2017 World Baseball Classic Report (Day 14)
The final day for the regular round sin the World Baseball Classic was what the Classic is all about.
There may not be a big variety of teams in that truly compete for the title of best in the world but the teams that do compete represent some of the best talent in the world of baseball.
The sport is in transition with a new group of great young players in the league are bringing plenty of excitement to the game.
That same wave of young talent is well represented in the World Baseball Classic as they play alongside some of the top veterans in the game.
The teams that are on the top have some of the best rosters top to bottom and in the semi-finals these rosters will face-off.
The final day of the second round gave a glimpse into the future as two teams that are quickly forming a major rivalry faced off with their tournament on the line.
The USA took on the Dominican Republic in their second match-up of the tournament and the games they play against each other are becoming signature events in the WBC.
It wasn’t always that way though as the Dominicans didn’t always bring their best teams to the tournament.
They often brought a collection of good players to the WBC but they never brought their best players making them a middling team.
Meanwhile, the USA was a team that continued to bring the second level team rather than the best players.
They were still a good team but they weren’t competing with the best of the best and rarely found their way to the semi-finals.
Neither of these teams really competed at a top level until they started to get their best players to commit.
The Dominicans did that in 2013 when they rode some of the best batters in the MLB to a WBC title.
They got to that title by beating the Americans in the qualifiers to kick-off what was about to be a great tournament rivalry.
This year both teams came into the tournament with great rosters as the Dominicans had their full complement of great players while the Americans brought a great team as well.
They were placed in the same group to start the tournament and their match-up in the first round was one of the most hyped of the first round.
The Dominicans came out on top but in the end, the Americans still found their way to the second round with a chance at redemption.
This time things meant a little more as both teams were sitting in the middle of the pool looking to win the game and move into the semi-finals.
The loser of the game would be eliminated and end their tournament sooner than they had hoped while the winner would make the short trip to Los Angeles to play in the semi-final.
It was another major game that meant everything and the Americans came out on top this time around beating the Dominicans.
It was a major game that had everyone excited and it gave a peek into the future of the tournament.
The final rounds are almost here as the second round is now over and only four teams remain in the hunt for the title.
Much like the Dominican Republic-USA game these games have real meaning and feature the best players.
The best rosters in the tournament will finally get their chance to play each other with the title on the line.
It is was the tournament was created for as the four teams remaining count among the best in the world.
The Puerto Ricans walked through the entire tournament as one of the two teams that remained undefeated throughout the first two rounds.
The other is the two-time WBC champions the Japanese who have a roster full of great players from the Nippon League.
The Netherlands is a team with the best infield in the tournament that is full of great young talent.
Then there is the Americans who came through some very tough competition to get to the semi-finals and are the nation of baseball.
The semi-finals are finally here and the title of best in the world is up for grabs with four teams left to fight it out for the title.
These four teams are among the best in the world and the level of baseball will only increase in the next three games until a champion is found.
Day 14:
Puerto Rico 13-2 Venezuela
– Puerto Rico have been a quiet team throughout the tournament but they have found their way to the semi-finals and with this win over Venezuela they stayed undefeated and won their second pool
USA 6-3 Dominican Republic
– The Americans and Dominicans have had a good history in this tournament and for the first time in the last two tournaments the Americans took a win which helped them eliminate the defending champions and move into the semi-finals
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