Last night Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout in a much-anticipated matchup to give Japan a 3-2 victory over the United States to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The championship game came on the heels of a thrilling semi-final game in which Japan defeated Mexico on a two-run walk-off double, sending Japanese announcers in a frenzy over the “sayonara” win.
AS CALLED ON JAPANESE TV: pic.twitter.com/3zzrOXp0O5
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) March 21, 2023
This year’s games were a successful box office draw, breaking WBC attendance records and drawing a record amount of global TV viewers.