MIAMI — They have zero interest talking politics.
They are quite familiar with the unrest in Venezuela, but sorry, they’re not about to go near the subject.
Instead, they are hoping they can help with the healing, and provide a sense of national pride, going where no Venezuelan baseball team has gone before.
Venezuela, for the first time in its history, will play for the World Baseball Classic championship on Tuesday night against the USA at 8 p.m. ET at LoanDepot Park in front of a partisan, sold out crowd after beating Italy, 4-2, on Monday night.
The ballpark was packed with 35,382 fans, with about 35,000 of them rooting for Venezuela in a Miami-Fort Lauderdale metropolitan area where about 250,000 Venezuelans reside.
“This is a dream come true for me,’’ Venezuela manager Omar Lopez said. “What could I do to give some joy to my country? In Venezuela we have over 30 million people that are willing to see Venezuela winning, and I'll find a way to do that together with my people.’’
Well, on this night, the sellout crowd didn’t want to go home, chanting and cheering as they slowly made their way out of the stadium. The players and Lopez huddled briefly in the clubhouse, cranked the music, and started dancing the night away.
This was a historical moment for Venezuelan baseball, and at least for a few days, their success can help heal a country. It was no different than two days ago, when they stunned Japan, the defending WBC champions, and secured a berth in the 2028 Summer Olympics, the first time they have reached the Games.
The party started and hasn’t stopped.
“My country right now is celebrating,’’ Lopez said after beating Japan to reach the semifinals. “It's extremely happy. It's on the streets. They're drinking right now, and that makes me happy than anybody else in this world because that's the only thing that I can do. That's the only thing that I can do for my country.
“We win, the entire country can celebrate.’’
The heroes of this night, Ronald Acuna Jr. and Maikel Garcia, who helped trigger the three-run outburst in the seventh inning with their back-to-back run-scoring singles, turning a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead, also understood the impact of their victory.
Venezuela lost their ace when Pablo Lopez underwent Tommy John surgery in February, and insurance wouldn’t cover All-Star second baseman Jose Altuve or World Series hero Miguel Rojas, but they refused to concede, or feel sorry for themselves.
They believed in themselves, and knew just what it could mean for their country.
“Our country deserves the game (Tuesday)…’’ Acuna said. “The country deserves that.’’
This is why the clubhouse was filled with a lot of dancing, plenty of celebrating. But they know they still have one last step to climb, to be the ones standing on the center-field stage Tuesday night, receiving gold medals.
“We have to show the world,’’ Garcia said, “who Venezuela is.’’
They’re not simply playing for the country of Venezuela, they say, but all of Latin America. They may be bitter rivals on the baseball field, but for a night, they’ll be united in hopes of reaching the pinnacle of international baseball.
“Very happy for that support because we are all Latin America,’’ Acuna said. “We are always together. The Dominican Republic loves me and I love them.’’
Said Garcia: “Dominican Republicans, Puerto Ricans, they want us to play for Latin America. But as Venezuelan players, we are playing for our country. And, of course, putting Latin America in a high position, showing that we have great baseball, we have great talent.
“But we are playing for Venezuela in the first place.’’
This is why the game, each said, will be the biggest of their careers. Acuna, the former MVP and five-time All-Star who has played in five postseasons, won a World Series ring in 2021 with Atlanta (though he was injured and couldn’t play in their title run). Garcia played with the Royals during their 2024 postseason run, but they fell short of the American League Championship Series.
“I would put this as No. 1 in my career,’’ Acuna said. “I love the Atlanta Braves, but before playing for the Braves, I was born in Venezuela. I would put this as No. 1 in my career. I am very happy for representing my country.’’
Said Garcia: “Yes, same for me. Representing your country feels differently.’’
The game certainly will be emotional, with Eduardo Rodriguez of the Arizona Diamondbacks starting for Venezuela, with the USA starting New York Mets rookie Nolan McLean.
It’s unknown just what will happen after the starters come out of the game. Even with the Venezuelan bullpen pitching 7⅔ shutout innings, Lopez said that everyone is available, including their famous pitching coach, Johan Santana, he joked.
USA manager Mark DeRosa says he’s counting on closer Mason Miller being available, but the San Diego Padres may balk, considering it would be Miller’s third appearance in five days. The Boston Red Sox may be reluctant permitting setup man Garrett Whitlock, who made three appearances in the last nine days, to pitch in the championship game. The Yankees have privately voiced concern with reliever David Bednar throwing again after pitching four times in the last 11 days. And even with McLean limited to 65 to 70 pitches, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza says he has mixed feelings about him making the start.
“We’ll be praying,’’ Mendoza told reporters at the Mets’ spring training camp.
So will Team Venezuela, but for different reasons.
“God willing, we want to give that joy to the people,’’ Lopez said. “That would make us very happy because that way we would be contributing to the mental health, life for our people in Venezuela.’’
A mere baseball game can’t change anything politically in Venezuela, but it can bring momentary joy.
“Our goal has been to be champions,’’ Venezuelan reliever Daniel Palencia said. “It would mean a lot to the Venezuelan people, to everybody who loves baseball, and we are going out to fight. To win. And to do our best.’’
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Venezuela vs USA WBC final can help country heal
