Sox Populi Postgame Podcast 16 — World Baseball Classic Final!

Adrian Serrano (repping Team Mexico) and Dante Jones (Japan) check in with Brett Ballantini (USA?) to discuss a terrific WBC title tilt

It’s the most fun any of Adrian Serrano, Dante Jones or Brett Ballantini can remember having during Spring Training, so it fits that we again converge for a postgame podcast, discussing Japan’s 3-2 win in the WBC title game over the U.S.

• Quick notes on an amazing ballgame, not quite befitting the Japan-Mexico semifinal, but a terrific finale nonetheless
• And yes, that includes Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout playing in a game that meant something!
• Continuing this podcast’s discussion of the logistics of what time of year the WBC should be played — and how making this an October tournament could really work well
• Where does the WBC go from here ... has 2023’s stellar play and breakout stardoms truly turned the tournament into a “world series?”
• A detailed discussion of where MLB, and even the WBC itself is missing opportunities to grow the sport, particularly in African countries ripe for a baseball explosion
• Will this loss motivate the United States to bulk up the pitching staff for a next go-around, in three years?
• Will Yoán Moncada’s placement on the All-WBC team propel him to great things right away in 2023?

Listen below, on our built-in Megaphone player:

or follow along with every episode at Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and watch the podcast play out on video at that online hit factory that is the South Side Sox YouTube channel.