Every four years, the baseball world tunes in to the World Baseball Classic to see the best baseball players in the world compete for their respective countries. While most countries have already seen their team fall, the United States is catching fire and moving on to the next round. In fact with one more win, the United States moves on to the Championship Round of the WBC.
When the rosters were released in January, countries around the world were in awe of the number of all-stars on the United States’ roster. However, when they got on the field, the team was far from the all-stars they were supposed to be. The American team lost their first game 5-2 to Mexico. While most fans and followers saw this loss as a red flag, others saw this loss as a wake-up-call.
With a “do or die” attitude, the United States team responded well by winning their next two games by a combined score of 15-6 and advanced on to the semifinal round. In their first game in the semifinal round, the United States pounced on Puerto Rico scoring early runs in their 7-1 victory.
Lead by “Captain America” David Wright and Joe Mauer, the high powered U.S. offense has produced twenty-two runs in the past three games.
This WBC is personal for some players on the United States team. After a horrible loss to eventual champion Japan in the 2009 WBC Championship Round, the American squad is looking to avenge their loss and beat Japan for the WBC title.
The Americans are set to play Thursday, March 14th at 7:00 PM. The next time they play will depend on what they do in that game. The WBC Championship Round starts Sunday, March 17th and concludes Tuesday, March 19th.
USA’s roster and coaches have set the bar high for this year’s WBC. If the team meets their expectations, it will be a tournament to remember for a very long time.