Gold Rush Hits Major Leaguers as Fans Honor Giants of the Game!
Paul Skenes helped the US to victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday night. Photograph: Houston Astros/Getty Images The US will play Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, a meeting that comes after recent tensions between the two countries. In January, Donald Trump ordered a military operation that captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro .
Since then, the US has launched a war against Iran, during which the American players have paid tribute to their country’s military. Players have saluted each other after victories and the team invited Robert J O’Neill , a former Navy Seal who claimed he killed Osama bin Laden, to give a locker room speech. Two of the team’s pitchers, Paul Skenes and Griffin Jax, played at the Air Force Academy and have spoken of the importance of honoring the military.
The choice of O’Neill received pushback as he called men who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election as “my concubines” and been criticized by some for talking about secret military operations in public. Related: Blown call ends World Baseball Classic semi-final as USA squeeze past Dominican Republic “You never want it to get lost why you’re doing this, whatever that why is,” USA manager Mark DeRosa said. “And a lot of people – like Paul Skenes said to me when he signed up for this, ‘I want to do this for every serviceman and woman who protects our freedom,’ and that’s why we wear USA across our chest.
” After Sunday’s semi-final win over the Dominican Republic, Skenes said the military helped shape his philosophy. “You know, this is what we do in America,” he said. “We fight and we win.
And that’s our responsibility. ” The Americans’ approach has been contrasted with the light-hearted spirit of teams such as Italy and the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The Italians have taken a shot of espresso and kissed each other on the cheeks after home runs, while the Dominicans became known for pumping each other up, their passionate fans and their exuberant celebrations.