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We recorded this episode just before Team Venezuela was about to play Team Italy. Team Italy is really a bunch of Americans masquerading as Italians with a real Italian or two on the roster. While the Italians beat the USA 8-6 in pool play, the USA will relish the chance to avenge that defeat. Or they will have to play a better team in Venezuela. But either way the USA is primed to take home the 2026 WBC championship!

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

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Late game pitching in the WBC is the issue and most teams don't have enough. The best teams can be held down for awhile but eventually the cream rises to the top. USA, Dominican Republic, and Japan all have the firepower to exhaust the bullpens of good teams much less WBC also-rans.

Highlights of the first weekend of games were many and the enthusiasm and atmosphere at the WBC has been amazing. We talked about relegation which happens to the fifth place team in each pool. Those teams will have to play-in to reach the next WBC which is scheduled for 2029.

How about future Hall-of-Famers playing in the WBC and those that will be playing in #MLB in 2026 are plentiful and we discuss the tiers of those that are guaranteed all the way down to those that need to do more.

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

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There will not be any Automatic Balls and Strikes called in the World Baseball Classic that begins this week at four sites around the globe. 16 teams are vying for the title currently held by two-time defending champ Japan.

ABS is alive and well (so far) in #MLB spring training so far. Umpires get things wrong but the calls are so close you can understand why and how. Will this lead to full robot umps eventually? We wondered about that and gave some thoughts.

We also discuss if another epic WBC showdown is in the cards like it was to end the 2023 WBC when Shohei Ohtani struck out then-teammate Mike Trout. That can't happen this year but we peek at a what could be a few delicious and delightful potential encounters between MLB teammates who are current rivals.

Intro & Outro music this season courtesy of Mercury Maid! Check them out on Spotify or Apple Music!

Please subscribe to our podcast and thanks for listening! If you can give us 4 or 5 star rating that means a lot. And if you have a suggestion for an episode please drop us a line via email at Almostcooperstown@gmail.com. You can also follow us on X @almostcoop or visit the Almost Cooperstown Facebook page or YouTube channel. And please tell your friends!

www.almostcooperstown.com