‘It means everything’: How the 2023 WBC won over the players — and the world
MIAMI — In 2021, Randy Arozarena put on a green Mexico jersey, logged into his Instagram account and delivered a video message he hoped would be heard by the country’s president. He wanted to be made a citizen and expedite the process as quickly as possible so he could represent Mexico in a World Baseball Classic that wouldn’t take place for another two years. He asked his fans for help.
Said Arozarena: “It’s the only thing I want.”
Arozarena was born and raised in Cuba, but he fled the island in 2015, settled in Merida, had a daughter, honed his skills as a baseball player and fell in love with the culture. Over this past week and a half, while representing a Mexican team that advanced further into this tournament than anyone imagined, Arozarena navigated the WBC with an intensity and a swagger that inspired. He donned lavish sombreros, made bold proclamations, delivered timely hits, turned in spectacular defensive plays and even signed autographs during pitching changes.
His spirited play, for a country he chose, turned him into a God-like figure in Mexico, where fans on social media superimposed his face onto Mexican currency and iconic Mexican statues.
His zeal embodied the vibe of an entire tournament.
The fifth installment of the World Baseball Classic, which culminated in an epic showdown between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout, exceeded every expectation it carried. The atmosphere was electric, the games were intense, the drama was riveting. And in the end, despite consternation from pundits about injuries and paranoia from executives about usage, one aspect of it was undeniable: The players cared. A lot.
“It’s different,” Trout said moments after Japan’s 3-2 championship-clinching victory over Team USA on Tuesday night. “I can’t really express what’s different about it — you can just feel it in your veins.”
Ohtani is probably the biggest baseball celebrity in the world, a unanimous MVP who has done things that are unmatched in his sport’s history. But he called his game-ending strikeout of Trout — on a full-count slider that followed four consecutive 100-plus-mile-an-hour fastballs — “the best moment in my life.”
Throughout the tournament, players shared similar sentiments in the aftermath of their games.
“If you’re not here, you don’t get the desire and hunger and passion that we have for the game and for this tournament,” Puerto Rico catcher Christian Vazquez said in Spanish. “Wearing your homeland’s colors on the playing field is unexplainable. And this is an even bigger responsibility for all of us because it’s not representing a team, but an entire island. Our home country. And you give it all for your family and for all the people that got you here today. I was a World Series champion with the Red Sox, and this experience just has no comparisons. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.”
For players like Ohtani and Vazquez, brought up in baseball-obsessed regions that treat international events with considerable gravitas, passion for a tournament like this is inherent. For players like Lars Nootbaar and Alex Verdugo, representing the nations of their parents, it’s developed.
Verdugo was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona, but his father was born in Hermosillo, Mexico. The outfield glove he uses regularly with the Boston Red Sox is red, white and green as a tribute to the Mexican flag.
“It means everything,” Verdugo said of playing in the WBC. “I love this.”
Nootbaar, from California, treated his participation in the World Baseball Classic as an opportunity to learn the Japanese culture of his mother, going so far as to try to memorize the words to the country’s national anthem. Navigating pool play in Tokyo qualified as a life-changing experience.
“For me to be able to wear ‘Japan,’ honor my mom — she sacrificed everything for me,” Nootbaar said. “I kind of understand some of her tendencies now after being there for a couple weeks.”
In previous iterations, excitement around the World Baseball Classic has been hard to come by in the U.S., which places far more importance on its domestic regular season. And yet Team USA’s stars displayed palpable intensity throughout this year’s event, spilling out of their dugout during big moments, making aggressive turns after routine singles, roaring toward the crowd after escaping tough jams. The competition brought it out of them.
“It’s like you either perform or you get exposed,” Team USA manager Mark DeRosa said. “I just think there is such a respect of the tournament from the guys in that room — a want to succeed, a want to represent your country.”
The last five days of this year’s tournament featured four exhilarating, back-and-forth games. In a quarterfinal matchup on Friday, Mexico overcame a four-run deficit to stun Puerto Rico. Trea Turner then pushed the U.S. to victory over Venezuela with an eighth-inning grand slam on Saturday; Munetaka Murakami hit a walk-off double off the center-field fence to send Japan into the championship on Monday; and Ohtani closed out a one-run win by striking out Trout on Tuesday, amazingly delivering the matchup between Los Angeles Angels teammates that so many dreamed about months earlier.
More than 1.3 million people attended the 47 games that encompassed this year’s World Baseball Classic. Eleven of the 15 games that took place at LoanDepot Park, which hosted the knockout rounds, sold out. By the end of the first round, the 2023 WBC had already sold more merchandise than any of the previous four installments. The two semifinal games averaged 2.4 million viewers on Fox Sports 1 and Fox Deportes, a 96% increase from the 2017 semifinals, according to data provided by Major League Baseball.
