Could it have been any different?
Organized for the group stages in the USA and Japan, the two teams meet in the final. It wasn’t a smooth ride for the two favorites, but they rarely faltered. The USA lost their first match, while Japan won them all. The stars are on both sides: Betts, Turner, and Trout for the USA and for Japan: Ohtani and Yoshida. The MLB stars are in the WBC final—it’s only natural.
The USA played at home the entire time; opposing teams couldn’t bring all their aces because some franchises didn’t release their players, giving the Americans an extra day of rest compared to the Japanese.
The Japanese played away and just delivered a thrilling semifinal against Mexico.
Both MLB Japan and the USA are delivering for their stakeholders. Everything is going well in the world of sports business.
This final showdown saw the most deserving team emerge victorious. Ohtani struck out the game’s biggest batter, Mike Trout, in the 9th inning for the final out.
Turner had made an impression for the Americans by hitting the first home run of the final, becoming the home run leader in the competition.
Japan at the top of the world in the USA. This small country will explode with joy for at least eight days. The Americans did everything they could to win, but this time the underdogs were the strongest in this match and tournament.
On the spectator side, France completely missed this event, but Bein Sport did broadcast the semifinals and finals with French commentary. For the rest of the world, viewership was massive (24% more spectators than in 2017).
What else to take away from this MLB World Championship? The teams from Central America couldn’t stop the two favorites, and the Dominican Republic, which had a roster to make any opponent envious, failed to deliver in the tournament.
It’s also worth noting that the five European nations managed to win a match, qualifying them for the next WBC.
For us spectators, this championship is cooler than spring training—we’re the winners, the games were magnificent, and the suspense delivered.
Now we’re back in waiting mode for the MLB USA opening day in eight days, and the season kicks off.
