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Despite being the heavy favorites to win the tournament, Team USA fell to Venezuela in the final of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday by a score of 3-2. The reaction from many baseball fans suggests they feel the team deserved it.
Throughout the World Baseball Classic, Team USA emanated an odd vibe, from Bryce Harper downplaying the importance of the tournament to manager Mark DeRosa publicly admitting he didn’t know the tiebreaker rules, to a Navy SEAL motivational speech in the locker room that nobody quite knew how to process, Team USA’s run through the tournament was a masterclass in clunky PR and sideways vibes.
Those bad vibes came home to roost in the WBC final, where they lost to Venezuela and were subsequently ripped on social media for being a generally unlikable team.
Baseball fans ripped the bad vibes of Team USA after squad lost the World Baseball Classic final to Venezuela on Tuesday, March 17
Let’s run down the list…
– jackass catcher doesn’t dap up his teammates because he wanna act tough. also benched in last two games cuz he stunk it up
– manager doesn’t know the seeding rules and almost cost em a playoff spot
– one of best players says tourney stinks it… https://t.co/REHoghWAPX
— 🫵👍 (@AndyKHLiu) March 18, 2026
I rooted for Team USA in the WBC, but they played a joyless tournament, and the military cosplay (salutes, Rob O’Neill locker room visit, etc) was ridiculous. Also, Aaron Judge may be the least clutch player to have played the game. Congratulations to Venezuela, they earned it.
— Tom Bonier (@tbonier) March 18, 2026
This USA team will go down as the biggest group of clowns EVER.
— Giant Hot Takes (@GiantHotTakes) March 18, 2026
The WBC final was also full of disappointing performances on the field, too, as only Bryce Harper and Brice Turang were able to get hits in the game.