Venezuela's Thrilling Comeback Sends USA Scrambling in World Series!

MIAMI, FLORIDA - MARCH 17: Daniel Palencia #29 of Team Venezuela celebrates after the final out of the 3-2 victory was recorded against Team United States at loanDepot park on March 17, 2026 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images) | Getty Images The game meant more to Venezuela. One of sportswriting and broadcasting’s most wizened, decrepit shorthand takes.

Every game is meaningful at the highest levels, the sport too onerous and skill-specialized to draw success for many who cannot muster daily effort. If a victorious will alone were the separator, David would not have merited memory in his defeat of Goliath. And yet, I am incapable of gazing at the 3-2 final score, Venezuela’s improbable upset of the United States, without considering this cliché.

For the first time since 1945, Venezuela is the champion of an international sporting competition; for the first time, Venezuela is the World Baseball Classic champion. Perhaps the players knew the former. They certainly knew the latter.

Team USA put much of its best foot forward. Despite a bafflingly fallow offensive display in the tournament and the inability to use Tarik Skubal, TV host-turned-manager Mark DeRosa could hardly be expected to shake up his star-studded lineup. Other than leaving his more limited backstop, Will Smith, in to start in lieu of the world’s best catcher, DeRosa’s second-guessing should be focused on preparation over in-game execution.