The script for the 2023 World Baseball Classic final could not have been written any better.
Nursing a 3-2 lead in the ninth, Japan brought out two-way star and 2021 AL MVP Shohei Ohtani to close out the game against Team USA, his first relief appearance since 2016 when he was still playing professionally in his home country. Jeff McNeil walked and Mookie Betts hit into a double play, so that brought up Ohtani’s Angels teammate and an MVP in his own right, Mike Trout.
It’s the matchup everyone wanted to see, and after Ohtani blew by Trout with a couple 100 mph fastballs and a few pitches that just missed the zone, Trout whiffed at a 3-2 slider, crowning Japan as champions for the third time.
SHOHEI OHTANI STRIKES OUT MIKE TROUT TO WIN THE #WORLDBASEBALLCLASSIC! pic.twitter.com/F7vUtIiRR1
— MLB (@MLB) March 22, 2023
To get there, Japan needed to fight through a deficit that was caused by a home run, just like it was in their walk-off win over Mexico in the semifinals. Trea Turner hit his record-tying fifth homer of the tournament to get USA on the board in the second, but Japan’s Munetaka Murakami answered with his own solo shot and Lars Nootbaar hit an RBI groundout to give Japan the lead in the same frame. Kazuma Okamoto offered some insurance for the victors with a towering blast in the fourth.
The U.S., which dominated Cuba 14-2 to reach the final, had to get by Japan’s strong pitching that included Shota Imanaga, Shosei Togo, the Padres’ Yu Darvish and the previously mentioned Ohtani. Besides Turner’s blast in the second, the only means of production for the Americans was Kyle Schwarber, who joined his Phillies teammate with a solo blast in the eighth.
Kyle Schwarber has homered in the:
✅ World Series
✅ AL Championship Series
✅ NL Championship Series
✅ AL Division Series
✅ NL Division Series
✅ AL Wild Card Game
✅ NL Wild Card Game
✅ World Baseball Classic ChampionshipIt's insane.pic.twitter.com/Pu846pUfpT
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) March 22, 2023
The title is Japan’s third, as they also won back-to-back Classics in 2006 and 2009. Ohtani won the tournament’s MVP, batting .435 with eight RBIs, nine runs, 10 walks and a home run to go along with a 1.86 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 9.2 innings pitched.
This dramatic finish caps off an equally dramatic tournament, which featured upsets (such as odds-on favorite Dominican Republic not making it out of its pool), flashy plays (what can’t Randy Arozarena do) and tons of compelling stories (did you know that Duque Hebbert signed with the Detroit Tigers after pitching just one inning in the WBC or that the Czech Republic team was made up of firefighters and teachers?). And good news for baseball fans, the WBC is slated to come back in 2026.
Let us know what you thought about this game by leaving a reaction at the bottom of this post or by tweeting us @celebsecrets.
