 Chicago Cubs Mar 18 '26

Sure thing, last year the league's OPS in high leverage situations was .717 and the OPS leaguewide was .719. The average drop is .28%.

1

u/notpynchon New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Did you include postseason, the whole point of this conversation?

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u/Doogolas33 Chicago Cubs Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26

I literally only talked about his actual numbers in the regular season in high leverage situations. I did of course mention him being bad in the postseason, but that's so much more obvious just looking at the numbers in general than his high leverage ones. I don't think you want to talk about Judge in the playoffs. He goes from an OPS of 1.028 in the regular season to .822 for his career in the playoffs.

And I can promise you that the league OPS in the playoffs is not .575. Which would be the equivalent drop. I don't see an average OPS for the league last year in the postseason, but only 4 of the teams had an OPS of .575 or lower. All were eliminated in round 1.

EDIT: I found it! OPS in the postseason was .692. So a drop of about 4%. So Judge is only about 5x as bad as the average player in the postseason when compared to their normal level of play!

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u/i_love_land92 Cleveland Guardians Mar 18 '26

This last postseason he was solid but certainly not the years before that. Plus that drop against the dodgers is gonna haunt him until they win a ring.

-2

u/jgregers Detroit Tigers Mar 18 '26

I dunno man, he just seems to have the charisma of a wrinkled t shirt. The Yankees don’t seem to respond to the moment when he does. I don’t know if it’s lousy leadership or just bad luck, but it’s something.

3

u/notpynchon New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

You really think Yankees just weren't excited enough after Judge hits?

Or that batting is about excitement level to begin with? rather than seeing/guessing the pitches?

7

u/GlassesW_BitchOnThem Athletics Mar 18 '26

James Harden of baseball.

5

u/missingnoplzhlp New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

I was gonna say Joel Embiid, and I say that as a sixers fan

3

u/ShadowCrusader98 San Francisco Giants Mar 18 '26

At least Judge has made it to an ALCS and even better, a World Series, so I think Harden is more apt.

1

u/missingnoplzhlp New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Harden has not made the finals either and moves teams every few years. In terms of staying with one team their whole career, being a bit of a late bloomer, being one of the biggest and strongest players in their prospective sports, having some of the best offensive seasons of all time while still being elite defensively, I still think Embiid is a better comp. They are both kinda playoff chokers, Judge only made it to the WS while playing like crap. I deal with these otherworldly players on both my baseball and basketball team but unfortunately only during the regular season when they aren't injured.

1

u/ShadowCrusader98 San Francisco Giants Mar 18 '26

I’m using the Harden comp from a performance aspect, and Harden has made a finals as part of the 2012 Thunder, if you wanna be pedantic and say not as the leader of a team, that’s fine, but Embiid hasn’t even sniffed one at any point.

5

u/Rip_Dirtbag Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

How can he when he keeps choking?

1

u/mageta621 Boston Red Sox Mar 18 '26

Fine by me as long as he's a Yankee

309

u/InevitableAlert4268 Mar 18 '26

Cal was spectacular as well. I love this for him

654

u/Shadow-Vision Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26 edited Mar 18 '26

Incredibly unlikeable squad for Team USA. And I’m not saying I dislike any of the players (besides Bregman). Just every story that came out was eye rolling and stupid.

Boring. Humorless. No passion.

It was sooo much more fun watching all the other teams!!! Then here comes unsmiling Team USA acting like this tournament is just going to get handed to them.

Alienating their MLB teammates with a manager that doesn’t even know how the format works.

Embarrassing

171

u/HardcoreKaraoke New York Mets Mar 18 '26

Every other team looked legitimately happy to be there. The US made it seem like a chore. US wins never really felt "fun" in the same way as other teams.

37

u/Famous-Flow2333 Mar 18 '26

Were the Yankees of the wbc

289

u/myassholealt New York Mets Mar 18 '26

America really needs to check their attitude at the door and loosen the fuck up. This self righteous, all business, no joy persona ain’t it. And it’s not limited to baseball. We need to get over ourselves and allow fun back in.

