With the World Baseball Classic coming to an end, and Venezuela taking the championship home, there were a lot of teams that stood out. We saw many underdogs and intense games throughout the tournament, where we thought we had a set-in-stone winner. There were games such as USA vs. Italy, where we thought USA would win easily, but it went the other way. One game in particular that turned a lot of heads was Venezuela versus Japan.

The World Baseball Classic is held every four years, with players representing their countries competing for the championship. In 2023, the World Baseball Classic champions were Team Japan, who defeated Team USA 3-2 in the final. Team Puerto Rico is a country that also has a lot of great players. They were definitely a contender after the group stages and had a strong run in the tournament.

So… you just spent the last month engaged with sports you don’t usually care about at the Olympics. Curling, hockey, skiing – you were ready to show up, repping your country and snacking on popcorn as you yelled at the TV about a sport you didn’t really know that much about. But what about now? Besides the Paralympics (which you should totally be watching), what other national tournaments are there to celebrate? We’ll help you out: The World Baseball Classic!