The Chicago White Sox sent a bunch of players to the World Baseball Classic. It was awesome to see them play there and most of them played very well. After a bad 2022 season for everyone, it was nice to see them go to this tournament and feel good about their games.
It all came down to the championship game on Tuesday night between the United States and Japan. Of course, these two teams were seen as major players coming into the tournament so they lived up to expectations.
Lance Lynn, Kendall Graveman, and Tim Anderson were on Team USA as they looked for the back-to-back title. There weren't any White Sox players on Team Japan but we all know how special that team has been. It was clear that White Sox fans had a lot of reasons to watch.
This game had everything that baseball fans wanted. It had big home runs, amazing pitching, and drama late.
The World Baseball Classic was everything we wanted to see and more.
Speaking of drama late, something special took place. In the 9th inning, Shohei Ohtani faced Mike Trout with the game on the line. Of course, Japan was up by one and there were two outs. They ran the count full to ensure that there was the most possible drama.
In perfect Ohtani fashion, he even made Mike Trout look bad by striking him out to bring the World Baseball Classic back to Japan. It was an amazing moment for him and his country.
Ohtani is clearly the greatest player who ever lived. He can hit lots of home runs, throw gas, has incredible speed, and comes up clutch. There has never been a player quite like him in all of the years that this league has existed.
Now, it is no doubt that he should be the face of baseball worldwide and that includes the USA. We can only hope that he plays on a good MLB team one day.
It was tough to see Team USA fall to Japan at the same time. Tim Anderson had a wonderful tournament as he was one of the three or four best hitters on the team in terms of production. Lance Lynn was also a big reason for them even getting where they got which was awesome to see.
Now that this tournament is over, it is time for Chicago White Sox baseball. There is just over a week before Opening Day so it will be good to see them get back together again as this week winds down. However, this was an amazing tournament that won't soon be forgotten.