Free Republic

The stars of American baseball have finally earned their World Baseball Classic stripes. The United States got a brilliant pitching performance from starter and WBC 2017 MVP Marcus Stroman and enough offense from its All-Star-packed lineup of Major League luminaries to beat Puerto Rico, 8-0, in the championship game of the 2017 Classic on Wednesday night at Dodger Stadium. After three World Baseball Classics dating back to the inaugural tournament in 2006 in which Team USA never made it past the semifinals, the Americans won their first title in decisive style in front of a raucous, bipartisan crowd of 51,565...

Throughout their first three World Baseball Classics, the United States' burly batting order had some of the most prodigious sluggers in the Major Leagues, but that never got the Americans to the tournament's final game. So naturally that changed in a dramatic 2-1 semifinal victory over two-time Classic winner Japan on a wet, chilly Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium, courtesy of a regular old ground ball. With the score tied at 1 in the top of the eighth, Adam Jones' fielder's-choice RBI grounder was bobbled by Japan third baseman Nobuhiro Matsuda long enough to allow Brandon Crawford to score from...

Team USA rode a LONG homerun by Giancarlo Stanton, a two-run double by Andrew McCutchen, and one of the finest catches you'll ever see by Adam Jones off the bat of Manny Machado to beat the Dominican Republic 6-3. http://m.mlb.com/news/article/219956510/adam-jones-robs-manny-machado-of-home-run

Mariners left-hander Drew Smyly started the United States' 4-2 victory against Venezuela on Wednesday night, and he was dominant. The 27-year-old struck out eight and walked none in 4 2/3 innings in the Pool F opener of the World Baseball Classic. The last six outs Smyly recorded were strikeouts before he gave way to Rangers closer Sam Dyson. Smyly's final pitch, a fastball to strike out Carlos Gonzalez, was clocked at 94.4 mph. Smyly had never thrown a pitch that exceeded 93.96 mph (on April 24, 2015) in the Statcast™ era. Smyly gave up one run, but it was unearned....

Israel’s national baseball team upset Cuba 4-1 in the World Baseball Classic, continuing its unlikely run in the tournament. After falling behind 1-0 in the second inning Sunday, Israel took control of the game, driving in four consecutive runs and holding the heavily favored Cuban team to just five hits. The game was the first of the second round and gave Israel a 4-0 record in the international tournament. Israel was the lowest-ranked team to qualify for the showcase tournament, coming in at 41st in the world. But last week in the first round, the team squeaked past third-ranked South...

Throw out all the tiebreaker scenarios. Team USA is moving on. The Americans' mission was clear after the Dominican Republic outlasted Colombia, 9-3, in extra innings: Win and get in to Round 2 of the World Baseball Classic. A focused Team USA squad did just that by defeating Team Canada, 8-0, on Sunday at Marlins Park in Miami to punch its ticket to the second round in San Diego. The victory left the Americans with a 2-1 record in Pool C, good enough to claim a Pool F matchup against the Pool D runner-up Wednesday at 9 pm. ET (6...

The Dominican Republic got one step closer to punching its ticket to the second round of the World Baseball Classic on Saturday, besting the United States in a clash of two Pool C titans. With back-to-back home runs from Nelson Cruz and Starling Marte in the eighth inning, the Dominican Republic stormed back from a five-run deficit and improved to 2-0 in the tournament with a 7-5 win in Miami. The game was played before a raucous, sold-out crowd of 37,446, establishing a new record for Marlins Park. The ballpark's previous high was 37,116 on Opening Day in 2014. The...

Adam Jones hit a two-out RBI single in the 10th inning to give the United States a 3-2, walk-off win over Colombia in the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Marlins Park in Miami. Christian Yelich and Brandon Crawford walked with one out in the 10th inning against Guillermo Moscoso, then the Baltimore Orioles center fielder ended the game with a single to center to score Yelich. Chicago White Sox ace Jose Quintana was brilliant, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning, but got nothing to show for it. Quintana had a no-hitter until Crawford singled to right field, snapping a...

SAN DIEGO -- I don't pretend to know -- or especially want to know -- what lurks in Bud Selig's wildest imagination. It's difficult enough to consider that Selig might actually have a wild imagination. Downright scary, really. But I have to think that in his most out-there fugue state, Selig could never have dreamt that the championship game of the first World Baseball Classic -- he didn't conceive this idea, but it's his baby -- would be played with only two major league players in it. Only two names that would be even remotely recognizable to your average American...

Roger Clemens, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter are among the headliners on the 30-man U.S. team roster announced on Tuesday for next month's inaugural World Baseball Classic. ADVERTISEMENT The 16-nation tournament will feature the world's best players competing for their home countries staged over three weeks. Clemens, 43, winner of a record seven Cy Young Awards for major league pitching excellence, will be joined by fellow-starters Dontrelle Willis, Jake Peavy and C.C. Sabathia on a pitching staff that will be stacked with 10 relievers. "I'm excited to be a part of it," Clemens, a free agent after going 13-8 with...