Maikel Garcia was named the MVP of the World Baseball Classic.

Although Garcia didn’t have a hit in the championship game, his sac fly got Team Venezuela on the board first. Along with that, his elite defense saved Team Venezuela several times. 

The WBC MVP is for all games, not just the championship round. Garcia had one home run, seven RBIs and a .970 OPS. Although his offensive numbers weren’t dominant, his all-around contributions along with his defense made him the choice for WBC MVP.  

Team Venezuela went 3-1 in group play. Ironically, Garcia’s best game came in the loss to Team Dominican Republic. Garcia had four hits in four at-bats and a walk. He also scored a run and had an RBI. Despite this, Team Venezuela couldn’t survive the offensive onslaught from Team Dominican Republic. This includes Vladimir Guerrero Jr. having three hits and a walk. 

Garcia was a huge part of the upset over the defending champions Team Japan. He had two hits in four at-bats and two RBIs. He was the best hitter in the semifinal game against Team Italy, where he had two hits in four at-bats and an RBI. 

Garcia is coming off a career year where he made his first All-Star team. He finished the season with a 5.8 WAR, which was top-15 in the league. He finished with the same WAR as Jose Ramirez. 

Although a lot of Garcia’s value comes from defense, he’s a good hitter as well. He finished 2025 with an OPS+ of 123. 

All the WBC players, including Garcia, will now return to their respective teams to play the final spring training games. Garcia’s team, the Kansas City Royals, will start the season on March 27 against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Team Venezuela defeated Team USA in the World Baseball Classic championship on March 17.

Team Venezuela won the game 3-2. This was the first time that Team Venezuela has won the WBC Championship. Although Team USA has made three straight championship games, they have lost the last two. 

Maikel Garcia got Team Venezuela on the board first with a sacrifice fly to bring home Salvador Perez from third base. Team Venezuela took a 2-0 lead when Wilyer Abreu hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning.

Team USA wasn’t going to go down without a fight, though. Bryce Harper hit a two-run home run with Bobby Witt Jr. on base to tie the game at 2-2. However, Eugenio Suarez hit an RBI double in the top of the ninth to bring home Javier Sanoja to give Team Venezuela a 3-2 lead. Garrett Whitlock gave up the run, which was his first run allowed in the WBC.

Daniel Palencia came in to close the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. Although his team, the Chicago Cubs, preferred Palencia not to pitch, they told Team Venezuela they could use him in a save situation. Palencia sent Team USA down in order to secure his third save of the WBC. 

Aaron Judge’s struggles were one of the main talking points for Team USA’s loss. His OPS fell from over 1.000 to under .900 just in the final three games. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts against Team Venezuela. 

All the players who participated in the WBC will return to their respective MLB teams. They will participate in the final games of spring training. Opening Day will be on March 25 when the New York Yankees take on the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park in San Francisco.  

Team USA will advance to the championship round of the World Baseball Classic after defeating Team Dominican Republic.

This is the third straight WBC in which Team USA will advance to the championship round. They won the 2017 WBC and lost in the 2023 championship round to Team Japan. 

Team USA got an excellent start from Paul Skenes, who pitched 4.1 innings and only gave up one run. That run was a solo home run from Junior Caminero in the second inning. 

In the fourth inning, Gunnar Henderson tied the game with a solo home run for Team USA. Just two batters later, Roman Anthony hit a home run that gave Team USA a lead. 

After Skenes was taken out of the game, Tyler Rogers, Griffin Jax, David Bednar and Garrett Whitlock combined to give up no runs out of the bullpen. Bednar was the only one who allowed runners on base.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Mason Miller came on to close the game. Julio Rodriguez worked a walk with one out. Rodriguez advanced after a wild pitch and a Oneil Cruz groundball to Bobby Witt Jr. This brought up Geraldo Perdomo with two outs and a runner on third.

Perdomo worked the count to 3-2 after taking three pitches far from the strike zone. The first strike call was borderline. After fouling off a couple of pitches, the count was still 3-2. Perdomo took a pitch low, but it was called a strike to end the game.

If this pitch was called a ball, it would’ve put Perdomo on first base with Fernando Tatis Jr. due up next. Team Dominican Republic needed one run to tie and two to win. 

Team USA will play in the WBC championship on March 17. The game will take place in Loan Depot Park in Miami.

Team USA will advance to the quarterfinals of the World Baseball Classic after Team Italy defeated Team Mexico. 

Team USA lost to Team Italy on March 10. This put Team USA’s record in the preliminary round to 3-1. They needed Team Italy to win in order to advance to the quarterfinals. 

