Before we recap US-Canada, the Unnamed Sports Blog would like to send our condolences to South Korea who had to fly all the way from Tokyo to Miami just to get curb stomped by the Dominican Republic 10-0 in a game that ended in a mercy ruling. It is painful enough that teams have to fly such a long distance on such a short time frame and with little time to practice, but not scoring any runs and the game ending in a mercy ruling is such a cruel way to end your WBC run.

Despite a feel-good victory over Mexico, the United States almost imploded and was nearly eliminated unexpectedly in group play. In the US vs. Mexico game, Aaron Judge hit a 2-run homerun to start the game. Plenty of Boston Red Sox stars saw action in this game. Roman Anthony hit a 3-run home run that traveled 417 feet. Jared Duran for Mexico hit 2 homeruns in this game. Garrett Whitlock of the US recorded the save and the United States would hold off Mexico 5-3.

It took only his first at bat for Aaron Judge to declare the United States’ intentions in the World Baseball Classic. Those intentions were to win. Judge hit a home run to make it 2-0 over Brazil. However, the United States had to overcome sluggish starts to secure big victories over Brazil and the United Kingdom.

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) this year seeks to capture the inspiration that causes the viewer and attendee to rally around the United States during competition. The United States roster is dubbed as one of the most talented ever constructed for this event. Stars such as Aaron Judge (who is being dubbed ‘Captain America’ by supporters), Paul Skenes, Cal Raleigh, Bryce Harper, and Alex Bregman are on the roster. Garrett Whitlock and Roman Anthony are the two Boston Red Sox players on the roster. The Red Sox have 15 players participating in the WBC in total. This tournament has become so popular that Clayton Kershaw of the US came out of retirement just to end his career in this event.