Venezuela wins the 2026 World Baseball Classic
The 2026 World Baseball Classic came to a close on Tuesday, with Team Venezuela defeating Team USA by a 3-2 final score. Venezuela wins its first title in the tournament’s sixth iteration (past winners: Japan, Japan, the Dominican Republic, the US, Japan).
Venezuela (and Kansas City Royals) third baseman Maikel Garcia was named the tournament’s MVP. Garcia was the only hitter in the field with double-digit hits, finishing 10-for-26 (.385/.393/.577) with a walk, two doubles, a home run, 7 RBI, and three stolen bases.
Fittingly, Garcia also headlined the All-Tournament Team:
C: Austin Wells, Dominican Republic
1B: Luis Arraez, Venezuela
2B: Brice Turang, USA
3B: Maikel Garcia, Venezuela
SS: Ezequiel Tovar, Venezuela
OF: Roman Anthony, USA
OF: Fernando Tatis Jr., Dominican Republic
OF: Dante Nori, Italy
DH: Shohei Ohtani, Japan
SP: Paul Skenes, USA
SP: Logan Webb, USA
SP: Aaron Nola, Italy
At first glance, there might appear to be two (three?) notable omissions from the group.
Vinnie Pasquantino had the first three-homer game in WBC history, but he otherwise didn’t do much at the plate for Italy, hitting 4-for-22 (.182/.379/.591) with seven walks. Arraez was 8-for-26 (.308/.367/.692) with three walks, two homers, and 10 RBI.
Wilyer Abreu had a pair of clutch home runs for Venezuela once they moved past pool play, finishing 6-for-24 (.250/.345/.500) with four walks and 7 RBI. Nori was 8-for-20 (.400/.435/.750) with two walks, two homers, 6 RBI, and two steals.
Bobby Witt Jr. made several spectacular defensive plays for the US team, but was ultimately 6-for-24 (.250/.400/.333) at the plate with two doubles, six walks, and three stolen bases. Tovar was 8-for-17 (.471/.500/.647) with three doubles, a walk, and two steals.
Meanwhile, after the championship game, some members of Team USA continued the outright poor sportsmanship the team had shown throughout the tournament. Several members of the team were caught on camera quickly removing their silver medals after receiving them, with some looking noticeably frustrated over the game’s result. Just one, Bryce Harper, was able to separate himself from the situation enough to go over and congratulate the Venezuelan team (video).
Team USA acted, well, disgracefully, throughout the tournament. Billed as the “greatest collection of US talent ever assembled”, the team failed to meet expectations despite reaching the tournament’s final game. More concerning, the group failed to act like professionals throughout:
Cal Raleigh refused to shake the hands of opposing hitters when they came to the plate to start games, notably “stiffing” a pair of Mariners teammates in Randy Arozarena and Josh Naylor. The explanation that it was a “team decision not to shake hands” was both poorly decided and poorly communicated.
Everything this team did was “to represent and salute the military”. Another ludicrous choice from the start. Raleigh even wore a t-shirt that read “FRONT TOWARDS ENEMY” on it at one point — the “same printing found on M18A1 Claymore mines that Americans keep using in its arsenal specifically because it circumvents the Ottawa Treaty”, as Joshua Diemert at Pinstripe Alley notes (in an excellent piece on the team’s overall disappointing behavior).
Raleigh (not to pick on him) barely showed up in the tournament, going 0-for-9 at the plate with four walks and five strikeouts. He was caught on the broadcast during the final game, pouting in the dugout when Will Smith got the start instead. Byron Buxton (0-for-7 with a walk) was also hitless.
Mark DeRosa appeared on MLB Network before the US team finished pool play, sparking controversy by incorrectly suggesting the team had already advanced to the quarterfinals. Clips of the interview started to go viral that night as DeRosa failed to manage to the team’s situation, ultimately losing to Italy 8-6. Team USA would need to wait another day to learn that they would advance, only after Italy beat Mexico. The day’s events raised several questions about DeRosa’s ability to manage and how USA Baseball failed to put the right pieces together to win the tournament.
DeRosa then brought in a motivational speaker ahead of the quarterfinals game versus Canada. Instead of asking a former player, he opted for Robert O’Neill: a former Navy SEAL who has repeatedly sought the spotlight, lied about his involvement in certain classified missions (firing the shots that killed Osama Bin Laden, amongst other claims), and has made several notable concerning comments on social media platforms in the years since. DeRosa’s explanation for the choice was lacking, to say the least (via Jen Ramos-Eisen).