Team Italy defeated Team Mexico 9-1. Kansas City Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino had a huge game for Team Italy with three home runs. Athletics first baseman Joey Meneses had a hit and a walk for Team Mexico. 

Team Italy had a 4-0 record in the preliminary round. Their win over Team USA caught the attention of baseball fans around the world. Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone had two hits and a walk for Team Italy. Chicago Cubs outfielder Peter Crow-Armstrong had two hits and four RBIs for Team USA.  

Armstrong has been Team USA’s best hitter so far. His 1.427 OPS leads all Team USA hitters and is top-20 in the entire tournament. 

Pitching has been more of a question mark for Team USA. Detroit Tigers starter Tarik Skubal pitched three innings and only allowed one run against Team Great Britain. However, Skubal has removed himself from the roster to return to the Tigers. Skubal is in the final year of his contract.  

Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes also had a strong game against Team Mexico. He pitched four innings and gave up zero runs. He will be the Team’s most important starter going forward.

Minnesota Twins starter Joe Ryan will replace Clayton Kershaw on the roster. Kershaw retired after the 2025 season after an 18-year career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

 
Team USA will play Team Canada on March 13. San Francisco Giants starter Logan Webb will start for Team USA, while Team Canada will announce their starter later. 

Veteran MLB catcher Robinson Chirinos announced his retirement on Twitter Wednesday after 11 seasons in the league. The Venezuelan catcher spent most of his career with the Texas Rangers but played for six teams between 2011 and 2022.

“With a happy, yet heavy heart, I am announcing my retirement from professional baseball,” Chirinos said. “After much contemplation and reflection, I have decided to close this chapter of my life. It has not been an easy decision, but I feel that it is the right one for me as I have given my heart and soul to this sport over so many years.”

Born in Venezuela, Chirinos signed a contract with the Chicago Cubs in 2000 at the age of 16. He spent more than a decade in Chicago’s farm system until he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2011. He made his MLB debut with the team but did not make the 2012 roster because of a concussion. He was later traded to the Texas Rangers where he played from 2013 to 2018 and again in 2020.

Over the course of his career, Chirinos batted .226 with 95 career homers, but these numbers are deflated by unsuccessful stints with the Mets, Cubs and Orioles later in his career. In his prime, he was a dependable bat for the Rangers and later the Houston Astros, hitting 17 home runs for the latter team in 2019 at age 35. He also caught Justin Verlander’s third career no-hitter that season.

In 2017 and 2023, Chirinos got to represent Venezuela at the World Baseball Classic. He thanked his nation’s baseball team, as well as all the MLB organizations he played for, in his sendoff message.

“Baseball has been more than just a game to me,” Chirinos said. “It has been my passion, my love, and my identity for as long as I can remember. From little league to the major leagues, I have spent my life pursuing my dream of becoming a professional baseball player.”

New York Mets pitcher Edwin Diaz suffered a torn patellar tendon in his right knee shortly after a game in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Wednesday. He is expected to miss the 2023 MLB season.

The Mets formally diagnosed the injury Thursday after conducting further medical imaging. Diaz signed a record-breaking five-year, $102 million deal with New York during the offseason. The star closer earned the save for Puerto Rico against the Dominican Republic and was celebrating with teammates when he suffered an injury to his right leg. He had to be carried off the field and put in a wheelchair.

While Diaz was being escorted off the field, his brother and WBC teammate, Alexis Diaz, could be seen crying. At the press conference, players on the Puerto Rican team repeatedly expressed sympathy for Diaz, understandably deflated despite a clinching a spot in the next round.

“Sugar (Diaz) is one of the glue guys in that clubhouse … he has a really big bank account but his heart is way bigger than his bank account,” second baseman Kike Hernandez told reporters. “He’s one of the really special human beings we’ve got in that clubhouse.”

Diaz’s injury immediately served as a flashpoint incident for many analysts and fans protesting the WBC, a professional event in which many MLB players compete in high-profile games beyond their contracted duties. These detractors have cited this injury, which could cost Diaz an entire MLB season, as a reason to change the format of the event or do away with it altogether.

Some analysts have assumed even stronger opinions about the WBC. Sports and political commentator Keith Olbermann has received criticism for his comments on Twitter, in which he called for the event to be ended immediately after injuries to Diaz and Dodgers first baseman Freddie Freeman, who is representing Canada.

“The WBC is a meaningless exhibition series designed to: get YOU to buy another uniform, to hell with the real season, and split up teammates based on where their grandmothers got laid,” Olbermann said.

