MIAMI — Team USA is playing Venezuela in the 2026 World Baseball Classic final.
Team USA is not just playing Venezuela.
FOX Broadcast Moment
Venezuela fans watch the championship match of the World Classic Baseball between the United States and Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, March 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
The game was called by FOX’s lead broadcast team of Joe Davis and John Smoltz, with Ken Rosenthal reporting from the dugouts.
During the broadcast, FOX noted how off balance Venezuela had kept Team USA, pointing out the Americans had managed “only one lead-off hard-hit ball.”
From there, the conversation shifted to where the game was being watched across Venezuela — from Caracas to Maracaibo to Valencia — before focusing on La Sabana.
“They’re watching in La Sabana where Ronald Acuña is from, where the guy coming up here Maikel Garcia is from. Small town, you gotta take an off-road vehicle just to get there. They don’t have roads to La Sabana. Fishing village of about 10,000 people. And this tiny village has produced more than 50 pro ball players. That includes three All-Stars — Acuña, Garcia. Acuña’s got a brother playing for the New York Mets, three more brothers coming. A cousin right here in Garcia. A town that has produced more pro ball players than anywhere in the world — La Sabana.”
They were facing players who come from different parts of the country — places that look different, feel different, and are separated by real distance.
The Coast: La Guaira
Ronald Acuña Jr. and Maikel Garcia come from La Sabana, along the Caribbean coast in La Guaira.
Venezuela’s Maikel Garcia, right, celebrates his home run with Jackson Chourio, left, during the fifth inning of a World Baseball Classic quarterfinal game against Venezuela, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
It is a coastal region just north of Caracas, about 30 kilometers by road, with the Caribbean on one side and mountains rising behind it.
An aerial view of Jorge Luis Garcia Carneiro baseball stadium which will host some games of the Caribbean Series in La Guaira, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023. The 65th edition of the tournament starts Feb. 2 and will also be played in Caracas in the area of La Rinconada. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
The Capital and Central Corridor: Caracas, Valencia, Maracay
Move inland and the setting changes.
Caracas is in a valley, while Maracay and Valencia form a central corridor where a large portion of the roster is from.
In this Oct. 25, 2012 photo, children wait for the start of training at a baseball school in Maracay, Venezuela. Many of the boys are inspired by the example of Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera, who learned the game on this very field. Their baseball school in the poor neighborhood where Cabrera grew up is one of many across Venezuela, a web for training young ballplayers that has made the country a powerhouse in the U.S. major leagues. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
This includes Gleyber Torres, Salvador Perez, Eduardo Rodríguez, and Ezequiel Tovar.
Venezuela catcher Salvador Perez, center, cheers the team before a World Baseball Classic semifinal game against Italy, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
The West: Barquisimeto and San Felipe
Further west, Andrés Giménez and Luis Arraez come from Barquisimeto and San Felipe.
Toronto Blue Jays’ Andrés Giménez puts on the celebratory post season jacket with the help of Vladimir Guerrero Jr., first, after hitting a two run home run against the Seattle Mariners during the third inning in Game 3 of baseball’s American League Championship Series, Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
These cities sit several hundred kilometers from Caracas and represent another part of the country’s baseball footprint.
Venezuela second baseman Luis Arraez stands with Dominican Republic’s Fernando Tatis Jr. after he was caught stealing second, during the ninth inning of a World Baseball Classic game, Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
The Far West: Maracaibo
Maracaibo is one of the farthest points represented on the roster.
Milwaukee Brewers’ Jackson Chourio, left, smiles after being tagged out on a stolen base attempt by Cincinnati Reds’ Elly De La Cruz (44) during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, April 4, 2025, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)
It’s more than 700 kilometers from Caracas and is the home of Jackson Chourio and Wilyer Abreu.
The East and South: Barcelona and Puerto Ordaz
To the east, José Alvarez is from Barcelona, Venezuela, in Anzoátegui state.
Further south, Eugenio Suárez comes from Puerto Ordaz in Bolívar state.
The Difference
These players are not coming from one city or one region.
They come from across Venezuela — from the coast, the capital, the central corridor, the west, and the east — all on one roster.
?? Venezuela (WBC Final lineup by birthplace)
RF Acuña Jr. — La Guaira
3B Garcia — La Sabana (La Guaira)
1B Arraez — San Felipe
DH Suárez — Puerto Ordaz
2B Torres — Caracas
SS Tovar — Maracay
LF Abreu — Maracaibo
C Perez — ValenciaCF Chourio — Maracaibo
SP Rodríguez — Valencia…— World Baseball Network (@WorldBaseball_) March 17, 2026
Team USA Starting Lineup — Birthplaces (2026 WBC Final)
Bobby Witt Jr., SS — Colleyville, Texas
Bryce Harper, 1B — Las Vegas, Nevada
Aaron Judge, RF — Linden, California
Kyle Schwarber, DH — Middletown, Ohio
Alex Bregman, 3B — Albuquerque, New Mexico
Roman Anthony, LF — West…— World Baseball Network (@WorldBaseball_) March 17, 2026
MLB Clubs and Birthplace Origins
The Venezuela lineup also reflects a wide range of current Major League Baseball clubs alongside its geographic spread.
