There has been some conversation about whether or not the World Baseball Classic is a meaningful exercise in the wake of serious injuries to MLB stars Edwin Diaz and Jose Altuve.
The final moments of the 2023 edition answered all those questions.
Shohei Ohtani, the starting designated hitter, was on the mound for Japan and pitching against U.S. star Mike Trout. This is what everyone wanted to see from the moment Ohtani and Trout agreed to play for their teams, this dream matchup of Los Angeles Angels teammates — and arguably the two best baseball players in the world — with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning of the WBC final with the title hanging in the balance.