Table of Contents
In the last moment of the game, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani struck out USA’s Mike Trout. It was a showdown between the two best players in baseball and Ohtani won.
Japan beat the USA 3-2 in the final game of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in Miami on Tuesday.
The U.S. was the defending champion of the WBC, but Japan has now won three out of five of the WBC tournaments. The last tournament was held in 2017.
This year, Japan had a perfect tournament. The team won seven games and didn’t lose any.
The final moment of the game will always be an important one in baseball history. Not only are Ohtani and Trout the best players in baseball, they are also teammates on the Los Angeles Angels.
The manager of team USA, Mark DeRosa, said that it was a storybook ending for baseball fans. However, he wanted the story to end with Trout hitting a home run.
DeRosa also called Ohtani “a unicorn” for baseball. Ohtani was also named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).
Hideki Kuriyama, Japan’s manager, says that the team’s win will have a big impact on baseball’s popularity in Japan. He thinks that a lot of the young kids who watched the game will decide to play baseball.
Vocabulary
- Moment – a particular time or occasion; point in time; a short period of time
- Strike out – to fail to hit the ball/to not hit the ball three times in baseball or softball, resulting in an out;
- Showdown – a final test or confrontation to decide a disagreement/dispute; face-off; clash; moment of truth; duel
- Beat – to defeat an opponent or win a competition; to win a match/game against another person/team
- Defending champion – the winner of a competition who is trying to win the same competition again
- Tournament – a contest or competition with only one winner after many games/rounds
- Hold – to organize; to arrange; to have an event; host
- Not only – used for emphasizing/showing that, although something is true, something else is also true or is more important; to say a fact and then add more information to that fact
- Teammate – a member of the same team in a sport; a person on the same team
- Storybook ending – a happy or perfect ending to a story or situation, especially one that is unlikely or unexpected
- Fan – a person who likes a sport or team; supporter; follower
- Home run – a hit in baseball that allows the batter to circle all the bases and score a point for their team; when a baseball is hit outside of the field so the batter can score a point
- Unicorn – a mythical animal with a horn on its forehead; 🦄; something that is highly desirable or very special, but difficult to find or obtain
- Most Valuable Player (MVP) – the player who is contributed/did the most to help the team’s success in a competition or season
- Impact – influence; effect; consequence; to make change
- Popularity – how much something is liked or not liked; the level or amount something is admired, enjoyed or liked
- Decide – to choose something; make a choice from many different options; select
Quiz
Discussion Questions
- Do you think the World Baseball Classic is a good way to promote baseball internationally? Why or why not?
- Do you think the popularity of baseball is increasing or decreasing globally? Why do you think that is?
- Why are some sports popular in one country or region, but not others? For example, baseball is very popular in the US, Japan and the Caribbean, but not so popular in Africa or Europe.
Original Story
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