In March, I spent some time watching World Baseball Classic games. I enjoyed watching several games at Tokyo Dome and I also like to watch some games on TV. In the end, team Venezuela won their first-ever World Baseball Classic title. While watching the highlights of the tournament, I was just thinking about one thing.
The World Baseball Classic began in 2006 and has been held six times. In those 6 tournaments, which pitcher got the final out? How did the series end? To solve my doubts, I decided to check on the MLB website.
The first WBC was held in 2006. In the final, it was team Japan against team Cuba. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Akinori Otsuka struck out Yuli Gurriel to end the game. Team Japan won the first WBC title. Otsuka pitched in the majors from 2004 to 2007. Yuli Gurriel made his MLB debut in 2016.
In 2009, the team Japan played in the final again. This time, their opponent is team Korea. In the bottom of the 10th inning, Yu Darvish was on the mound. He used his slider to strike out Keunwoo Jeong to help Japan defend their title. In 2012, Yu Darvish made his MLB debut.
In 2013, team Dominican Republic played against team Puerto Rico in the final. In the top of the 9th inning, Fernando Rodney took the mound. He used his changeup to strike out Luis Figueroa. Rodney pitched in the majors from 2002 to 2019. Luis Figueroa played 18 games in the majors.
In addition, in 2017, team Puerto Rico played in the final again. This time, they faced team U.S.A., in the bottom of the 9th inning, David Robertson took the mound. On a 1-1 count, he threw a cutter to Carlos Correa. Correa swung at it and it was a ground ball to third base. Nolan Arenado threw to Eric Hosmer for the final out. The team U.S.A. won their first World Baseball Classic title.
In 2023, the team Japan was back to the final and the team U.S.A. played in the final again. In the top of the 9th inning, Shohei Ohtani took the mound. On a 3-2 count, Ohtani threw a sweeper to Mike Trout. Trout swung and missed it. Ohtani struck out Trout and team Japan won their third WBC title.
Finally, in the 2026 WBC final, Daniel Palencia took the mound in the bottom of the 9th inning. On a 1-2 count, he threw a four-seam fastball to strike out Roman Anthony.
When we look back at these 6 World Baseball Classic finals, there are 5 times that the final game ended with a strikeout. The only difference was in 2017, David Robertson threw his cutter to let Carlos Correa hit a ground ball. And all those pitchers who threw the last pitch in the finals have experienced playing in the majors. Well, we still don’t know when the next WBC will be. However, it’s always interesting to see this tournament getting more and more attention around the world.
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