In Diaz’s case, the injury was not related to in-game activity but instead seemed to occur as a result of a freak accident while celebrating. But in the lead-up to the WBC, many star pitchers in the league declined the invitation to compete, citing unnecessary strain and potential for injury as reasons to instead stay with their MLB teams for spring training.

Starting pitcher Max Scherzer, Diaz’s teammate in New York, explained earlier this week that he didn’t accept an invitation to play because he didn’t feel prepared to compete in the WBC environment.

“For me personally, I’m not ready to step into a quasi-playoff game right now, physically,” Scherzer said. “If I do that, I’m rolling the dice with my arm.”

In defense of the WBC, Mike Trout and Mookie Betts, MLB star outfielders who are representing the United States, said that the event has been one of their best experiences on a baseball field. They both said that they accepted risk by playing but offered glowing praise for the opportunity to represent their country on the world stage. The players also agreed that Diaz’s injury was not a result of the competition.

“That could happen to anybody at any given time, and you can always try and place blame on the WBC, but that’s just a freak accident,” Betts said.

With Puerto Rico’s victory over the Dominican Republic, thanks in part to Diaz’s save, the team clinched a position in the next round as the Pool D runner-up and will advance to play Mexico in the quarterfinal.

The United States had a rough start to the 2017 World Baseball Classic tournament. Team USA needed extra innings to defeat Colombia, blew a 5-0 lead against the Dominican Republic, and lost to Puerto Rico 6-5 in the second round.

U.S. Thrashes Puerto Rico 8-0 in WBC 2017 Final

However, the Americans turned their luck around Wednesday night in Los Angeles, obtaining their vengeance on Puerto Rico with an 8-0 thrashing in the finals to secure their first-ever WBC title before an excited crowd of 51,565 at Dodger Stadium.

The U.S. got six no-hit innings from pitcher Marcus Stroman, while Ian Kinsler ignited the offense with a two-run homer, a single and two runs scored in routing a Puerto Rico team that had entered the championship game undefeated.

“We had a goal — to put the U.S.A. on top of the baseball world where it belongs, and we did exactly that,” said first baseman Eric Hosmer, who played on the 2013 team that got eliminated by Puerto Rico. “So we’re proud of the guys. It’s an awesome experience.”

The Americans had only made it to the semifinals once in the previous three WBCs. Now, they have won three straight elimination games against the Dominican Republic, Japan and Puerto Rico to claim their first WBC trophy.

“I don’t want to bore you, but my theme all along has been, ‘Make a memory, fellas,’” manager Jim Leyland said.

Team USA has made several memories recently. The pitchers allowed just two runs in the final 26 innings of the tournament, and Stroman— a Toronto Blue Jays ace— was the latest starter to deliver a great performance. Center fielder Adam Jones gave great hits and catches, Brandon Crawford was a defensive powerhouse, and Kinsler led on the offensive front.

Kinsler made social media go abuzz earlier in the day when he commented on the different styles of play in the WBC, remarks that some perceived to be a veiled criticism of Latino players. On Wednesday night, he hit a two-run homer off Seth Lugo in the third inning. Kinsler also singled and scored on Christian Yelich’s single in the fifth, thus giving the Americans a 3-0 lead and chasing off Lugo, a New York Mets right-hander, in the process.

Andrew McCutchen then put the U.S. up 4-0 with an infield single later that same inning. Crawford then smacked a bases-loaded, two-out, full-count single in the seventh. By that point, it was clear which team would win the game.

Stroman, who surrendered hits to the first six batters he faced in last week’s loss to Puerto Rico, greatly improved on Wednesday, and was named the WBC’s Most Valuable Player after the final.

The 25-year-old right hander, who has a fiery personality, was eligible to play for Puerto Rico, where his mother was born. Stroman and his mother had been mocked on social media after he announced in December that he would pitch for the U.S. in this year’s WBC, though following the 2013 tournament he said he hoped to represent Puerto Rico in 2017.

Stroman’s no-hitter ended when Angel Pagan smacked a double into the left-field corner to kick off the seventh. The pitcher then walked off the field to a standing ovation, pounding his chest emphatically before entering the dugout.

“I love pitching in these moments. I love the atmosphere,” Stroman said. “I feel like the bigger the game, the more I’m able to get up, the more effective I am. I truly try to pride myself on being a big-game pitcher. This was probably one of the biggest — if not the biggest — game I’ve ever pitched in, and that was just a nod to coming off with the lead and giving us an opportunity to win that game.”

Stroman allowed only one other base runner, walking Carlos Beltran to start the second. However, he was rapidly erased when Yadier Molina grounded into a double play. Stroman also struck out Carlos Correa to end the fourth.

