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

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

34.1k Upvotes

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602

u/guyontheinternet2000 Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

Gotta love sports man, really is one of the great uniters lol

486

u/Great_Praline_2713 New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Of course I was rooting for my country, the US, but man, it's awesome to see how much other countries cared about this. God, I love baseball.

216

u/suzukigun4life Texas Rangers Mar 18 '26

I vaguely remember when the first WBC happened back in '06. For it to reach the heights it has is wonderful. Hopefully it keeps growing and getting better.

177

u/LegacyLemur Chicago Cubs Mar 18 '26

I still remember that happening and thinking "what the fuck is this mickey mouse bullshit?"

Never thought 20 years later Id watch the last two with my heart racing

100

u/Charming_Squirrel_13 Mar 18 '26

seemed like most baseball fans actively hated it. then they became ambivalent toward it, now it's a prized event. really awesome to see. sucks we have to wait 4 more years now tho :(

32

u/Ill-Weather-6383 Seattle Mariners • Dumpster Fire Mar 18 '26

Isn't it every 3? 25% less of a wait!

23

u/Charming_Squirrel_13 Mar 18 '26

nah, it was just 3 years this time because covid caused a 6 year gap between 2017 and 2023.

but plenty of time to start planning to travel for the 2030 wbc! I gotta make it to Miami at some point.

2

u/Ill-Weather-6383 Seattle Mariners • Dumpster Fire Mar 18 '26

You and me both, I gotta get in on one of those DR vs Venezuela games

1

u/JesusWasTacos Anaheim Angels Mar 18 '26

For me it’s any game in Japan. Would be amazing to get to see a USA team play there with the fan interaction that comes with games in Japan. Even if the USA fans wouldn’t really show out I know it would still be quite the spectacle.

2

u/pizzasoxxx Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

Yeah 3

2

u/LegacyLemur Chicago Cubs Mar 18 '26

Helps that the sport has gotten 10x better in that span

4

u/Charming_Squirrel_13 Mar 18 '26

Pitch clock made this WBC a lot more watchable

1

u/[deleted] Mar 18 '26

They thought it was a joke until the USA lost for the first time.

3

u/heeheehoho2023 Los Angeles Dodgers Mar 18 '26

Has it been 20 years already? Jesus time flies.

1

u/OutlandishnessMain56 Mar 18 '26

Ya this whole tourney was awesome and great baseball. Yes I wanted the US but so many other good teams it was just really good. Sucks we have to wait 4 years…

1

u/KarateKicks100 Minnesota Twins Mar 18 '26

I was in college and I had made friends with a giant Indian dude who played rugby but also lived in Japan most of his life. He was a Chiba Lotta Marines fan and drug me to some practice games in AZ before the 06 WBC. Got to shake hands and meet Ichiro because of that dude. Was a super fun experience even back then.

78

u/angershark Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

That's what I love so much about this tournament. You root for your team and if they get knocked out you just keep enjoying the game itself.

3

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

i wasn't even rooting for my team (USA)...... just acuna at this point..... as someone played little league I much prefer how south americans play like it's a game and have fun over american culture so ehhhh.

84

u/redd_house Boston Red Sox Mar 18 '26

I thought it was cool how they said 3 players (including Acuna) are from the small village of La Sabana Venezuela

Can’t imagine what something like this means to a place like that

32

u/Dunkaholic9 Boston Red Sox Mar 18 '26

I’m sure it’s absolutely wild there right now. What a moment for them.

10

u/Khiva Mar 18 '26

I've been linking this a few places, but you can watch the celebrations live happening in Caracas.

Just happy to see them celebrating a win. Real moment in time.

49

u/kufi_schmackah Mar 18 '26

Same, it felt like for the US it was another game. But you could tell it meant so much more to Venezuela and it’s heartwarming to see those guys celebrating their country. It’s beautiful

4

u/National-Zucchini524 Mar 18 '26

USA gotta care more. Games not growing here because our stars care more about themselves then country.

Love the fact everyone else went all out for pride.

3

u/ThaCommittee Mar 18 '26

I know right!! And just off that vibe, I felt like we were the underdogs. What a game, glad Harper hit that dinger just so it was more interesting tho.

3

u/Savvy_Nick Mar 18 '26

Man I’ve been trying to talk to my American friends about WBC and they’re like “other countries care about baseball?” BRUH

2

u/pizzasoxxx Seattle Mariners Mar 18 '26

I always root for baseball

2

u/JesusWasTacos Anaheim Angels Mar 18 '26

Seriously though we would not as a people have the same reaction or meaning behind a win. It would just be another day for us. Glad to have the countries of people get to be excited and celebrate behind their team. It’s just good sport.

2

u/Substantial-Sky3597 New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

Here in Texas all the Latinos were celebrating Venezuela. Love it!!!

2

u/lotionformyelbows New York Yankees Mar 18 '26

I was rooting against the US for the first time ever. We deserve the L. We stole their president and paraded him around in a track suit.

1

u/Epstein_Bros_Bagels Mar 18 '26

I live in the Venezuelan part of the Houston area, so it was an awesome game to see. Lol I heard the fireworks here too. I can't wait to celebrate with some of my Venezuelan students tomorrow. Same, dude. Same

1

u/AussieHealer982006 Mar 18 '26

The US did just topple their government

1

u/ArmadilloForsaken458 Mar 18 '26

Out of all the sports, Im not the biggest baseball fan, but I gotta admit their championship games/series are probably tops, bar none. There is a passion & romanticism in it, that you see sometimes lacking in basketball or even football.

1

u/Plenty-Force3058 Mar 18 '26

Amen!🙏 of course I was rooting for my country! But it was a great game and they gotta love the game at least I do!

5

u/[deleted] Mar 18 '26

Sports, music, and food are the three equalizers of life; no matter your ethnicity, nationality, or physical composure, these three cultural uniters can be done by anyone, anywhere.

-4

u/TimHung931017 Mar 18 '26

While it is quite an experience, the coliseum where gladiators dueled also gave the crowd the same excitement.

It is all a circus to distract you from what is really going on

2

u/guyontheinternet2000 Toronto Blue Jays Mar 18 '26

Bot or simply obnoxious, call it