Jeff PassanMar 16, 2026, 02:24 AM ETMultiple Authors
MIAMI — Two hours after a blown ball-strike call ended the Dominican Republic’s World Baseball Classic, players emerged from the team’s clubhouse with smiles, music and a message.
While the Americans celebrated what otherwise was a taut, tense and elite display of baseball between the two most talented countries in the world, the ending left a sour taste for Dominicans to whom the WBC is of Olympic-level importance. Even more frustrating was that the automated ball-strike challenge system — which will debut in Major League Baseball this season to address such blown calls — is not being used in the WBC.
In 2023, the year the pitch clock was introduced in MLB, the WBC did not implement it, either. For ABS to work accurately in MLB this season, the league took measurements of each player’s height to assign a proper strike zone. Doing so for the WBC would have necessitated measurements for players from all 20 countries in the tournament as well as the implementation of the system used to call it in Japan and Puerto Rico.
“It’s part of the game,” Dominican Republic general manager Nelson Cruz told ESPN. “You lost by inches. We’ll have ABS in a few years, so hopefully next time we can challenge plays like that.
“This event is really good for baseball. You have regular fans that love the game — and you have people who don’t pay attention and you’re attracting them.”
“It was a lot,” said Perdomo, who had taken a slider similar to the blown call for a ball earlier in the count and also fouled off consecutive 101 mph two-strike pitches to stay alive. “It was the whole tournament, but we didn’t lose the game right there. That’s a part of the game, and I hope we do better next time.”
Next time could come in the Olympics, if Major League Baseball and the players can strike a deal to allow big leaguers to play in the Los Angeles Games in 2028. The next WBC has not been scheduled, but the success has delighted players and MLB officials.
Team USA will face the winner of Monday’s semifinal between Italy and Venezuela in Tuesday’s WBC final.
The smiles covered the pain of the 2-1 loss Sunday night that sent Team USA to the WBC final, the music followed them as they walked down the hall at LoanDepot Park and to the team bus, and the message came from star Juan Soto, who preferred to look at the whole of the tournament rather than its final game.
“We showed the world who’s the best team in baseball,” Soto told ESPN. “That’s all I got to say.”
“I knew 100% it was a ball,” Perdomo told ESPN. “I knew it.”
Jeff PassanMar 16, 2026, 02:24 AM ETMultiple Authors