The World Baseball Classic will start on Wednesday, and Team USA is ready to defend its title.
They won in 2017, and now they will be competing to tie Japan with the most WBC championships in the history of the tournament.
To do that, the Americans have put together a really impressive roster.
They have Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, J.T. Realmuto, Will Smith, Kyle Tucker, Cedric Mullins, Devin Williams, Adam Wainwright, and many more stars.
The two best players on the roster, however, are Mike Trout and Mookie Betts.
Both are true MLB stars.
The best thing of all is that the impressive American lineup will be coached by an all-time great.
Yes: former Seattle Mariners and Cincinnati Reds legend Ken Griffey Jr. is the team’s hitting coach.
Take a look at this picture:
Mookie. Griffey. Trout. @USABaseball is here, and the @WBCBaseball is back. @MLB pic.twitter.com/Lnff2V6vUx
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) March 7, 2023
There are five American League MVP awards in that picture: three from Trout (2014, 2016, and 2019), and one each from Betts (2018) and Griffey (1997).
Players really can’t ask for a better hitting coach.
Griffey retired with a .284 batting average, 2,781 hits, 630 home runs, and 1,836 RBI.
Had he not suffered so many injuries in the last few years of his career, he would probably have surpassed 3,000 hits and could have made a run at 700 home runs.
He is now chatting with two of the best players of our generation.
USA’s first game will be on Saturday against Great Britain.
All eyes will be on that fascinating American lineup.
There are some tough opponents in the way, but if the pitching can hold, USA has a path towards repeating their 2017 feat.
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