MIAMI — For those who missed it, USA bested the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic semifinals Sunday night, 2-1. It was an electrifying matchup that featured just three runs. Emotions ran high afterward, and I get that players sometimes say things they might not mean in the heat of the moment. Still, come on.
“We showed the world who’s the best team in baseball,” Dominican Republic star Juan Soto told ESPN. “That’s all I got to say.”
This mirrors USA’s hockey gold medal win just weeks ago, where similar sentiments echoed in the Canadian locker room. They dominated the game and still lost.
Do I really need to channel my inner Herm Edwards here?
Hello!? You play to win the game!
Let’s hope this doesn’t become a pattern. A team loses, and someone in the locker room claims they were still superior? That doesn’t hold up.
This isn’t subjective. There are no judges deciding which team looked better. We keep score for a reason. The scoreboard shows you lost. Any argument can be countered by a simple truth. Watch.
The Dominican Republic had more hits than the USA.
USA won.
Dominican pitchers struck out 15 batters while USA pitchers managed only eight strikeouts.
USA won.
The DR had more scoring opportunities and threatened to score more often than the USA.
USA won.
DR felt like the superior team.
USA won.
How is that love for the game if you disregard the final score, which ultimately matters most? The entire point of playing is to see who wins. USA scored two runs; the Dominican Republic scored one.
Am I being an “ugly American” for pointing this out? Not at all. If USA had lost and someone from the team made the same claim, we’d be having this exact discussion. It’s not just about the victory or defeat. My concern lies in the attitude that allows a losing team to declare superiority. What kind of nonsense is that?
It’s particularly puzzling that it was Soto who made the claim. The pivotal moment of the game occurred in the fifth inning when the Dominican Republic had runners on first and second with one out. USA reliever Tyler Rogers entered the game. Soto was at bat, and he hit into a double play, ending the inning with Vladimir Guerrero Jr. waiting on deck.
If you believe you’re the best team in the world, perhaps don’t hit into an inning-ending double play at such a critical juncture. Or maybe score more than one run throughout the entire game? That reflects what I thought about the hockey situation. If Canada was really that dominant, why did they only manage to score once? The goal of the game is to score, not just to control one aspect of play.
In the World Baseball Classic, we measure winners by runs scored. The Dominican Republic crushed it in their first five games, averaging over 10 runs each game. Then, in the semifinals against USA, they mustered just one run and left numerous runners on base. If Soto’s statement held true—that the D.R. demonstrated superiority—then several of those runners would have crossed home plate, leading us to watch the Dominican Republic in the finals this Tuesday.
Instead, USA emerged victorious. The losing team must acknowledge its loss in sports. This is one realm where conversations are clear-cut. The scoreboard informs us who won and who lost.