When Japan defeated Korea in Tokyo on March 10, 62 million people watched. When Mexico upset the U.S. on March 12, 47,534 people crammed into Chase Field in Phoenix. And when Puerto Rico got past the Dominican Republic on March 15, 62% of Puerto Rican households were tuned in.
The tournament faced its most pointed criticism later that night, when Edwin Diaz, the star closer for the New York Mets, tore his patellar tendon during the on-field celebration, an injury that will probably prevent him from pitching this season. The merits of the tournament were called into question by fans and pundits alike. But its participants pushed back against the criticism full-throatedly — none more so than Francisco Lindor, Diaz’s teammate both with Puerto Rico and the Mets.
“I understand how Mets fans are hurting,” Lindor said in Spanish. “But while for so many people the regular season is what counts, playing in the WBC means just as much to all of us. It is the dream of every Puerto Rican ballplayer to wear Puerto Rico’s colors and to represent our country. And not only Puerto Ricans, but every player in the WBC considers being here the ultimate honor. Of course, we don’t want injuries to happen, but it is part of the game. And they are things that can happen just anywhere.”
Another significant injury occurred on Saturday night, when Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve took a fastball from a noticeably erratic Daniel Bard in Venezuela’s quarterfinal game against the U.S. and suffered a fractured thumb. More outside criticism followed, albeit less so given the exciting games that led up to it. Privately, players and coaches pointed to other recent injuries — Gavin Lux tearing his ACL running the bases, Joe Musgrove dropping a weight on his big toe in the gym, Carson Kelly fracturing a forearm on a hit by pitch — to illuminate the inconsistency.
“People get hurt in spring training games every day right now,” Team USA starting pitcher Lance Lynn said, “and no one says we shouldn’t have spring training.”
Hours after the tournament had concluded, players on both sides remained on the field. The Japanese celebrated as a team, the Americans watched with their families. Team USA third baseman Nolan Arenado, who had just completed his second stint in the World Baseball Classic, stood about 10 feet from Ohtani, who wore a medal and took part in an endless array of selfies.
“Players need to do this,” Arenado said. “We have a really good team, but we need more stars. We need more guys. Why not? I think it’s important to play in it. You’re throwing hard in spring training, you’re playing hard. You might as well do it here — on a big stage for your country.”
ESPN’s Jeff Passan and Marly Rivera contributed to this report.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A federal judge has denied NASCAR’s motions to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit filed against the stock car series.
U.S. District Judge Kenneth Bell of the Western District of North Carolina also denied NASCAR’s request that two teams — 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports — be ordered to post a bond to cover fees they would not be legally owed if they lose the case.
23XI Racing, a team co-owned by NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan, and Front Row Motorsports, which is owned by entrepreneur Bob Jenkins, are suing NASCAR to compete with charter recognition throughout the 2025 season.
NASCAR and the teams that compete in the top Cup Series operate with a franchise system that was implemented in 2016 in which 36 cars have “charters” that guarantee them a spot in the field at every race and financial incentives. There are four “open” spots earmarked for the field each week.
The teams banded together in negotiations on an improved charter system in an often-contentious battle with NASCAR for nearly two years. In September, NASCAR finally had enough and presented the teams with a take-it-or-leave-it offer that had to be signed the same day – just 48 hours before the start of the playoffs.
23XI and Front Row were the only two teams out of 15 who refused to sign the new charter agreement. They then teamed together to sue NASCAR and chairman Jim France, arguing as the only stock car entity in the United States, NASCAR has a monopoly and the teams are not getting their fair share of the pie.
Both organizations maintained they would still compete as open cars, but convinced Bell last month to give them chartered status by arguing they would suffer irreparable harm as open cars. Among the claims was that 23XI driver Tyler Reddick, last year’s regular-season champion, would contractually become an immediate free agent if the team did not have him in a guaranteed chartered car.
NASCAR argued Wednesday that it needs that money earmarked because it would be redistributed to the chartered teams if 23XI and Front Row lose.
Jeffrey Kessler, considered the top antitrust lawyer in the country, argued that NASCAR has made no such promise to redistribute the funds to other teams. Kessler said NASCAR told teams it was up to NASCAR’s discretion how it would use the money and didn’t rule out spending some on its own legal fees.
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Jorge Castillo, ESPN Staff Writer
For years, teammates have asked Devin Williams to teach them his changeup, a pitch so unusual and dominant it has its own nickname. Williams always helps. They just never get “The Airbender” right.
“I haven’t seen anyone replicate it,” Williams said.
