Venezuela defeated the United States 3-2 in the final of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday night to capture the country’s first title at the event.
The Venezuelan side plated one run in the 3rd inning, and another in the 5th to go up 2-0. A lead that they would carry into the 8th inning. However one could feel the nerves in the stadium, as both sides began to grip the bat a little tighter as the night wore on.
Finally, the Americans broke through courtesy of a 2-run homer off the bat off Bryce Harper in 8th inning, tying the game and waking up the home crowd who had little to cheer about until that point.
However, the underdogs would not be denied. After working a lead off walk to start the 9th inning, Luis Arraez was replaced by Javier Sanoja as a pinch runner. The 23 year old infielder narrowly stole 2nd base to put the go ahead run in scoring position.
7 pitches later, Eugenio Suarez ripped an 83mph changeup into left-centre field, plating the game winning run and sending the Venezuelan fans into a frenzy.
“The country needs this happiness with all the things that we’ve gone through,” designated hitter Eugenio Suárez said after the game. “I’m sure each Venezuelan was watching this game, and I’m sure they enjoyed it more than us. They deserve it. Venezuela, as a country, everyone who is here, those who are in our country, deserve this and much more. And I’m sure this is a little piece of the happiness they deserve.”
Two months removed from the United States launching a military strike on Venezuela where they captured then President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, the country’s national team earned a hard fought victory over the American side that likely meant more to their citizens than it did to the US.
“This maybe was an example to show everyone that we’re not bad people and we’re fighting to have a united Venezuela again, a Venezuela that is peaceful, a Venezuela that can grow,” Venezuela manager Omar López said. “In all parts of the world, the same things that they say about us, those countries have the same problems, but they look at us like we’re bad people. That was more fuel for me, to demonstrate that this team, working together, we can unite 30 million people.”
“The World Series, as everyone knows, is one of the most important championships that the major leagues has,” said Salvador Perez. “But when you play for your country, it’s a little bit beyond that. That feeling, the country where you were born and raised, the sacrifices your parents make, the people who helped you. That’s why this means a lot to me and a lot to Venezuela too.”
The loss marks back to back defeats in the finals for the United States, who came into the tournament as heavy betting favourites to win it all. All-Star slugger Bryce Harper took to the field after the loss to congratulate his opponent’s on their victory.
“Obviously I’m not OK with winning silver,” Harper said. “I don’t want to win silver. I want to win gold just like anybody else. But at the end of the night, man, they did it, they won. All the congratulations to them and what they did. They fought hard. They played a great game. I’ve got nothing but respect for them.”
Players will now return to their MLB teams, with Opening Night now just a week away on March 25th. Opening Day for the remaining 28 teams will take place on Thursday, March 26th.
Photo: Latinos en Pelota. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license.