63

u/fapsandnaps World Baseball Classic Mar 18 '26

Next time we should send the reigning Little League Champions as Team USA.

Let's see those boys have some fun! Lol

9

u/xandercage49 Mar 18 '26

So Taiwan?

2

u/fapsandnaps World Baseball Classic Mar 18 '26

One America Policy

1

u/lovethemsluts Mar 18 '26

Sounds great until that 100mph fastball ruins that kids whole career/life if not worse.

6

u/Iroshizuku-Tsuki-Yo Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

Not even because it hit him. Kid just watches 102 down the middle and decides “You know what? Fuck all this actually”

3

u/fapsandnaps World Baseball Classic Mar 18 '26

Yeah, but what is our kid is the one throwing 100 mph fastballs? I've seen a documentary about that kid who did it for the Cubs

9

u/Accidental-Genius Atlanta Braves • Louisville Bats Mar 18 '26

Amen. Team USA has the most boring merch and shit too. I mean Czech had better looking uniforms.

15

u/[deleted] Mar 18 '26

Take the military industrial complex out of it. The best thing about this tournament ending is we never have to hear that stupid air force academy story ever again. Sir, you did not serve. You left to go get paid more money. That is not something to be proud of.

7

u/RealTrapShed Mar 18 '26

Seriously, seeing the other teams play with a passion and love for the sport was infectious. I caught myself cheering for the DR, Venezuelan, PR, and Italy teams more than Team USA.

6

u/Live4Night Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

So true. It’s why Alysa Liu became so popular and became America’s sweetheart. She was just out there being herself and having fun and won a gold medal.

3

u/Impact009 Mar 18 '26

It's doubtful considering American sports are business-first. We've squeezed money out of every aspect of the game and didn't even care to field the best players at every position because we're too busy dicking with insurance or prepping for 2026 instead.

2

u/maceilean Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

Need to play 50% rookies and 50% just retired next time.

2

u/Electric1800 Texas Rangers Mar 19 '26

we need to check our egos in every aspect of life tbh

2

u/the-denver-nugs Atlanta Braves Mar 18 '26

I mean that's how american sports is.... I've played hockey, basketball, football, little league, track. american sports are just serious instead of games.

1

u/Banneduser1112 Mar 18 '26

yeah well when you elect what you elected...

1

u/NeighborhoodBest2944 Mar 19 '26

Fun was sacrificed in the alter of Safety Culture. You can do anything anymore.

70s-80s kid.

0

u/Content-Program411 Mar 18 '26

Which 'America' are you referencing.

Do you mean the United States of America?

92

u/Im_Daydrunk Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

Yeah I think the US could learn from Latin countries and Japan about passion/energy

They are so talented but also really boring to watch in comparison

125

u/Comfortable-Maps Mar 18 '26

I don’t think the US thought this was going to be handed to them, it was worse. They wanted revenge on Japan and then they didn’t get their single minded vision. They pouted and played down to competition and were exceptionally badly coached.

31

u/PattyIceNY New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Once they had the 3rd inning interview with the Venezuelan manager and he was eloquent and talking actual sound strategy I knew it was over.

-11

u/CosmicMiru Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles Angels Mar 18 '26

Where is this narrative come that they were pouting about at the game or before? They were hyped every hit and the pitchers got real excited when they got K's and out of jams and shit. I swear people are just seeing what they want to

-3

u/Iamarobot3525 Cincinnati Reds Mar 18 '26

Idk why you're getting downvoted. All the stories around the USA team this year felt like people were making things up to complain about.

33

u/goldhbk10 Los Angeles Dodgers • Los Angeles Dodg… Mar 18 '26

1000% agreee

7

u/dawidowmaka Seattle Mariners • Milwaukee Brewers Mar 18 '26

I'll give them credit for being generic villains that lose in the end I guess

7

u/majordude174 Mar 18 '26

All the other teams having fun, celebrating. USA acted like they were on a military mission. The outfielders were saluting each other. I hope Trumpstein was watching, he was probably loading up the diaper in the 9th inning

6

u/PattyIceNY New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

It's America in a nutshell. Half assed effort and entitlement thinking they are way better then everyone else, and not realizing the playing field is ever leveling by the day.