Bryce Harper’s pivotal, game-tying two-run homer late in the final against Venezuela featured him clearly saluting the camera as he rounded third base before pointing to the flag on his uniform shoulder.
Teams from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rico were dancing in the dugouts at various points. The Italians were celebrating home runs with shots of espresso (the machine, and other items from the tournament, are being auctioned off by MLB). 19 of the 20 countries that participated in the WBC this year did so while showcasing their heritage, culture, history, and national pride. The US chose to salute the military.
It’s a weird position for the team to take, particularly given the timing, as the US is involved in TWO wars right now in Venezuela and Iran — both of which started for poor reasons and neither of which the majority of Americans approve of (and no other foreign nations want to get involved in).
DeRosa has managed Team USA to two WBC Championship finals, but lost both games by 3-2 scores. It’s unclear if he will be asked to continue in the role ahead of the next WBC (either 2029 or 2030; the league and players’ union haven’t yet settled on a date), but DeRosa made it clear to The Athletic’s Evan Drellich that he hopes to be back again.
Team USA’s efforts to alienate opposing players (and even their own fans) didn’t go unnoticed, as The Guardian’s Howard Bryant writes: “The gestures were hollow, performative. The Americans peacocked, on guard in a constant state of war. America alone, standing guard when everyone else was having fun. At the WBC, Team USA seemed not part of a baseball celebration but doing their part for a nonexistent war effort. Only the camo was missing.”
One last must-read recommendation on the WBC: MLB.com’s Michael Clair touched on the nine defining storylines from this year’s tournament.
(Future) White Sox owner takes a key step towards building the team a new stadium
Private equity investor Matt Ishbia has already started to make a name for himself in the sports world. The owner (along with his brother, Mat) of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, Ishbia has developed a reputation for emphasizing the fan experience at games rather than just the results on the court. The brothers also made a bid to purchase the NFL’s Denver Broncos in 2022.
Ishbia has owned a minority stake in the Chicago White Sox since 2021 (the purchase was not reported publicly until January 2025). A June 2025 press release announced a “long-term investment agreement that establishes a framework for Ishbia to obtain a future controlling interest in the White Sox” and “provides that from 2029-2033, [Jerry] Reinsdorf will have the option to sell the controlling interest to Ishbia”.
While there is no certainty that a sale will be completed — the release explicitly states as much and reinforces that Reinsdorf is still in charge — it is widely expected across the league that a transfer of control will occur down the line.
The White Sox’s home park, Rate Field (formerly Guaranteed Rate Field and several other names), opened in 1991. Several renovations were made since 2001 in response to fan feedback, including the addition of a center-field concourse, a new scoreboard, and the removal of several rows of seats from the tops of the upper decks. Despite those additions, Reinsdorf has remained steadfast that the club needs a new stadium, even leveraging the possibility of the franchise leaving Illinois without one in a 2024 interview with Phil Rogers at Forbes.
The team’s lease at Rate Field expires after the 2029 season. Reinsdorf hopes to have a plan in place well ahead of that time for a new stadium. He’s often cited wanting one built in downtown Chicago.
On Wednesday, Danny Ecker and Justin Laurence at Crain’s Chicago Business reported that Ishbia’s private equity firm was finalizing a deal to purchase a 47-acre site in Chicago’s South Loop. The piece of land sits right on the Chicago River, with views of the city skyline, and is home to an Amtrak railyard. Notably, it’s across the river from where the Chicago Fire has broken ground on their new downtown stadium (which will seat 22,000 fans and is expected to open for the 2028 MLS season).
It is widely believed that Ishbia (and Reinsdorf) will explore what it would take to build a new stadium on the site (and how much taxpayer funds they can squeeze from the state).
Around the sport ….
22-year-old Enzo Sawayama has impressed in his few outings for the Brazilian National Team during WBC Qualifiers in 2022 and 2025 (1 ER over 7.2 IP with 11 SO). The southpaw continued that streak with two 4.0-scoreless inning starts during this year’s WBC (against the US and then against Great Britain), bringing him down to a 0.57 ERA over 15.2 IP. According to a report from the Japanese outlet Sponichi Annex, Sawayama is drawing attention from scouts now that he’s back in Japan (pitching for the Yamaha corporate team). Sponichi suggests that several scouts from both MLB and NPB teams are monitoring Sawayama, though the Phillies are the only MLB team named directly.