Venezuela Beats US to Win World Baseball Classic

Eugenio Suárez and his Venezuelan teammates stood on the stage behind second base with shiny medals draped over their proud chests, belting out their national anthem accompanied by tens of thousands of fans who remained in the ballpark a half-hour after the final out. Back home, people were singing their praises, too. Venezuela won the World Baseball Classic for the first time Tuesday night, beating the United States 3-2 in the championship game on Suárez's tiebreaking double in the top of the ninth inning, the AP reports. Bryce Harper's two-run homer for Team USA with two outs in the eighth tied the score, but Suárez hit a go-ahead double in the ninth and Daniel Palencia pitched a perfect bottom half.

"They were with us here in our hearts," Venezuela captain Salvador Perez said of his countrymen. "The World Series, as you all know, is one of the most important championships in the major leagues, but when you fight for your country, that goes beyond. That feeling, the country where you were born and raised, the sacrifices made by our parents, those people that helped us, that's why this means a lot to me and to Venezuela." Venezuela's acting President Delcy Rodríguez declared Wednesday a National Day of Joy and made it a non-working holiday except for essential workers. "My country needs that championship," star outfielder Ronald Acuña Jr. said, wiping tears from his eyes. "I just want to make my people proud. That's what I did today."

Ahead of a matchup with political overtones, players and coaches avoided discussing the government turmoil between the nations, heightened when the US military captured Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in January. Venezuela became the second Latin American nation to win the WBC, after the Dominican Republic in 2013. The US has just one title, in 2017. While the US, Japan, and the Dominican Republic got much of the attention ahead of the sixth edition of the 20-nation event, Venezuela's success was not that surprising. Sixty-three players born in Venezuela appeared on Major League Baseball opening-day rosters last year, second-most from outside the US behind the Dominican Republic's 100.