Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper made his mark in the World Baseball Classic final with a monstrous game-tying home run in the 8th inning against Venezuela. However, his biggest impact was made off the field after Venezuela hoisted the trophy for the first time.
After the game concluded and most Team USA baseball players made their way back into the dugout, Harper stayed and personally congratulated Venezuelan players on their monumental win.
Harper spoke to ESPN about what it meant to him for a team other than the United States to win a tournament like this, “It’s America’s pastime, but that’s the greatest thing about our game.”
“We can share it with all these different countries as well and bring it all together and be a part of this,” Harper said. “And it’s awesome. It’s really awesome.”
The 2026 World Baseball Classic was the sixth edition of the international tournament. The United States has only collected their gold medal one time, back in 2017.
GettyTeam Venezuela
Bryce Harper Honors The Culture of Baseball Following Venezuela’s World Baseball Classic Win
While Bryce Harper started every game of the WBC, he was off to unprecedently slow start. Harper was 4-24 through six games before the final where he drove in USA’s only runs with a two-run homerun.
Harper was showered with support from his teammates as he rounded third, but his moment was later overshadowed with Cincinnati Reds third baseman Eugenio Suárez’s go-ahead double in the top of the 9th inning.
However, Venezuela’s win didn’t ruin Harper’s night.
“It showed us that the best team in the world won,” he told ESPN.
“Baseball’s in a really good spot, in a really situation,” Harper said. “And there’s a lot of young talent in all countries. And I think the world saw baseball’s a great game.”
While baseball originated in the United States, over the past 20 years there has been an apparent jump in international impact.
Players from all of the world are scouted and signed from leagues such as the Nippon Professional Baseball League in Japan and KBO League in South Korea.
“It’s a lot of fun to watch the cultures from every other country and ours as well,” Harper said. “It’s one of the best sports in the world, and to be able to bring people together and teams together and players together to do that these last two weeks has been a blast.”
GettyBryce Harper and Ronald Acuña Jr.
Bryce Harper Shares His Respect to Team Venezuela After United States loss in WBC Final
“I want to win gold, just like anybody else,” Harper said, according to USA TODAY’s Bob Nightingale. “But at the end of the night, man, they did it. They won. All the congratulations to them and what they did, and they fought hard, they played a great game. I got nothing but respect for them.”
Team Venezuela has participated in every World Baseball Classic since it began in 2006. The team’s previous best finish was reaching the semifinals in 2009.
Venezuelan team captain, Kansas City Royals catcher Salvador Pérez spoke to Olympic news reporter, Shintaro Karo, about what it felt to win a title in his fourth WBC, “This is like winning the World Series. This is like Game 7 of the World Series.”
“To make all 30 million people happy, given where they are, it’s amazing,” he said. “It’s a lot of pressure. I felt like I had 30 million people on my back.”
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