The final matchup of arguably the most exciting World Baseball Classic to date was set between Team USA and Team Venezuela. There was a long and at times chaotic road to get here between the two teams. We’ve chronicled the WBC throughout each round of the tournament, so of course, we now have to bring you the takeaways from the final game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic tournament.

TAKEAWAY #1: MORE POOR MANAGERIAL DECISIONS BY MARK DEROSA

After the highly discussed blunders in pool play, one would assume that Mark DeRosa would have learned his lesson. Yet, as Einstein dictated, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. Therefore, Mark DeRosa is insane. There were several players who had been ice-cold throughout this WBC. Players like Byron Buxton and Alex Bregman have been as cold as the iceberg that sank the Titanic. Yet, instead of playing some of his bench stars like Gunnar Henderson, who homered against the powerhouse Team Dominican Republic. Much will be said to question the decision to start Nolan McLean; however, McLean pitched much better in this start than that against Team Italy. For the next World Baseball Classic, the Team USA general manager needs to find a different manager.

TAKEAWAY #2: TEAM VENEZUELA IS HUNGRY

At every turn, with every pitch, Team Venezuela showed an absolute burning desire to be the victor in this contest. From the starter, veteran southpaw Eduardo Rodriguez, through to the last guy on the bench, Venezuela was scratching and clawing their way to grab hold of every advantage and opportunity they could. Venezuela played hungry from the first pitch on, and it showed throughout the night.

TAKEAWAY #3: TEAM USA’S OFFENSE STRUGGLED MIGHTILY

For Team USA, this was supposed to be an offensive onslaught of a tournament. The US was supposed to bludgeon and mercy teams throughout every game that they played. However, that has not been the case throughout much of the tournament. As previously mentioned, there have been hitters in the lineup who have been ice-cold. And it’s in those cold players’ constant starts that Team USA had not found its footing during the 2026 WBC. That was until the bottom of the eighth inning when Bryce Harper would break out of his slump with a game-tying two-run home run. But sadly, when you only manage three hits in a championship finale, you aren’t going to be successful very often. And for Team USA, this tournament was supposed to be a salvo, a shot across the bow, a declaration of dominance, but they did not finish the job.

TAKEAWAY #4: VENEZUELA IS THE BEST IN THE WORLD

Team Venezuela is the 2026 World Baseball Classic Champions. There’s no doubt that watching his tournament this season, Venezuela was seen as a dark horse in the tournament. The offensive core of the team was a far superior team than they were given credit for by everyone (except Coach Ken Anderson). When watching the way the tournament unfolded and watching the battles with ALL of the best teams in this year’s tournament, there was one team that battled through to the end: Venezuela. Venezuela gave Team Dominican Republic its toughest challenge in pool play. Then Venezuela followed up by dethroning the reigning defending WBC champions in Team Japan. Venezuela would follow that by beating the undefeated Cinderella story of the 2026 WBC in Team Italy. And then ultimately, except for one brief Bryce Harper moment in the bottom of the eighth inning, Venezuela felt in control all night to clinch their first World Baseball Classic Championship.