After a six-year hiatus, the World Baseball Classic returned with a bang in 2023. Held in four locations worldwide, WBC competitors were sent to Tokyo, Taichung, Phoenix and Miami. Great Britain and the Czech Republic were the talks of the tournament after the qualifying stages, as the two upstart squads made the field for the first time ever.  

The tournament kicked off on March 8, with the Netherlands taking down Cuba 4-2 in Taichung. The North American pools kicked off on March 11, with Columbia defeating Mexico before the US took down Great Britain in a highly anticipated matchup.  

Cuba, Japan, Mexico, and Venezuela each won their respective pools, while Italy, Australia, the US, and Puerto Rico each finished second, advancing those eight to the knockout stages.  

The US’ first knockout game had them face off with Venezuela. It was a back-and-forth, high scoring affair in Miami, with Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner hammering a grand slam in the eighth inning to give the US a 9-7 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. This set up a matchup with Cuba, who knocked out Australia with a 4-3 victory. On the other side of the bracket, Mexico knocked out Puerto Rico by rallying back from a 4-0 deficit to send the Francisco Lindor led squad home with a 5-4 loss. Mexico would take on Japan, who beat Italy handily with a 9-3 win.  

Round two saw the US breeze by Cuba without issue, as the Americans clinched a spot in the final with a 14-2 win. On the other side of the bracket, Japan and Mexico played a game that showed the true passion and electricity of the WBC. The squads went back and forth, with Mexico’s Randy Arozarena robbing a late-game homerun and sending Miami’s LoanDepot Park into a frenzy. Nevertheless, Japan came out on top and punched a ticket to the final against the Americans.  

Japan trotted out young star Roki Sasaki to pitch against the US, while Diamondbacks pitcher Merill Kelly took the hill for the Americans. Trea Turner continued his red-hot WBC by opening the scoring with a second-inning solo homer, but Japan answered back in the bottom half of the frame with two runs of their own thanks to a Munetaka Murakami homer and a Lars Nootbaar RBI. Kazuma Okatomo added another run for Samurai Japan with a fourth-inning solo homer.  

Japan’s advantage would remain at 3-1 until the eighth, when Phillies slugger Kyle Schwarber put the Americans back in the game with a 436-foot moonshot. After the homer, Japan’s Yu Darvish locked down the rest of the inning, stranding Turner at first. “It was interesting after a tournament where it wasn’t so home run driven how [the final] felt like a major league game where it comes down to a couple of solo home runs,” English teacher Mr. Johnson said. 

Milwaukee Brewers closer Devin Williams kept Japan in check in the eighth, before global superstar Shohei Ohtani took the hill to close it for Japan. New York Mets second baseman Jeff McNeil started off the ninth by drawing a walk, before being replaced with Kansas City Royals youngster Bobby Witt Jr. With a man on first, LA Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts grounded into a double play, putting the US’ backs to the wall.  

Up for the US was future hall-of-famer and teammate of Shohei Ohtani, Mike Trout. The two LA Angels teammates were set to face off on one of the world’s biggest stages. Though the Angels hadn’t made the playoffs with the two playing together, they’d both proven themselves as the world’s best.  

Trout takes a ball down low. 1-0 count.  

Ohtani fires a 100 MPH fastball right down the middle, Trout swings through it. Count even, 1-1. Trout steps out and adjusts his batting gloves.  

Fans and players alike keep their eyes glued to the field, with Japan’s squad nearly climbing their dugout fence. Ohtani fires another 100 MPH pitch, outside. Trout goes ahead 2-1 in the count. 

For the third pitch in a row, Ohtani touches 100. Trout swings through the fastball again, 2-2 count. 

Pitch five hits 102, but it’s in the dirt and bounces to the backstop. Count goes full, 3-2. 

After four straight pitches reading 100+, Ohtani prepares to deliver the knockout blow. He fires an 87 MPH slider with 17 inches of horizontal break. There’s nothing his Angels teammate can do, as he reaches for the slider. Strike three, game over, WBC over. Japan’s players storm the mound, mobbing Ohtani. “I think everyone got what they wanted which is a matchup you’re never gonna see otherwise in Ohtani and Trout, which is maybe the best pitcher and the best overall hitter,” Johnson said. 

Baseball fans everywhere agree that the WBC was great for the game of baseball, as eyes all over the globe watched every single game. “I think what they do with this momentum is going to be the really interesting thing for baseball moving forward. There’s a chance to really embrace this, but you have to make sure you don’t get too cynical about it and make sure it isn’t too much of a cash grab,” Johnson said.  

With the MLB slated to adopt new rules this season, the WBC was one of the final major baseball events to be played without a pitch clock. “It’s really interesting to see a tournament that didn’t use those rules capture people for the first time ever,” Johnson said.  

 The WBC is slated to return in 2026, and after a successful 2023 we could expect to see more of the game’s biggest names opting to represent their countries.