Baseball world Series finished with a thrilling end as the two powerhouses America and Japan faced each other in what was a final to remember.
The world series took place this year in multiple countries such as America, Japan, and Taiwan. Teams from across the globe competed in this year’s tournament such as Japan, America, Czech Republic, Mexico, Cuba, Australia, China, Canada, Israel, England, Puerto Rico, Panama, Dominican Republic, Italy, Nicaragua, South Korea, and Venezuela.
Analysts predicted the title would be a battle between three teams. America boasting their best line-up for a long time with stars such as Trea Turner, Kyle Tucker, and Pete Alonso to name a few. This is followed closely by Japan lead by Captain and MLB most valuable player Shohei Ohtani who’s ability to both pitch and bat makes him a standout player for Japan. 3rd to the title is Dominican Republic who field stars like Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and Manny Machado and Julio Rodriguez.
While the tournament does have some huge names, the Czech Republic team is made up of a team of amateur players. Most players on the team have second jobs back home like captain Petr Zyma who works 40 hours a week as a trader. The Japantimes.co caught a quote from him that read “It’s something that pays for my living. Then, after work, I rush to the field and try to get my work in so I can be competitive in our local amateur league. Which then if you do well, you can play for the national team, and then if you do well, you can end up in the Tokyo Dome.”
Australia too fielded a team which ended up getting through the group stages. Australia had 4 games playing China who they beat via the mercy rule, Czech Republic who they beat 8-3, Korea ranked 4th in the world who they beat 8-7, and a loss to Japan 7-1. Australia were the runners up in the group and got to play Cuba who ended Australia’s baseball dreams beating them 3-4 in the quarter finals.