The 2023 World Baseball Classic championship was the final game of the

2023 World Baseball Classic The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally set for 2021 (as per tradition to hold the event every four years), but wa ...

, the fifth edition of the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

, a men's international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with World Baseball Classic Inc. (WBCI). The game was played on March 21, 2023, at

LoanDepot Park LoanDepot Park is a retractable roof stadium located in Miami, Florida. It is the home of Major League Baseball's Miami Marlins. It is located on on the site of the former Miami Orange Bowl in Little Havana about west of Downtown Miami. Const ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

, Florida, United States, between hosts and defending champion

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and two-time champion

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. Japan won 3–2 to earn a record-extending third World Baseball Classic title. Shohei Ohtani won the

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

award. Unlike in 2009, 2013 and 2017, the 2023 U.S. lineup attracted distinguished players, which some commentators claimed contributed to generating excitement for the final. The U.S. general manager

Tony Reagins Tony Demetrius Reagins (born March 11, 1967) is a former executive in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Reagins served as the general manager of the Angels from 2007 until his 2011 resignation. The fourth African Americ ...

credited

Mike Trout Michael Nelson Trout (born August 7, 1991) is an American professional baseball center fielder for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). Trout is a ten-time MLB All-Star, three-time American League (AL) Most Valuable Player (MVP) ...

, a three-time major league MVP, for committing to the team early (in July 2022) which made it easier to convince others to join. The championship game was one of the most watched games in

baseball history The question of the origins of baseball has been the subject of debate and controversy for more than a century. Baseball and the other modern bat, ball, and running games — stoolball, cricket and rounders — were developed from folk games in ...

with the game attracting an average television viewership of 5.2 million people in the U.S. and a reported 62 million television viewers in Japan representing a total of 42.4% of households in the country despite the game taking place at 8 am JST. The game was widely praised as an instant classic, with the ending duel between team captains Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani being considered as one of the greatest moments in the history of the sport.

Road to the championship

The

was the victor of the previous edition of the WBC, in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

defeating Japan in the semi-final round.

won the

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

and

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

editions of the WBC. In 2023, Japan won all four games in Pool B, which it hosted at the Tokyo Dome. They then defeated

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

in the quarterfinals. Japan defeated

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

in the semifinals to advance to the championship. The United States went 3–1 in Pool C, advancing as the pool's runner-up behind Mexico, who they lost to in an upset 11–5 result. The United States defeated

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

in the quarterfinals and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in the semifinals. ''Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).''

Game

Summary

The

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

s for the championship game were

Shōta Imanaga is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Yokohama DeNA BayStars of the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career In 2015 NPB draft, Yokohama DeNA BayStars selected him in the first round. Imanaga signed with the Canberra Cavalry ...

for Japan and

Merrill Kelly Kenneth Merrill Kelly (born October 14, 1988) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Arizona Diamondbacks of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut on April 1, 2019. Kelly formerly played for the SK Wyverns of the KBO Le ...

for the United States.

Trea Turner Trea Vance Turner (born June 30, 1993) is an American professional baseball shortstop for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers. Turner pla ...

hit a solo

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

for the United States off of Imanaga in the top of the second inning. Turner tied

Lee Seung-yuop Lee Seung-yuop (born 18 August 1976) is a retired baseball player and the current manager of the Doosan Bears. He spent most of his career with the Samsung Lions of the KBO League. At the age of 26, he became the youngest professional baseball ...

(

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

) in the 2006 tournament for the most home-runs in a single WBC tournament.

Munetaka Murakami is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Amateur career Munetaka started playing baseball at five years of age. He entered Kyushū Gakuin Integrated High School where he ...

tied the game with a solo home run off of Kelly in the bottom of the second inning. Japan continued the inning by loading the bases with

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

from

Kazuma Okamoto is a Japanese professional baseball infielder for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). Career He has been selected as an all-star twice, and was named the Central League Climax Series MVP in 2019. In 2020, he le ...

and Sosuke Genda and a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...

Yuhei Nakamura is a Japanese professional baseball player. He plays catcher for the Tokyo Yakult Swallows. Career Nakamura was selected to the . In the 2021 Japan Series, he batted 7-for-22 (a team-best .318 average) with three RBIs and threw out a couple of ...

. After

Aaron Loup Aaron Christopher Loup (born December 19, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB). He previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, Philadelphia Phillies, San Diego Padr ...

relieved Kelly for the United States,

Lars Nootbaar Lars Taylor-Tatsuji Nootbaar ( ja, 榎田達治, ''Enokida Tatsuji'', born September 8, 1997) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). On the international level, he represents ...

hit a RBI ground out. In the bottom of the fourth inning,

hit a solo home run for Japan off of

Kyle Freeland Kyle Richard Freeland (born May 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball at Evansville and was drafted by the Rockies with the eighth pick in the ...

to give Japan its final run. Both teams then remained scoreless until the top of the eighth inning, when

Kyle Schwarber Kyle Joseph Schwarber (born March 5, 1993) is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB). He played college baseball for the Indiana Hoosiers and was a first-round selection in the 20 ...

hit a solo home run for the United States off of Yu Darvish. Leading 3–2 in the ninth inning, Japan used their

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by th ...

, Shohei Ohtani, to record the save. During the final at-bat, in a moment often described as storybook-like, Ohtani struck out

, fellow renowned teammate of the Los Angeles Angels, to win the tournament for Japan. Ohtani threw a 87.2 mph slider on a full count to secure the victory, the previous two

strikes Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

being down-the-middle swung-on 100 mph

fastballs The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit, and have thr ...

. Ohtani won the WBC's

award after

batting Batting may refer to: *Batting (baseball), the act of attempting to hit a ball thrown by the pitcher with a baseball bat, in order to score runs *Batting (cricket), the act of defending one's wicket with the cricket bat while attempting to score ru ...

.435 with a 1.86

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

pitching. Following the final,

Takuya Mitsuda is a Japanese manga artist from Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture. He has published his works primarily in Shogakukan's manga magazine, ''Weekly Shōnen Sunday''. He is best known for his long-running baseball manga ''Major'' for which he won ...

, the author and illustrator of the ''

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

'' baseball manga that was adapted into an anime series, created a commemorative illustration featuring Ohtani alongside ''Major'' protagonist Goro Honda (Shigeno) that was published in '' Sports Nippon''. ''Major'' fans had compared Ohtani's duel with Trout to Goro's duel with Joe Gibson Jr. in one scene.

Details

;Linescore

;Boxscore

References

External links

Official websiteResults, Rosters & Stats
{{World Baseball Classic Championship World Baseball Classic championship World Baseball Classic championship Baseball competitions in Miami International baseball competitions hosted by the United States International sports competitions in Florida

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

World Baseball Classic championship