That was the single greatest day of baseball in my life. And not just because Great Britain saw off two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal at the start of their admirable clash with the USA.
Read the GB v USA recap – it’s worth a few minutes of your time.
The day started early, as I caught up on disappointment after Europe lost an automatic qualifier for the next WBC when Czechia went down 14–0 to Taiwan. You can’t help but adore Czechia’s system, and I will be cheering them on in the qualifiers.
Next up was live action from the Tokyo Dome. In the recap headlined “Moonshots and Mayhem”, I described it as: “Japan against Korea was billed as the Clash of the Titans; it became the Game of the Tournament.”
What a fool! We had no idea how the rest of the day would unfold. It wasn’t even the Game of the Day.
With three screens televising games at times, Canada enjoyed a straightforward 8–2 win over Colombia, with Owen Caissie’s second-inning homer backing up Michael Soroka’s strong three-inning start.
While the Netherlands v Nicaragua was a cagey 1–1 affair heading into the eighth, my attention was focused on the star-studded Italian roster against Brazil. Great Britain will face both teams in their final two pool games.
Phillies first-round prospect Dante Nori hit two homers, resulting in a double-dose of espresso in Team Italy’s unique celebrating, and Mariners slugger Dominic Canzone also went yard as Italy bulldozed Brazil 8–0.
Meanwhile, Jeter Downs – part of the package sent to Boston in the infamous Mookie Betts trade – delivered what looked like the greatest swing in Nicaraguan history. His two-run homer in the eighth gave Nicaragua the lead and threatened to send a second European team home on the same day.
Trailing in the ninth inning usually results in a loss, but sometimes it becomes pure theatre.
The Dutch were quickly down to their last out, with Druw Jones (son of the manager, legendary Andruw Jones) striking out and Ray-Patrick Didder flying out.
A Ceddanne Rafaela single gave hope. Xander Bogaerts then pulled a ground ball to third base. This was the moment for Nicaragua. This was why they had recruited Dusty Baker as manager.
Farcically, the ball hit the base and looped into left field, bringing Ozzie Albies to the plate with a chance to be the hero.
The Braves’ second baseman pulled the ball to right-centre for the first walk-off in WBC history.
Nothing would match that today.
Would it?
Over in San Juan, we had even more drama.
Christian Bethancourt’s eight-year MLB career includes more than 1,300 plate appearances for 1.1 WAR. But there is something about playing in national colours that elevates players, and his RBI double – followed by a run scored – allowed Panama to carry a fragile 2–1 lead into the bottom of the ninth.
With two on and two out, Angels minor leaguer Matthew Lugo was walked by Alberto Baldonado to load the bases.
The crowd inside Hiram Bithorn Stadium was primed to explode.
Four straight balls to Willi Castro walked in the tying run. Panama had blown their chance.
Or had they? In extra innings, with the ghost runner (the Manfred Man) in scoring position, a bunt and a José Caballero single gave Panama the lead again.
Could they hang on this time?
The answer was no.
Puerto Rico tied it again before Darrell Hernaiz – filling in for Francisco Lindor – launched the winning homer, giving manager Yadier Molina and the 18,925 fans an unforgettable victory.
The GB v “Greatest Team Ever Assembled” clash was compelling but lacked the sheer chaos of the earlier games. Surely there couldn’t be anything else left today?
Step forward, Korea v Taiwan.
With Japan and Australia both sitting at 2–0, this was a must-win for Taiwan (1–2) and a crucial game for Korea (1–1).
The lead changed five times and was eventually settled in extra innings, in what Michael Clair called “one of the most memorable World Baseball Classic games in Tokyo Dome’s storied history.”
It was a party atmosphere in front of 42,000 fans – most of them Taiwanese. After trading bombs – including big swings from Stuart Fairchild (somebody give him a major-league contract), Tsung-Che Cheng, and Korea’s Do-Yeong Kim – the game was bizarrely decided by a bunt that barely rolled a couple of metres.
Kun-Yu Chiang dropped one down the first-base line in the 10th to score Chieh-Hsien Chen. It was fitting that Taiwan’s charismatic talismanic captain – whose tournament had appeared over after getting plunked in the hand in the first game – was the guy with the go-ahead run.
Taiwan then slammed the door with a huge play at the plate to seal its first-ever WBC win over Korea, sparking emotional scenes on the field… and in the stands.
Man, I love this tournament.
Then reality hit.
It was light outside – 6:30 am.
Had I really been watching baseball for nearly 24 hours?
Well, it only comes along every few years… and it’s Sunday tomorrow.
I mean today.
And GB face Italy in a few hours.
Featured image of Darell Hernaiz by Mary DeCicco
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