The pool games have wrapped up and now we are on the final stretch. Tonight we are already seeing action with two games, Korea vs. Dominican Republic while the USA takes on Canada. There will be another two games Saturday night but let’s take a look at who are the favorites to go on in World Baseball history.
Dominican Republic: Bring their flashy style of baseball to the rest of the world
The Dominican Republic went a perfect 4-0 in pool play and took each of their games in stylish victory led by a plethora of star players, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Cristopher Sanchez. The team’s stand out player was lead hitter Tatis Jr, who had two home runs in the past victory against Venezuela, with one of those hits coming to be a three-run homer. The Dominican Republic currently are the favorites for the tournament, the way they play the game so freely and the vibes are better than any team in the tournament. They seem to bring this mentality that it means quite a lot for them as a country to be able to play at this high level.
Japan: The reigning champs have quickly become an unstoppable force in world baseball
Japan won in a thrilling last World Baseball Classic against the USA in the final. Japan has slowly become one of the fastest growing countries for baseball. Lead by Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Seiya Suzuki. Arguably Ohtani is currently the best player in the MLB and the world. Japan has gotten their game down to a science, most of their players are able to hit just as good as they throw the ball. There’s nothing this team can’t do, and throughout the years Japan came out of nowhere to gain the title of the best team in the world. Three years ago we truly saw what Japan was capable of as they took down the USA in one of the best matches of baseball that you could see in the past few years. Japan is no joke as their baseball culture grows.
United States: The boys in red, white, and blue came to prove a point
The US has always been known as one of if not the best team in world baseball as they just have some of the most well known names in the MLB. Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper, and Paul Skenes. The United States just barely survived pool play as they got into the next round thanks to Italy beating Mexico on the last day of pool play. There’s been some shaky performances by the USA in this tournament as the Americans look a little off, not like they usually play. Could US be slipping in the world rankings? But this could be positive for them, these guys are some of the best in the MLB and they know they need to show that to the world. They’ve gotten off to a slow start but I promise US will fight to the bitter end while playing anyone.
Italy: The possible dark horse of the tournament
You wouldn’t think Italy being in the running for a possible sneak win, but they made it this far for a reason. After going a flawless 4-0 and even taking down USA in quick fashion, Italy is shaping up to impress in this tournament. Led by Vinnie Pasquantino who became the first player in World Baseball Classic history to hit three home runs in a game. Pasquantino isn’t shy to this type of power with Pasquantino having a career high 32 home runs this season. But the largest story coming from the tournament was Italy being the reason why USA made it to the next round. The USA wasn’t safe after Italy beat them in pool play, but Italy made up for it by defeating Mexico to hand USA their ticket to the next round. The USA definitely has some thanks for doing this tournament.
