Venezuela’s Daniel Palencia stood on the mound in the bottom of the ninth inning and hit a 99.7 mph ball past American outfielder Roman Anthony, who blasted a triple to help Venezuela secure the championship 3-2. Palencia turned to his teammates, threw his gloves in the air, stretched his arms toward the sky, and screamed.
For the first time in the 20-year history of the World Baseball Classic, “La Vinotinto” was crowned champion.
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Tears rolled down the faces of several players as the celebrations began.
“This team is so good,” Eugenio Suarez said to Ken Rosenthal on the field. “We are a family here. That’s why we play with passion and love, because we feel this jersey, we feel our country is in front of us. That’s why this means so much to us as people, as players, as humans and as Venezuelans. Now, we are champions.”
Kansas City Royals rising star Maikel García was named the World Baseball Classic MVP after hitting .385 with a home run and seven RBIs in the game. He hit a fly ball past Salvador Perez in the first round of Tuesday’s final.
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Watch Venezuela’s championship celebrations from multiple angles below:
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Venezuela WBC Celebration: 2026 World Baseball Classic Champions