The U.S. players seemed to be more effusive in the final than they were in other games in the tournament. Players from other countries, mainly those from the Caribbean and Asia, seemed to have been having more fun in the WBC than the Americans, according to some. However, some of the Team USA coaches unsurprisingly disputed this notion.

“We’re having fun,” said Willie Randolph, the third-base coach for the U.S. “We’re having a blast. Just because we’re not trying to keep up with somebody else on the enthusiasm gauge, that’s not really important. Our team is as excited as any team in this.”

Clearly, this is a game that U.S. baseball players and fans alike would never forget.

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 22: Marcus Stroman #6 of team United States pitches against team Puerto Rico in the first inning during Game 3 of the Championship Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium on March 22, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)

Before Tuesday, the U.S. has only advanced as far as the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic once, in 2009.

U.S. to Face Puerto Rico In World Baseball Classic Final

However, that changed when the Americans capitalized on a pair of defensive mistakes by Japan to secure a 2-1 victory in the 2017 World Baseball Classic semifinal in Los Angeles on a rainy Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

The U.S. will now face Puerto Rico— who eliminated the Americans in the second round of the 2013 WBC and defeated them 6-5 last week in San Diego— in the championship game Wednesday night.

“It means a heck of a lot,” outfielder Andrew McCutchen said of the U.S. finally clearing the semifinal hurdle. “We’ve got a great group of guys on this team who have dedicated this time to be able to try and win some ballgames. Sacrifices had to be made, and there are no egos when that door opens.”

Adam Jones helped the U.S. scored the winning run in the eighth inning by hitting a grounder that Japan third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda bobbled, an error that allowed Brandon Crawford to sprint home.

In the bottom half of the inning, with the crowd standing up after sitting through rain, Seiichi Uchikawa reached first on a grounder to right and then ran to second on a sacrifice bunt from Tetsuto Yamada. Pat Neshek ended up stopping the late threat from Japan by retiring Japan’s cleanup hitter Yoshitomo Tsutsugoh, on a fly ball to deep right.

Luke Gregerson, meanwhile, pitched a perfect ninth inning, striking out Matsuda to seal the win. Gregerson was the last of six relievers used by the U.S.

Team USA opened scoring in the fourth by taking advantage of a miscue by second baseman Ryosuke Kikuchi, who was stunned by a hard grounder, which allowed Christian Yelich to race to second. With two outs, McCutchen drove Yelich home by smacking a single to left.

Neither manager blamed the weather for any of the mistakes, pointing out that both teams had to play under the same conditions. Nevertheless, U.S. starter Tanner Roark said the mound got a bit “hairy.” Roark pitched four scoreless innings.

Kikuchi compensated for his defensive error by hitting a fastball from Nate Jones in the sixth over the wall in right field, thus tying the score 1-1.

Many of the top Japanese pitchers who play in MLB, including the New York Yankees’ Masahiro Tanaka and the Texas Rangers’ Yu Darvish, refused to participate in this year’s WBC. Nori Aoki of the Houston Astros is the only player on Japan’s roster who also plays for MLB and who participated in this year’s World Classic.

Japan reliever Kodai Senga struck out the first four hitters he faced: the All-Stars Eric Hosmer, McCutchen, Buster Posey and Giancarlo Stanton. He also struck out Yelich to end the inning, but by that point the US had already won. Another big play for the Americans in the eighth came when Crawford singled with one out and sped to third—before his game-winning run— when Ian Kinsler doubled off the left-center-field wall.

Japan’s performance on Tuesday was significantly weaker than any of its other performances in this year’s tournament, and the statistics showed it.

After the game, Jones told reporters Team USA still has “unfinished business” to take care of. Watch the interview here:

The final between the U.S. and Puerto Rico on Wednesday should be entertaining.

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 21: Giancarlo Stanton #27 of team United States at bat in the third inning against team Japan during Game 2 of the Championship Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium on March 21, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

Eddie Rosario smacked a liner to center field to score Carlos Correa from third base in the bottom of the 11th inning to lift Puerto Rico to a 4-3 victory over the Netherlands in Los Angeles on Monday for a berth in their second straight World Baseball Classic final.

Puerto Rico To Face Winner of US vs Japan In WBC Final

In the fifth inning, the score remained tied after the ball bounced off the outfield wall and left fielder Angel Pagan snatched it out of the air with his bare hand. Pagan pivoted and fired a strike to second baseman Javier Baez, who then turned and tossed the ball to catcher Yadier Molina, who managed to tag Jonathan Schoop right before his foot touched home plate. Molina called out MLB last week for failing to provide adequate security during Puerto Rico’s WBC first-round game against Mexico.