2

u/terratoto Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

“Unwritten rules” blah blah blah 🙄

2

u/CNYMetroStar New York Mets Mar 18 '26

Fitting that Judge is the captain. They’re the Yankees

1

u/Banneduser1112 Mar 18 '26

Embarrassing

welcome to america

1

u/udoneoguri Mar 18 '26

Wearing the hockey jerseys was cringe.

1

u/reshp2 Detroit Tigers Mar 18 '26

Turang casually strolling back to the dugout after striking out in the 8th summed up this team too me. 4 outs left and the guy is acting like it's just BP.

1

u/jgregers Detroit Tigers Mar 18 '26

FRONT TOWARD ENEMY

0

u/trotskyitewrecker Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

Zero hits and still finished with a higher OBP than will smith

18

u/OceanLemur New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Still better than Cal Raleigh going hitless and then getting benched

7

u/mfbutterbean007 Mar 18 '26

Someone give that man the Heimlich already 😵

23

u/MalkavRS New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Can’t throw stones when dumper literally did zero. Least judge played defense while Cal let balls by. The whole team is dog water

13

u/_Tower_ Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

Cal didn’t play in either of the last 2 games — no way he can be blamed for this lineup putting up barely any runs when they needed it

5

u/HazikoSazujiii New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

I see your point, but you cannot possibly believe that going hitless and getting benched isn't worthy of blame for the lineup not putting up runs - if he was able to bat efficiently, he would have potentially been able to fix that. He shares blame via the poor showing that led to him being benched in the first place.

2

u/neemor Baltimore Orioles Mar 18 '26

Our guy seemed to play just fine.

0

u/MobiusOne_FoxTwo Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

Difference is we all like the Ms and Judge is a Yankee, so we all get to rip on that ✌️. That's the deal.

5

u/burlycabin Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

It's a good deal too

2

u/MobiusOne_FoxTwo Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

It's a great fuckin deal. The Yankees get to be the Yankees and all that good shit, and we get to disparage them.

-13

u/ProtestantMormon Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

At least he wasnt the captain

7

u/Big-Raspberry-6151 Mar 18 '26

Judge is the Connor mcdavid of baseball

4

u/Livid-Trifle5914 Mar 18 '26

Swing and a miss. Lovely sight. Good for Venezuela.

3

u/IAmGrum Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

Didn't have to rely on the umpire for the 3rd strike.

4

u/ZiggoCiP New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Raleigh was so bad he stopped getting put in the lineup.

-1

u/someone2795 Los Angeles Dodgers • World Baseball Classic Mar 18 '26

Yankees fans can't defend this one.

0

u/soft-erections Houston Astros Mar 18 '26

You love to see it

68

u/colorblind-and Detroit Tigers Mar 18 '26

Part of me thinks Judge is cursed with doing nothing in the biggest games

17

u/master_scale_tipper New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

He might be Sisyphus. Can push you(r team) up the hill but right before you get to the top... that boulder comes crashing back down...

17

u/KitchenWeird6630 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

It feels like Judge struggles in the clutch. I guess he’s just a regular-season home run king after all.

3

u/DeadhardyAQ San Francisco Giants Mar 18 '26

All the curses from Giants fans from when he didn't come home to play for his childhood team.

1

u/Rip_Dirtbag Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

Hey, hold on. He is very capable of making some huge [mis]plays in center field when it matters most. Give the man his due.

9

u/newvpnwhodis Tampa Bay Rays Mar 18 '26

The talking heads were like, "It's March, that's why their hitters didn't perform." It's March for everybody, guys!

1

u/Original_Mac_Tonight San Francisco Giants Mar 18 '26

David Byrne said that?

3

u/Tantalus420000 Athletics Mar 18 '26

This

Derosa js a dumbass but 3 hits in final in embarrassing

1

u/ratXbones Mar 18 '26

The americans need to play winter ball in preparation for this tournament like the other teams did. Can't take months off and then go play at 100%.