The Cycle, Spoke #3: World. Baseball. Classic.

Some shameless self-promotion and a hastily assembled list of the top 10 moments from the 2023 WBC.

Shohei Ohtani pitches to Mike Trout with Japan one out from the 2023 WBC title.

Greetings, Cyclists! Please tell me you took my advice and watched the World Baseball Classic.

I was so amped up by the tournament and its spectacular finish that I wrote way too much in my recap for Baseball Prospectus last night. I wrote so much, in fact, that they split the piece into two. As result, I don’t have much more to add here, but if you subscribe to Baseball Prospectus, please check out my recap of and reaction to the tournament, which starts with the instantly iconic final confrontation between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, zooms out to take in the rest of the tournament, then zooms back in on that final slider from Ohtani. While you’re over at BP, you can also find my list of the top performers in the tournament for each of the 20 teams and, from last week, my ranking of the 20 teams’ uniforms.

I don’t want to leave the rest of you empty-handed, however, so here’s a hastily assembled countdown of the ten best moments from the tournament:

10. Puerto Rico is Perfect against Israel

In their third game in pool play, Puerto Rico, 1–1 at that point and needing to win their two remaining games to advance to the quarterfinals, mercied Israel 10–0 without allowing a baserunner. The game ended on a walk-off in the bottom of the eighth when the tenth run scored, but even at an abbreviated eight innings, it was the first perfect game and just the second no-hitter in WBC history. Former Dodgers prospect José De León, now 30 and in Twins’ camp as a non-roster invitee, pitched the first 5 2/3 innings when he was forced out by the first-round pitch limit. Yacksel Ríos (retiring the only batter he faced), Edwin Díaz, and Duane Underwood Jr. (an inning each) took it the rest of the way.

9. Yu Chang’s Game-Tying Home Run against Italy

Chang, who played for four major-league teams last year and is now an infielder on the bubble of the Red Sox roster, was the only pool MVP on a team that didn’t advance. He hit .438/.500/.938 (7-for-16, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 2 BB) in Chinese Taipei’s four games, including a grand slam against the Netherlands, but, coming off Taipei’s opening loss to Panama, this game-tying, two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning of their 11–7 win over Italy in front of the home crowd in Taichung is the one he, and that crowd, will best remember.

8. Robbie Glendinning’s Three-Run Homer against Korea

In the first four World Baseball Classics, Australia never got past pool play, but in their first game in this year’s Classic, they upset Korea 8–7, and that win gave them the edge they needed to advance for the first time. Australia was trailing in that game, 4–2, after six innings, but in the top of the seventh, with two on and two out, Aussie second baseman Robbie Glendinning did this, and Korea never recovered:

7. Martin Mužik’s Ninth-Inning Home Run against China

The ragtag underdog team of the tournament, the Czech Republic held their own in Pool B, even taking a 1–0 lead into the bottom of the third against Japan (they lost 10–2, but avoided being mercied in any of their games). The primary goal for the Czechs was to win one game and secure a return trip to the 2026 WBC. Their best chance came in their first game, against China. Things started off well. The Czech’s jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the top of the first, added another in the third. Daniel Padyšák held China hitless for four innings, but China staged a four-run rally in the bottom of the seventh to go up 5–4, putting that 2026 berth in doubt. Down to their final two outs in the ninth, catcher Matt Cervenka walked, right fielder Matěj Menšík doubled, and Martin Mužik did this:

6. Randy Arozarena Robs Okamoto

Shohei Ohtani was the obvious and deserving tournament MVP, and Trea Turner hit four home runs in a seven at-bat span in across the USA’s three playoff games, but Randy Arozarena’s performance in this tournament, which powered Mexico to the semifinals, the deepest they had ever gone, also deserves special mention. Arozarena hit .450/.607/.900 in the WBC. His 1.507 OPS was the highest by any player whose team advanced past pool play. In addition, he made game saving catches in left field in both of Mexico’s playoff games. The latter ultimately wasn’t enough to stave off a ninth-inning rally by Japan in the semifinal, but it did make that rally necessary, robbing Japan’s first baseman Kazuma Okamoto of a leadoff home run in the bottom of the fifth when Mexico was still up 3–0 in the game.

5. Masataka Yoshida’s Game-Tying Homer in the Semifinal

Robbing a solo homer in the fifth is great. Hitting a game-tying, three-run bomb with two outs and two strikes in the seventh is better.

4. Randy Arozarena’s Catch against Puerto Rico

Arozarena’s first game-altering catch was better in every way. It was later in the game, protected a one-run lead, was more difficult, and led to a Mexico win. It came in the top of the eighth of the quarterfinal against Puerto Rico. Mexico had just taken a 5–4 lead in the bottom of the seventh, but Puerto Rico was threatening with one out and a runner on first. Puerto Rico third baseman Enmanuel Rivera ripped a full-count pitch from Jake Sanchez into the left-field gap. Arozarena raced over, faded back toward the wall, and made a leaping catch on the warning track, crashing into the wall. Mexico’s manager, Benji Gil, called it “the most important play in the history of Mexican sports.”

3. Trea Turner’s Grand Slam

In MLB postseason history, dating back to the 1903 World Series, just one player has ever hit a lead-changing grand slam with his team trailing in a winner-take-all game. Boston’s Troy O’Leary did it in the third inning of Game 5 of the 1999 Division Series against Cleveland, but the resulting two-run lead was erased in the bottom half of that same inning. In Team USA’s quarterfinal against Venezuela, Trea Turner came to the plate in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded and the U.S. trailing 7–5 and hit a no-doubter grand slam off Silvino Bracho to give the U.S. a 9–7 lead that they would not relinquish. The way I see it, that just might have been the most significant grand slam in baseball history.

2. Munetaka Murakami’s Walk-Off Double

Thanks in part to Arozarena’s catch in number five above, Japan entered the bottom of the ninth of their semifinal against Mexico trailing 5–4, but they had Shoehi Ohtani leading off, and Ohtani delivered a double to put the tying run in scoring position. Masataka Yoshida followed with a walk to put the winning run on base in the form of pinch runner Ukyo Shuto, and third baseman Munetaka Murakami, who was 0-for-4 with three strikeouts on the night and had looked lost at the plate for most of the tournament to that point, drove them both home with a double off the wall, Shuto streaking around the bases to score just ahead of the relay throw home to send Japan to the title game.

1. Ohtani Strikes Out Trout

You might have heard about this one. This is how it all ended. Title game. Japan up by one. Two outs. Bottom of the ninth. Ohtani in to close. Mike Trout at the plate. One of the greatest moments in the history of the game.

I’ll be back next week with a viewer’s guide to Opening Day.

Now, here they are, your closing credits: