Saturday, September 19

Welcome to the International Beat newsletter. I'm MLB.com's Michael Clair. Thanks for being here. 

The World Baseball Classic is over and the MLB regular season is about to begin. But before we launch headlong into a new year, I wanted to take one last look at the greatest global baseball tourney on the planet. There was already an official all-tournament team that was led by MVP Award winner Maikel Garcia, but today, I wanted to name an (unofficial) All-Tournament second team. There are a lot of players from all around the world who deserve an extra moment to be remembered. 

Here’s my list: 

C: J.J. D’Orazio, Italy

D’Orazio was given a difficult task: Before the tournament, veteran national team catcher Alberto Mineo went down with an injury. Kyle Teel then strained his hamstring as Italy upset the USA. That meant that D’Orazio, who signed with the Angels this winter, was pressed into starting duty. All he did was help Italy make a run to the semifinals by going 5-for-13 with a home run and five RBIs. 

1B: Bo Gyeong Moon, Korea

Moon went off in the Tokyo pool, helping get his team on the airplane bound for Miami -- which is how Team Korea celebrated every home run -- by smashing two home runs and driving in a pool-record 11 RBIs. He started with a grand slam against Czechia and then added a crucial two-run home run against Australia. Korea needed every single one of those runs to advance to the quarterfinals.

Bo Gyeong Moon drove in 11 RBIs in the World Baseball Classic. Clip image to view highlight. 

2B: Tsung-Che Cheng, Chinese Taipei

Cheng played a big part in Chinese Taipei’s hopes of advancing beyond pool play. He stole four bases -- the most in the tournament -- and his home run helped Chinese Taipei defeat Korea for the first time in World Baseball Classic history. 

3B: Abraham Toro, Canada

Toro helped Canada go beyond the group stage for the first time in WBC history. The third baseman went 8-for-19 with three doubles, a triple, a home run and five RBIs. His five ribbies tied him with Owen Caissie for team lead. 

SS: Sosuke Genda, Japan

Genda, a veteran of the 2023 championship team, is known for his glove, being one of the smoothest defenders in the world. But at the 2026 tournament, it was Genda’s bat that jumped out: He was 5-for-10 and drew four walks, posting an absurd .500/.667/.500 line. He drove in four runs and scored four times while continuing to play sparking defense. 

OF: Jarren Duran, Mexico

After getting into just two games for the team in 2023, Duran was a star for Mexico this time around. Despite failing to get out of the group stage, Duran smashed three home runs -- including two against the United States -- stole two bases and posted a 1.412 OPS across four games. 

Jarren Duran smashed two home runs against the U.S. Click photo to view highlight. 

OF: Wilyer Abreu, Venezuela

Duran’s Red Sox teammate came up huge in Venezuela’s title run. He smashed the game-winning three-run home run to knock Japan out in the quarterfinals -- the first time Japan ever failed to reach the semis -- and added another crucial home run against the U.S. in the championship game. His seven RBIs were tied with Maikel Garcia for second on the team behind Luis Arraez. Both Garcia and Arraez were named to the official all-tournament team.

OF: Stuart Fairchild, Chinese Taipei 

Fairchild may have gone 3-for-12 in the tourney, but two of those hits were home runs. He smashed a backbreaking grand slam against Czechia before hitting the ultimate game-winning two-run home run to defeat Korea and keep CT’s hopes of advancing alive. Fairchild also drew four walks and stole three bases. 

DH: Junior Caminero, Dominican Republic

The D.R. may not have won the tourney, but its powerhouse lineup set the record for most home runs hit in a single WBC with 15. Caminero was directly responsible for that, tying for the tourney lead with three home runs and smashing the record-setting blast against Paul Skenes in the D.R. loss. He posted a .350/.409/.850 line across 20 at-bats. 

Junior Caminero's home run against Paul Skenes set a WBC record. Click photo to view highlight. 

P: Enmanuel De Jesus, Venezuela

This was a difficult choice as there were reasons to select teammates Daniel Palencia (3 saves, 9 K's in 5 IP) and Eduardo Rodriguez (4 1/3 one-hit innings in the championship game), but I chose the pitcher whose WBC performance literally put him on the Tigers' Opening Day roster. The KBO veteran struck out a team-record eight batters against Israel and then shut down Japan for 2 1/3 innings, adding three more K's in Venezuela’s victory. 

P: Ondřej Satoria, Czechia

The people’s hero! The electrical engineer from Ostrava struck out Shohei Ohtani, Lars Nootbaar and Munetaka Murakami in 2023, becoming a viral sensation along the way. He became an even bigger star this spring. 

After tossing 3 2/3 shutout innings against Australia, Satoria returned to befuddle Samurai Japan’s loaded lineup for 4 2/3 frames before walking off the field for the last time on the national team. He drew a standing ovation, spurring another round of interviews and worldwide acclaim. He gave up zero runs in 8 1/3 innings – tied with Paul Skenes for third-most in the tourney. 

Ondřej Satoria bids farewell to the national team. Click photo to view highlight of start against Japan. 

P: Enzo Sawayama, Brazil

Satoria threw the most innings for any pitcher without surrendering a run, but Sawayama was only one-third of an inning behind. Sawayama helped Brazil reach the Classic, earning the victory in a start against Germany in the Tucson Qualifier. Though Brazil was unable to secure a victory in this year’s tournament, being relegated back to a Qualifier, it wasn’t for Sawayama’s lack of effort. Sawayama tossed a combined eight shutout innings against Great Britain and semifinalists Italy, striking out six along the way.

SUPER MOON 

Bo Gyeong Moon celebrates after Korea's victory against Australia.

Before Korea’s quarterfinal game against the Dominican Republic -- the first time the country had advanced beyond the group stage since 2009 -- I managed to snag a few minutes with breakout first-base star Bo Gyeong Moon. Here is some of our conversation, interpreted by Juho Kim. It has been edited and condensed for length and readability. 

MLB: Eleven RBIs and you’ve helped your team get on the plane to Miami. How does that feel? 

BO GYEONG MOON: Super happy. Just being able to participate in a global stage with amazing players, especially whether it was Japan, Czech Republic, all the other teams in a competitive pool. I know there were a lot of great players, and I couldn’t be happier. 

MLB: You were 9 years old when Korea lost to Japan in the World Baseball Classic final. 

MOON: I was playing baseball at that time, so was busy playing, but I do remember that final against Japan. Just being part of the team 17 years later and being able to compete means the world to me. 

MLB: You knew before the game against Australia that you needed to score a certain amount of runs, but couldn’t give up more than two. Did you feel that pressure on the field? 

MOON: Thinking back now, it's unbelievable that we had to get the right number of runs to come here, but going into the game, that wasn't what we were focused on. We were just focused on being the best out there and letting whatever happens happen. Having that little sliver of hope really helped the players and the team, and I think that's how we got the result that we wanted. 

MLB: There’s a few MLB players on the team -- Jung Hoo Lee obviously, but also U.S.-born players like Jahmai Jones and Shay Whitcomb. Have you had a chance to talk to them or learn anything? 

MOON: For the guys like Shay, Jahmai and Dane [Dunning], I really focused on just getting to know them on a personal level. But I did talk to Jung Hoo Lee, Hyeseong Kim and Woo-Suk Go about their experiences in the big leagues. I was just asking them questions about how pitchers are in the big leagues and for some tips on swing mechanics. Sharing a language helps, so I was able to get some tips and advice from them. 

MLB: For an American fan who may be seeing you play for the first time in this tournament, what would you want them to know about you? 

MOON: As a player, I'm a guy who wants to win all the time. I'm a competitor that's focused on winning. But as a person, I'm also somebody who thinks a lot about how to win. Maybe it’s worry, maybe it’s just my thinking process. I’m a bit of an overthinker, somebody who imagines all possible things that could happen, whether positive or negative.

Team Italy's famed dugout espresso machine. 

Here are a few recent stories and pieces that may have slipped through the cracks in all the WBC frenzy: 

• Salvador Perez said he could retire after winning the World Baseball Classic. He may not be ready to hang ‘em up, but he did add some WBC ink to his thigh this week. 
• Team Italy’s dugout espresso machine just sold for $16,000! I also wrote about why the team’s semifinal run will have an impact back home in Europe. 
• You could see how important this tournament was every time Venezuela manager Omar López entered the press room. Brian McTaggart caught up with him back in Astros camp to talk about how important the victory was.
• Here were my defining moments, players, and storylines from the 2026 Classic.
• What was Venezuela doing during its dugout dance before every game? That was tambores. Here’s why it meant so much to the team.
• Finally, my book, “WE SACRIFICE EVERYTHING TO BASEBALL: How the Czech Republic’s Amateur Underdogs Became World Baseball Classic Heroes” is out on April 1. (You can read an excerpt here.)  For those who want to snag a copy in person, I’ll be at the Silver Unicorn bookstore in Acton, Mass., (with MLB.com’s Mike Petriello!) on April 8 and the Fairfield, Conn., public library on April 16. If you’re in the area, hope to see you there!

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC RECORDS

Screengrab of Shairon Martis from @honkbalsoftbalNL on IG. Click photo to view post. 

With another World Baseball Classic behind us, that means there are a few new records for players to aim for next time around. The great Sarah Langs -- who I got to see in the press box in Miami -- wrote about some of the seemingly unbreakable tournament records. 

But before we close the book on the 2026 tourney, let’s honor a few of the marks which were smashed: 

Most home runs by a team in a single WBC: 15, Dominican Republic

Breaking the mark of 14 set by Mexico in 2009, eight players combined for the D.R. to smash this one. 

Most strikeouts by a team in a single WBC: 83, United States

Bringing the best arms Team USA has ever had in the tournament paid off: Sure, the team lost by the same score in the championship as in 2023, but this time, batters whiffed like never before. The 83 K's from USA’s pitchers broke the record of 80 that Japan set in 2023. 

Most RBIs in pool play: 11, Korea’s Bo Gyeong Moon

The record for most RBIs in a single WBC is 13, set by Masataka Yoshida in 2023. Moon nearly matched that just in the Tokyo pool. 

Most career World Baseball Classic innings: 28 1/3 IP, Netherland’s Shairon Martis

Martis has the only single-pitcher no-hitter in WBC history, tossing a mercy rule-shortened no-no against Panama in the 2006 Classic. Twenty years later, Martis was one of three players in the ‘26 tournament who appeared in the first one (Cuba’s Alexei Ramirez and Panama’s Paolo Espina were the others.) This time, he tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings against Israel to break former national teammate Diegomar Markwell’s record of 28 WBC innings. 

Highest OPS and slugging percentage in a single WBC (min. 15 PA): 1.231 SLG, 1.842 OPS, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani
Japan may not have added a fourth World Baseball Classic trophy to the collection, but of course, Ohtani came through once again. The dude just doesn’t stop. 

SEE THIS

GB's Andy Brown at the Hall of Fame. Click image to see post by @baseballhall on X.

Andy Brown has been an important part of Great Britain’s national baseball team for years. But he’s not a position player, a DH, nor a pitcher. No, he’s the team’s painter and he’s been with the team for years. He was with Great Britain in Houston and got to visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., after the tournament. While there, he not only donated some of his paintings to the Hall’s collection, but he created a few paintings while he was there, too. 

I’ve been fortunate enough to know Andy for years (I wrote about him in 2023 during the European Championships when Great Britain won silver) and can’t think of a better person (or artist, for that matter) whose work deserves to live on in the Hall’s hallowed halls. (Sorry.)

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For tips, hints, or just to talk about international baseball, find me @michaelsclair on X/Twitter and IG or email me at Michael.Clair@MLB.com.

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