Team Italy Upsets Team USA in The WBC
Rachel Gaudette
Staff Writer
The World Baseball Classic has always been a stage for international drama and competition; however the Italy vs. USA game created a massive shockwave. On Tuesday, March 10th, Team USA was upset by Italy, with the final score being 8-6. The loss for the USA was largely blamed on the managing decisions of USA’s manager, Mark DeRosa. This was a shock for fans, analysts, and players alike, as the USA was significantly favored to win.
Entering the game, Team USA was the heavy favorite, with a star-studded roster led by their captain, Aaron Judge. The Italians were not fearful of the team and played with a high level of intensity. The Italy offense exploded early on with home runs from Kyle Teel, Sam Antonacci, and Jac Caglianone. By the sixth inning, Italy held a staggering lead of 8-0. Team USA was able to make a valiant but late comeback with two home runs from Pete Crow-Armstrong and another from Gunnar Henderson. Italian closer, Greg Weissert sealed their win by striking out Judge in the ninth and leaving the United States at risk for knockout from the WBC.
The manager for Team USA, Mark DeRosa, faced extreme backlash for his coaching decisions within the game against Team Italy. DeRosa stated on MLB Network’s Hot Stove before the game that Team USA had “already punched its ticket to the quarterfinals,” which was a false claim displaying a cocky attitude towards the Italy game. DeRosa decided to rest key left-handed batters like Bryce Harper and Brice Turang, despite the Italian starter being a right-handed pitcher, which usually marks an advantage for lefty hitters. They were overconfident that they would win, and benched key players, which led to one of the biggest upsets in 20 years.
In addition to this, the team decided to have Clayton Kershaw warm up during the eighth inning as an emergency reliever instead of the closer, Mason Miller. DeRosa explained this decision by saying that the World Baseball Classic limits pitch counts, and if David Bednar reached his limit Kershaw would have been the only usable pitcher. There were multiple other coaching decisions that led to the shocking loss to Italy, like when DeRosa decided to have Bryce Harper pinch-hit for Paul Goldschmidt, but not pinch-run for him in the ninth.
In the end, Team USA’s survival in the tournament rested on the shoulders of the exact same team that beat them. Italy’s 9-1 blowout against Mexico secured America’s advancement to the quarterfinals as the Pool B runner-up. Despite being bailed out by Italy, the loss is one that will serve as an example for future teams. This game can be used as a textbook example of the dangers behind overconfidence. In the World Baseball Classic, no lead is safe, no game can be taken for granted, and no ticket is ever “punched” until the game is over, as DeRosa and his team learned the hard way.
Contact Rachel at gaudetra@shu.edu