Neither rain nor a shortage of big stars could keep quiet the 42,696 people attending the championship game of the inaugural World Baseball Classic on Monday, March 20.
Even the unexpected absence of the USA’s team was largely overlooked at Petco Park, as boisterous Cuban and Japanese fans armed with flags, chants and cowbells made American baseball audiences seem limp, detached and positively spiritless in comparison.
In the end, though, Japan was crowned champion with a 10-6 victory on 10 hits and 3 errors, dismantling Cuba with expert small-ball and clutch relief pitching from former Padre Akinori Otsuka. This in a night that saw Japan’s manager and all-time Japanese league home run leader Sadaharu Oh escort Hank Aaron onto the field during pregame ceremonies, before Oh was eventually tossed into the air postgame by his team upon notching the final out.
Early on, Cuba wasted no time making the changes it thought necessary, pulling starting pitcher Ormani Romero four batters into the first inning. However, reliever Vicyhoandry Odelin added to the problems of three inherited base runners by hitting a batter, walking one and giving up a two-run single, which put Japan ahead 4-0. Cuban manager Higinio Velez had already burned through his aces Yadel Marti and Pedro Lazo in their Saturday semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic, a team packed with major-league stars whom many people expected to win the tournament.
But with Dominican superstars like Albert Pujols, Miguel Tejada, Adrian Beltre and David Ortiz watching the game from afar, the only major leaguer starting the game was Japanese right fielder Ichiro Suzuki. He didn’t disappoint, coming through with a walk, a double, an RBI single and two runs. Yet the Most Valuable Player Award was given to Daisuke Matsuzaka, the only pitcher in the tournament to win three games, including the championship, in which he allowed only one run on four hits in four innings.
Cuba opened their scoring with a first-inning leadoff home run by shortstop Eduardo Paret, then saw Japan score two more runs in the sixth, started by Suzuki’s double. During Cuba’s turn at the plate in the sixth, outfielder Frederich Cepeda smacked an RBI double along the third base line before outfielder Osmani Urrutia drove him home, and the momentum began to swing, considering Cuba started the inning off with a man on base thanks to an error by shortstop Munenori Kawasaki. The cowbells quickly subsided, however, when outfielder Yoandy Garlobo grounded into a double play to end the inning.
In the eighth, following a single by Cuba third baseman Yulieski Gourriel, Japan replaced pitcher Shunsuke Watanabe with Soichi Fujita, who surrendered a two-run homer two batters later to Cepeda, bringing Cuba to within one run. Fujita was then promptly substituted by Otsuka, who came onto the field to the tune of “Hells Bells,” reportedly after asking for permission from veteran Padres closer Trevor Hoffman, who always arrives on the mound to the AC/DC classic. He got his two outs, and again Cuba’s momentum was killed.
Japan then drove several more nails into the coffin in the ninth. Kawasaki reached base on a fielder’s choice, then Nishioka laid down an expert bunt between first and second, setting up Suzuki’s RBI single. After an intentional walk to load the bases, Cuba replaced their pitcher, only to see Japan send in a pinch hitter, Kosuke Fukudome, who smacked a two-run single. The bases were again loaded on a walk, bringing another pitching change for Cuba. A sacrifice fly by Ogasawara scored one more run before a final pitching change.
Cuba scored one more last-gasp run in the ninth inning before its final two batters struck out, sealing Japan’s victory as the inaugural champion. The team had faced a rocky road to the championship, having only amassed a 3-3 record and advancing to the semifinals through the backdoor by a win from Mexico. There, they faced Korea for a third time, having lost the first two meetings between the two clubs. However, clutch hitting and solid pitching confirmed their dominance in the final.
Meanwhile, for all its trouble killing giants in come-from-behind fashion on several occasions, Cuba wasn’t awarded any prize money, having forfeited the right in exchange for being invited, despite their government’s pledge to donate all of it to Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.