Daikin Park (Houston) —Team USA’s buses were scheduled to leave the stadium at 11:30 p.m. on Monday night, but their players weren’t quite ready.
Two hours after avenging their 2023 World Baseball Classic loss to Mexico, they remained in the clubhouse at the home of the Houston Astros, chairs turned toward the middle of the room, talking ball, sharing stories and enjoying some extra time to soak in the experience before departing for the team hotel. To the coaches who grew up in a different age, it felt like the old days.
Had the following night gone differently, everyone would still be looking back at that evening more fondly, another example of how much this World Baseball Classic means to a roster filled with the best players from the best league that the sport has to offer.
Is it really possible for Aaron Judge and Team USA to be heading home early? (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)
Instead, after Team USA’s All-Stars, MVPs and Cy Young Award winners were stunned in their final pool-play game by a youthful, undaunted opponent, the context of the events leading into one of the most shocking WBC upsets in the tournament’s history has shifted.
“We played in a different time, where we were staying in the clubhouses till the wee hours in the morning, just having a few beers and talking the game,” USA manager Mark DeRosa said before the Italy game, reminiscing on the previous night’s events. “That has been the most enjoyable part of this for us, just kind of bringing the entire group together. I mean, that not only ended up on the bus, that ended up back at the hotel. There’s some guys dragging today.”
Hours later, it looked that way as Italy pulled off the biggest win in its country’s history against the best U.S. team ever assembled, jumping out to an 8-0 lead and holding on for an 8-6 victory that left Team USA no longer in control of its pool-play fate.
Now, the attention is on the buses that pushed back an hour later than anticipated as Monday evening bled into Tuesday morning, an offense that was shut out for 4.2 innings by Michael Lorenzen, the tiebreaker formulas that could determine which teams advance from Pool B and the U.S. manager who claimed he misspoke earlier in the day on MLB Network’s “Hot Stove” when he mistakenly said he wanted to beat Italy “even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals.”
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As it turned out, USA’s ticket was not punched — and still isn’t entering the final game of Pool B between Mexico and Italy on Wednesday. The U.S. dream team, against all odds, faces the possibility of getting knocked out in the first round, even after going 3-1.
After the loss, DeRosa said at the postgame press conference that he “totally misspoke” on the TV show with his buddies, “100%” recognized that his game against Italy mattered beforehand and was informed of his mistake when he got to the park.
Nonetheless, it wasn’t a great look considering the events that followed. The comment made the rounds on social media in the midst of USA’s slow start Tuesday night, during which Bryce Harper, Alex Bregman, Byron Buxton and Brice Turang were on the bench and late roster addition Ryan Yarbrough was allowing USA’s third home run of the game to balloon Italy’s lead to 5-0 after four. Some of the decisions ultimately panned out. Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two late home runs sparked a rally that could still matter even in defeat, given the tiebreaker rules that might come into play.
But in the aftermath, it was hard not to think of the 24 hours that preceded the astonishing result, the seeming lack of urgency and the errors both on and off the field.
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When speaking to reporters at the podium after the loss, USA captain Aaron Judge said he did not believe the letdown was a result of breathing a sigh of relief after the Mexico win, the late night that followed or any reason beyond Italy’s glowing performance.
“Oh, not at all,” said Judge, who struck out on a changeup from Greg Weissert to end the game while representing the tying run. “It’s just, everybody on this team has been enjoying this experience, getting a chance to have these guys in this clubhouse all in one clubhouse share stories, share at-bats, share just any information to make each other better. That’s kind of what we were doing last night. We had a win and guys were just hanging out a little bit, but we were focused on what we had to do today. Italy is a great team, and they definitely showed it today, but whatever happened yesterday has nothing to do with what happened today.”
Added DeRosa: “I’ll credit Italy more than say we were flat.”
Whatever the reason for the letdown, USA is no longer in control of what happens next. To move on to the quarterfinals, it needs Mexico to either lose or score at least five runs against Italy on Wednesday.
These are the potential scenarios: If Italy beats Mexico, Italy and USA advance. If Mexico beats Italy while scoring five runs or more, USA and Mexico move on. If Mexico beats Italy while scoring four runs or fewer, Team USA is eliminated and Mexico and Italy advance.
“You always like having your destiny in your own hands,” Judge said. “We had it right in front of us, and Italy came out swinging.”
To avoid a complete calamity, the U.S. needs Italy to come out swinging again.
Team USA’s coaches and players plan to watch the deciding game from their hotel, where they’ll be rooting for the team that just delayed — and possibly derailed — their hopes of punching a ticket through.
“It’s tough,” DeRosa said. “It’s super tough. Guys in there are frustrated. It is what it is, though. I mean, we’ve got to own it, right?”