Powered by The Airbender, Williams has established himself as one of the premier relievers in baseball since breaking into the majors in 2019. He has been so good that the Milwaukee Brewers, keeping with their frugal roster-building tactics, traded Williams to the New York Yankees last month for left-hander Nestor Cortes and prospect Caleb Durbin before he inevitably would become too expensive in free agency next winter.
So, for one season, at least, Williams will follow in the footsteps of another Yankees closer who perplexed hitters with one pitch: Mariano Rivera.
“Those are big shoes to fill,” Williams said of Rivera, whose signature cutter helped him become the first player voted unanimously to the Hall of Fame. “I feel he kind of ruined it for everybody else. I mean, after him, it’s hard to live up to those expectations. But at the end of the day, I can only be me.”
Being himself has been more than good enough for the 30-year-old Williams. The right-hander won the 2020 National League Rookie of the Year Award with a 0.33 ERA in 22 games as the Brewers’ primary setup man during the COVID-shortened campaign. He was an All-Star in 2022 and 2023, his first full season as a closer.
Last season, after missing the first four months with stress fractures in his back, he posted a 1.25 ERA with 14 saves in 15 opportunities across 22 appearances. His 40.8% strikeout rate since 2020 ranks second in the majors among relievers. His 1.70 ERA is also second. His .144 batting average against ranks first.
“Obviously, he’s one of the best in the league, if not the best,” Yankees pitching coach Matt Blake said.
For Williams, it all starts with The Airbender. Williams grips it like a changeup and its 84-mph average velocity plays off his fastball like a changeup. But it’s a changeup with an exceptionally high spin rate that breaks to his arm side — opposite from the typical changeup — making it resemble a screwball or a left-hander’s sweeping slider. It is without precedent.
“It’s not anything to do with the grip,” Williams said. “The grip is nothing special. That’s why I think it’s funny when people are like, ‘Oh, don’t give it away.’ This is the most basic changeup grip they teach you when you’re 8 years old.”
Williams said his changeup is so different for two reasons: His elite extension, which ranked in the 98th percentile in 2024, and a singular ability to pronate his wrist.
“It’s the way my wrist works, the way I’m able to manipulate the ball is something unique, uniquely me,” Williams said. “It allows me to throw my changeup the way I throw it. I’m a really good pronator, not supinator. That’s why my slider sucked. You need to get on the other side of the ball. I’m not good at that. I’m good at turning it over.”
Williams did, however, modify his changeup grip to unearth the weapon. Entering 2019, Williams was a struggling minor league starter with a solid changeup, two years removed from Tommy John surgery. He was one year from reaching free agency, from perhaps seeing his career come to an end and going to college to play soccer.
That spring, seeking more movement, he altered his changeup grip from a two-seam to a four-seam, circle change grip. He first threw it during a live batting practice session to Trent Grisham, then a Brewers prospect. Grisham, now with the Yankees, told Williams the spin difference was noticeable. Williams stuck with it.
A starter through spring training, Williams was sent to Double-A as a reliever to begin the season. The demotion sparked desperation, and Williams decided to throw harder than ever, reaching back to lift his fastball into the high 90s. He was in the majors by August. But it wasn’t until the COVID shutdown in 2020 — when he realized spinning the ball more and dropping the velocity from high-80s to mid-80s created more movement — that his changeup reached another level.
“I took that into the season and at summer camp I’m facing my own teammates,” Williams said. “And Jedd Gyorko, I threw him one, and he swung and missed and he was just like, What is that? I’ve never seen [anything] like that. That gave me confidence and we just ran with it. And I literally started throwing it all the time.”
Coincidentally, Williams said the closest changeup he’s seen to his belongs to Luke Weaver, whose emergence as a shutdown reliever in 2024 was crucial in the Yankees reaching the World Series. Williams happened to be in New York when the Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers played in the Fall Classic. He was on his annual autumn vacation after the Brewers were eliminated from the postseason. Past trips have taken him all over Europe: London, Paris, Dublin, Amsterdam, Munich, Dortmund, with a soccer game invariably on his itinerary.
This time, he was in New York. He explored the city for 10 days. Instead of soccer, he watched the World Series from a bar. He shopped. He ate good food. He absorbed the city’s energy.
“I’m a city guy,” Williams said. “I love to explore cities. I like to immerse myself in the culture. I want to be like a normal, everyday person. You guys like bacon, egg and cheese? All right, I’m getting a bacon, egg and cheese.”
Less than two months later, as part of a series of moves executed in their pivot from Juan Soto‘s decision to sign with the crosstown Mets, the Yankees added Williams. On Thursday, Williams settled for $8.6 million to avoid arbitration.
He’ll partner with Weaver to create one of the best bullpen back ends in baseball — in hopes of helping the Yankees win their first championship since Rivera was dominating hitters with his cutter.
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