WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Team Venezuela manager Omar López almost cried seeing the flag of his country raised above the baseball diamond on Tuesday afternoon. For the majority of the men that make up the World Baseball Classic team, it is much more than just a tournament.
“I think [this] is the greatest honor that anybody can have,” López said.
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San Francisco Giants infielder Luis Arráez echoed his coach’s sentiments.
“Venezuela is my everything for me,” he said. “They give me a lot of opportunity to come here and then play the game, so I’m excited.”
The World Baseball Classic, kicking off this week, has become a marquee event for players and fans, featuring 20 national teams competing in a pre-regular season tournament every three years. One of every four players in Major League Baseball is born outside the U.S. For many of these players, it’s a unique opportunity to represent their home country.
That’s particularly true for Venezuelan players because of what’s happening back home. The country continues to navigate their new normal just two months after the capture of President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. The two were charged with conspiracy to import cocaine, along with possession of machine guns and destructive devices. Maduro is also charged with narco-terrorism conspiracy.
Maduro and Flores have pleaded not guilty to all counts.
“The only thing that I do is pray, pray for my country, pray for the world,” Omar López, Houston Astros bench coach, said. “The only thing that I can do is just control what I can control, which is work in baseball, and after that, pray for everybody. Pray, pray for every single family, and pray for the entire world.”
Life in the country has returned to a semblance of normalcy since January, with more activity on the street — and more chatter about the rapid pace in which changes are taking place. There’s a sense of hope that things are turning around for the better.
Some Venezuelans have been more emboldened to speak out publicly without fear of retribution and students have shown optimism about the days ahead.
“Students have reasons to be afraid,” Valeria Diaz, the secretary for the Federation of University Centers, told NBC News last month. “However, these past few days we’ve spoken with young people, and it seems important to us that they feel the responsibility to say they want to be educated and they want to mobilize.”
For players on the World Baseball Classic team, the political situation in Venezuela is not of concern. They say their focus is entirely on the sport and making their fans proud.
“We don’t talk about that. We just worry about baseball,” Victor Martínez, a former MLB All-Star and assistant coach, said. “We just worry about the game in baseball and trying to win games and trying to win the (championship).” Martínez added, “We’re just one team. We’re one country together.”
Venezuela catcher Willson Contreras, who was acquired by the Boston Red Sox this offseason, said this is a first for him: “[I’ve] never had this feeling. The first time wearing the Venezuelan uniform and representing my country means a lot to me [and] my family.”
Notably absent from the Venezuela lineup will be Astros star Jose Altuve, who according to ESPN was not allowed to participate in the tournament due to injury risk and was denied insurance coverage for his $33 million contract.
Even without Altuve, Team Venezuela is a legitimate contender to win the WBC. According to DraftKings, they are +900 to win the tournament, fourth overall behind the United States, Dominican Republic and Japan. They open Friday against the Netherlands in Miami.
“Hopefully we can win it all and feel the Venezuelan people around us,” Contreras said. “I think it’s going to be better than the World Series.”