Acuña represents the Atlanta Braves out of La Guaira, while Garcia and Perez both come from the Kansas City Royals system and share roots in La Guaira and Valencia. Arraez, now with San Francisco, is from San Felipe, while Suárez of Arizona adds Puerto Ordaz in the southeast.
Torres (Detroit) brings Caracas, Tovar (Colorado) adds Maracay, and Abreu (Boston) and Chourio (Milwaukee) both come from Maracaibo.
The lineup spans multiple MLB organizations and multiple regions of Venezuela at the same time.
Pitching and Bullpen Outlook
Eduardo Rodríguez starts for Venezuela, with additional starting options in the tournament including Ranger Suárez and Keider Montero.
Behind them, the bullpen includes arms such as Andrés Machado, José Buttó, Eduard Bazardo, and Daniel Palencia.
Venezuela pitcher Daniel Palencia reacts after the team defeats Italy during a World Baseball Classic semifinal game, Monday, March 16, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
Venezuela’s pitching staff features a mix of starters and relievers with major league experience, with the bullpen expected to play a key role once Rodríguez exits.
Lineups, Birthplaces, and How to Watch
Team USA and Venezuela take the field tonight with lineups that reflect not just talent, but geography.
Venezuela’s starters come from across the country — Ronald Acuña Jr. and Maikel Garcia (La Guaira), Luis Arraez (San Felipe), Eugenio Suárez (Puerto Ordaz), Gleyber Torres (Caracas), Ezequiel Tovar (Maracay), Wilyer Abreu and Jackson Chourio (Maracaibo), and Salvador Perez (Valencia), with Eduardo Rodríguez (Valencia) on the mound.
Team USA counters with Bobby Witt Jr. (Colleyville, Texas), Bryce Harper (Las Vegas, Nevada), Aaron Judge (Linden, California), Kyle Schwarber (Middletown, Ohio), Alex Bregman (Albuquerque, New Mexico), Roman Anthony (West Palm Beach, Florida), Will Smith (Louisville, Kentucky), Brice Turang (Corona, California), and Byron Buxton (Baxley, Georgia), with Nolan McLean (Garner, North Carolina) starting.
Eugenio Suárez Delivers the Decisive Moment
Eugenio Suárez, from Puerto Ordaz in Bolívar state, delivered the defining hit of the championship.
With the game tied in the ninth inning, Suárez lined a go-ahead double to center field to score the winning run and give Venezuela a 3-2 lead.
After the game, speaking with Ken Rosenthal, Suárez reflected on what the moment meant.
Venezuela Eugenio Suárez hits a double during the ninth inning in the championship game of the World Baseball Classic against the United States, Tuesday, March 17, 2026, in Miami. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
“I mean, what can I say about this? It’s amazing. God is good. All the glory is for the Lord Jesus. He was with us the whole time. We have to glorify His name in everything. Nobody believed in Venezuela, and now we win the championship. This is a celebration for all of Venezuela.”
Asked what he was thinking, standing on second base, Suárez said:
“I just pray. I pray all the time. I pointed to my family out there. They were happy for me. God is good, man. God is good.”
Suárez also pointed to the identity of the roster itself.
“The unity. We stayed together the whole time. We’re not just teammates — we’re family. This team is awesome. We are family here. That’s why we play with passion and love, because we feel the jersey. We feel our country in front of us… and now we are the champions.”
José Altuve and the Next Generation
José Altuve, one of the most accomplished players in Venezuelan baseball history and a World Series champion with the Houston Astros, was not on the field for the final.
Instead, he was in Miami supporting Venezuela after being unable to participate due to insurance restrictions.
American League MVP frontrunner Jose Altuve is sorrounded by kids taking his youth baseball clinic in San Joaquin, Venezuela, Monday, Nov. 13, 2017. Altuve is an All Star second baseman for the Houston Astros. (AP Photo/Juan Carlos Hernandez)
“I’ll be there supporting my boys,” Altuve said ahead of the game.
Born in Maracay, part of the same central corridor represented throughout the roster, Altuve’s presence connected generations of Venezuelan baseball — from established stars to the players who delivered the country’s first World Baseball Classic title.
That connection extends beyond the major leagues. Across Venezuela, players like Altuve remain closely tied to youth baseball, where the next generation continues to develop in the same regions represented on this roster.
