Get Ready for the Thrills of the 2019 All-Star Showdown at Homeplate!
Bill Plaschke used to ignore the World Baseball Classic, but he has been wowed by the dramatic tournament that feels bigger than the World Series.
Japan's Shohei Ohtani is one of the stars who has made the World Baseball Classic fun to watch. (Eugene Hoshiko / Associated Press) It started with a Shohei shot. Ohtani began the World Baseball Classic in Tokyo for Team Japan with a double on the first pitch he saw and then, one inning later, a grand slam … of course he did.
It continued with an espresso shot ... The hitters of lovable Team Italy celebrated home runs with shots of Italian espresso in a dugout dripping with cheek kisses and caffeine. After hitting three homers against Mexico, Italy’s Vinnie Pasquantino told Fox that he was, “beaned up.
” Truly, this blip of a tournament has been beaned up, a glorious 10 days of deafening cheers and eye-blacked tears, fans dressed like discount popes and bald eagles, TV ratings through the roof, baseball at its October best … in the middle of spring training? Italy's Jac Caglianone takes a shot of espresso as he celebrates with teammate Vinnie Pasquantino after hitting a solo home run against the U. S.
during the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday in Houston. (Kenneth Richmond / Getty Images) What a thing! What a treat!
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