2023 World Baseball Classic:

Strong Return from Hiatus

By: Michael A. Chase Jr.

03/23/2023

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) made a fantastic return after a six-year hiatus. The 2023 WBC provided us with some unforgettable moments that only increase the excitement for the coming MLB season. The stars came to play, and it all led to a Japan versus USA matchup in the finals. TUSV recaps all the major storylines that emerged from this year's WBC. Highlighting top team and individual player performances that occurred this tournament.

This year's WBC saw a field of 20 countries all vying for the 2023 WBC title. Team USA came into this year's tournament as defending champions after winning the last iteration of the tournament in 2017. You also had the projected favorite in the Dominican Republic along with teams like Japan, Mexico, and Venezuela as other viable competitors. Add in three teams making their WBC debut in Nicaragua, Great Britain, and the Czech Republic and it was as intriguing a field as the tournament has had. Pool Play was first on the docket to determine which 8 teams would advance to the Quarterfinals and begin the final stretch toward the championship game.

In Pool Play Japan and Venezuela emerge from this round of games as the only teams with 4-0 records, winning Pool B and D, respectively. Meanwhile, Cuba (2-2) and Mexico (3-1) claimed Pool A and C to move on to the Quarterfinal round. The Runner-ups in each Pool that rounded out the final eight included Australia (3-1) from Pool B, Italy (2-2) from Pool A, the USA (3-1) from Pool C, and Puerto Rico (3-1) of Pool D. The biggest surprise is that the projected favorites the Dominican Republic did not make it out of Pool Play. Despite having a roster filled with MLB stars like Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Sandy Alcantara, and Julio Rodriguez they ended up being the shocking disappointment of the Classic. There was also some history made as both Great Britain and the Czech Republic claimed their first victories in the history of the WBC. Both newcomers pulled off improbable wins with Great Britain defeating Colombia 7-5 and the Czech Republic beating China 8-5. Add in that Trayce Thompson's – brother of Golden State Warriors Shooting Guard Klay Thompson – home run was Great Britain's first-ever WBC run, and the surprises were plentiful.

The Quarterfinals then saw a trio of close ballgames along with one dominant performance. First, you had Cuba defeat Australia 4-3 to advance to the Semifinals round. This after Cuba built a 4-1 lead and hung on to win 4-3, surviving a couple of late Australian rallies. The next contest was Mexico's thrilling 5-4 victory over Puerto Rico that saw them pull off quite the rally. After they fell behind 4-0 after the first inning, they scored the game's final five runs. This included a 3-run 7th inning that was punctuated by a go-ahead RBI single by second baseman Luis Urias. Finally, team USA rounded out the trio of nail-biting victories as they rallied to defeat Venezuela by the final 9-7. Team USA jumped out to a 5-2 lead but saw Venezuela score 5 unanswered runs to go ahead 7-5. All led to the top of the eighth inning where shortstop Trea Turner hit a go-ahead Grand Slam to put team USA ahead and onto the semifinals. On the other end of the spectrum, Japan tallied the lone lopsided victory of the quarterfinals. Claiming a 9-3 win behind a strong 4.2 innings of pitching and two runs-scored performance from Shohei Ohtani.

The two semi-final matchups brought differing outcomes with team USA overwhelming Cuba, while Japan needed a ninth-inning rally to reach the finals. Team USA throttled Cuba by a 14-2 final as they scored in each of the first six innings led by four RBI games by both Trea Turner and Paul Goldschmidt. Japan needed a dramatic late-inning rally to push past Mexico by a 6-5 final. Mexico jumped out to a 3-0 lead, holding Japan scoreless for the first six innings. Japan then went on to score all six of their runs over the final three innings punctuated by a walk-off two-run double by two-time Nippon Pro Baseball MVP Munetaka Murakami to send Japan to the finals.

The 2023 WBC officially concluded Tuesday night with Japan and Team USA left standing as combatants. As it ended up Japan came out on top in this game defeating Team USA by a 3-2 final. This victory marked the 3rd time Japan has won the WBC and helped them complete an undefeated run through the 2023 tournament. Team Japan is the 2nd team to ever finish the WBC undefeated, joining the Dominican Republic. Team USA scored the game's first run on Shortstop Trea Turner's 5th WBC home run. Japan scored the next 3 runs two of which came on homers from Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto. The Japan bullpen then allowed one run over the final seven innings highlighted by star pitchers Yu Darvish and Shohei Ohtani getting the last six outs. Punctuated by Ohtani striking out team USA captain and his LA Angels teammate Mike Trout for the final out.

Now players who shined in this installment of the World Baseball Classic start on the pitching side and with two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. He won the 2023 WBC MVP after hitting .435 with 4 doubles, 1 home run, and 8 rbi along with pitching to a 2-0 record, and a 1.86 ERA in 9.2 innings with 11 strikeouts. You also had USA starter Adam Wainwright who recorded a 2-0 record and 2.25 ERA over 8.0 innings pitched in the tournament. Even arms like Matt Harvey (For Italy -1.29 ERA, 1-0 record) and Miguel Romero (For Cuba – 2.08 ERA, 2-0 record, 13 strikeouts) shined in the tournament as well. Add in USA relievers like Ryan Pressley, Devin Williams, and Jason Adam all pitching to 0.00 ERA in the WBC and USA got some quality bullpen production. On the offensive side, Trea Turner was the standout hitter for team USA, batting .391 with a tournament-high 5 home runs along with 11 rbi. Japan's Masataka Yoshida set a tournament record with his 13 rbi, to go along with a .409 average and 2 home runs. Plus, Italy's Nicky Lopez (.474, double, triple, 7 rbi) and Mexico's Joey Meneses (.370, 2 home runs, 6 rbi) also stood out for their plate prowess.

The six-year wait was worth it as the 2023 World Baseball Classic was everything fans could have hoped for. We got a ton of memorable moments, not to mention the star-studded matchups galore. Now we will have to wait a few years for the next installment. The good thing is that this year's tournament should satisfy us until the next WBC commences.