After Correa slid home, beating center fielder Jurickson Profar’s throw by far, the Puerto Rican players raced out of the dugout to surround Rosario.

Puerto Rico’s fans comprised the majority of the 24,865 spectators at Dodger Stadium. Puerto Rico will face the winner of Tuesday night’s semifinal between the United States and Japan in the Championship game on Wednesday.

In an effort to rest pitchers’ arms, the 11th and subsequent innings at WBC games begin with runners at first and second and none out. The Netherlands bunted both runners-up and, following an intentional walk, Curt Smith hit a low grounder to Baez, whose backhand flip to shortstop Francisco Lindor gave Lindor sufficient time to toss to first baseman T.J. Rivera for the double play.

Baez was not the only Puerto Rican player to deliver a great defensive play, however. In the opening inning, Molina caught Andrelton Simmons straying too far off second on a bunt attempt, and Profar off first base as he celebrated a base hit.

The Netherlands lost shortstop Didi Gregorius, who returned to the Yankees with a sore shoulder on Monday, although they also regained Curaçaoan-born Dodgers closer Kenley Jansen, who missed the first two rounds in Korea and Japan. Jansen recorded eight strikes on nine pitches in the ninth inning. The Dutch used five relievers after Rick van Den Hurk lasted just two innings.

Puerto Rico also reached the WBC final in 2013, but lost to the Dominican Republic. Puerto Rico have outscored their opponents 55-18 in their seven games in the tournament.

Yadier Molina is not happy with Major League Baseball right now.

The St. Louis Cardinals catcher, who is playing for Puerto Rico in the World Baseball Classic, accused MLB of failing to provide security in the section where his national team’s players’ families sat during a 9-4 victory over Mexico in Guadalajara, Mexico on Saturday.

In the ninth inning, play was interrupted when Puerto Rico players left the dugout and gathered along the wall on the third-base side at Estadio de Béisbol Charros de Jalisco. According to game organizers, a disturbance had happened between a fan and family members of the Puerto Rico team.

Following the game, Molina wrote on his Instagram page that it was a “shame” that players became concerned about their families and that the event had been terribly organized.

“MLB,,, its a shame that you are more interested in making money and not in the security of our family,” Molina said in the post, which he wrote in both English and Spanish. “Its a shame that the players have to be worried about the safety of our family when you were supposed to have security for them,, Horrible organization for the this event, no security for the players family,,, its a shame MLB.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRh_756BIcm/

“Security staff responded quickly and relocated the families to a new area,” said the W.B.C., which is jointly run by M.L.B. and the players’ union, in a statement Sunday. “Stadium security is always our main priority, and we will make every effort to prevent another such situation.”

Play resumed approximately five minutes later, after the stadium announcer urged players to return to the dugout and fans to behave appropriately. After the game, Puerto Rico’s players said no family members had been hurt.

“I know the fans of Mexico are good fans, but the rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico is part of the game,” Puerto Rico shortstop Francisco Lindor said. “It’s too bad that something happens like this, in such a beautiful atmosphere.”

In other news related to the WBC, Mexico filed a protest after it was eliminated from the tournament due to falling short of playing in a tiebreaker despite defeating Venezuela in its final game.

Mexico beat Venezuela 11-9, which left it with the same record as Venezuela and Italy. But the latter two teams will play a tie-breaking game tonight in Guadalajara because Venezueal edged Mexico in the tiebreaker. The margin of victory in this tiebreaker was incredibly slim: 1.11 to 1.12.

Mexico’s manager, Edgar Gonzalez, questioned whether his team’s partial inning against Italy – it gave up five ninth-inning runs, but failed to record an out in the 10-9 walk-off loss – should count in the computations.

His brother, Los Angeles Dodgers star and Mexico first baseman Adrian Gonzalez, was even more pointed, claiming the Mexicans were told before the game that a two-run victory would be sufficient for the team to reach the tiebreaker. He later told reporters the conclusion would make him think harder before participating in future WBCs.

Adrian Gonzales seemed to be up all night filing the protest.

The winner of tonight’s tiebreaker game will join Pool D winner Puerto Rico – which went 3-0 in Guadalajara – in the second round at San Diego’s Petco Park, beginning Tuesday.
PITTSBURGH, PA – SEPTEMBER 06: Yadier Molina #4 of the St. Louis Cardinals rounds third after hitting a grand slam home run in the first inning during the game against the Pittsburgh Pirates at PNC Park on September 6, 2016 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)