It's Going... Going.. Gone..

The World Baseball Classic has come and gone, and for the first time, Venezuela has won it all. On Tuesday night, Venezuela took down the United States 3-2 in the WBC Finale. But, it did not go without a little bit of drama.

For most of the night, fans of the United States did not have a lot to cheer a

bout. One hit through five innings isn’t too exciting, especially when you are trying to win a championship. Venezuela, on the other hand, got a hit from their first batter of the game. Then, Salvador Perez scored on a sacrifice fly by Maikel Garcia in the third. From there, it was full gas for the Venezuelans.

Inning after inning, the Americans went down. Strike out, fly out, ground out, strike out. This lineup full of studs could not get going. The few times the Americans were able to get a runner on base via a walk, they weren't able to capitalize, leaving runners on base.

As a fan, watching this game was hard. The deeper we got into the game, the more the doubt set in. It was painful to watch, and I wanted to change the channel, but I just couldn’t. I checked the score to the Sharks’ game, and it was just as bad, so it’s not like it would be any better. Ahh, the disappointment..

AP Photos/Lynne Sladky

As I continued to watch, opportunities built up for the Americans. Big names came up. Aaron Judge was one. But he was not able to get anything done. In fact, he had an absolutely terrible game. He went 0-4 with three strikeouts. TWO OF WHICH LOOKING. One of the main names on the team, and he couldn’t take the bat off his shoulder in two of his four at-bats. I get it, I played baseball. Sometimes pitches are close, and you take them because you may think they are balls. But with two strikes, two outs, in a championship game? C’mon Aaron.. Watching his at-bats, there were pitches right in his wheelhouse. Honestly, they were right in anyone’s wheelhouse. Right down the middle. The kind of pitches you dream of. 

Now, I don’t hate Aaron Judge. In fact, I root for him. As a fan of Fresno State, I love seeing him have the success he has achieved. However, his performance in this game was painful for me to watch.

The Liberty Line/Drew Smith

It was another American who took matters into his own hands, tied the game, and gave his team every opportunity to win this game. In the bottom of the 8th inning, Bryce Harper instantly turned into every American’s favorite baseball player (at least temporarily). With two outs, Bobby Witt Jr. walked on four pitches. Then, Harper walked up to the plate. The first pitch came in low and was called a ball. Then, on the 1-0 pitch, Harper smacked a 432-foot home run that tied the game.

The Americans in the crowd went from zero to 1,000,000. Shades of Jack Hughes’ goal at the Olympics that beat the Canadians. As Harper threw his bat in the air for an epic bat flip, I jumped up and looked to my son for a high five. The Americans were back in the game, baby!! Harper then jogged around the bases and rounded third base, giving a salute to the team and crowd. Judge was up next, and we all know how that went.. Ended the inning.

Getty Images/Megan Briggs

The celebration and excitement were short-lived. In the top of the ninth inning, Venezuela retook the lead. After a leadoff walk by Arraez, Sanoja pinch ran for him and ultimately stole second base. The next batter took full advantage of having a runner in scoring position. Eugenio Suárez smacked a double to left-center field that allowed Sanoja to score. This was Suárez’s first and only hit of the game. Talk about clutch and good timing!

The Americans were unable to come back in the bottom of the ninth. Schwarber struck out. Henderson pinch-hit and popped out to third base. Roman Anthony struck out swinging to end the game and give Venezuela their first WBC championship. 

As I watched the last inning, I couldn’t help but become the typical fan who thinks I could manage the team better. I had questions. Like, why wait so long to try and switch things up? Especially with a player like Gunnar Henderson? Henderson had the highest batting average on the team (.400) and tied for second with OBP (.400). So, if a player is swinging a hot bat at that moment, why wouldn’t you use him? If you don’t start him, fine, but if things were going the way they were, you have to find a way to get him in the game. He could be the missing piece that provides the spark to the offense. 

Being a manager or coach in any sport is a tough gig. I get that. It’s easy as a fan looking from the outside to sit here and say they should do this and do that, but we don’t know what is going on. There is a lot more going on than meets the eye. Game planning, strategy, it’s all a small piece of the puzzle. However, I will say this. It is hard to trust a guy to lead a team to a championship when he doesn’t know the rules of the tournament. We needed help to get to the elimination rounds (thank you, Italy), on what was a silly mistake by a manager. I’ll leave it at that. Take it as you will. Congrats to Venezuela on a great game and a well-deserved World Baseball Classic Championship. Until next time! Go USA!