On Sunday night, Team USA earned a competitive 2-1 victory over Team Dominican Republic to clinch their spot in the World Baseball Classic championship. One narrative that has swirled throughout the 2026 WBC is that the Team USA squad doesn't like to have fun on the baseball field — which simply isn't true, they just have fun in different ways than other teams.
Other ball clubs in the WBC have displayed various different celebrations. The USA hasn't been quite as creative from that standpoint. Bob Nightengale of USA Today recently shared quotes from players about the situation. Here's what Pete Crow-Armstrong said about it.
“I’m having a blast out there, I think it’s hilarious. I just think we pick our spots,” Crow-Armstrong said. “Like, I think you guys would think it’s silly if we all shuffled like [Juan] Soto, or did Vladdy’s [Guerrero Jr.] little wiggle, but that’s them. And if I had enough swag to do that, I’d probably do that too. We have fun in our own way, but we are definitely having fun out there.”
Bryce Harper also shared his thoughts on the situation, via Nightengale.
“I think every country has the way they play, right? Obviously, Latin American countries, a lot of flair, lot of energy, and I love watching it because that’s how I played when I was younger,” Harper said.
Harper went on to explain how he got “in trouble” for using specific styles of bats and eye black while he was coming up as a young player in the big leagues. Nevertheless, he is a fan of embracing “all walks of life” and is a fan of teams embracing their style of play.
“But we have the utmost respect for people in all walks of life with baseball,” Harper added “That’s why our game is so cool and so much fun to watch… Baseball is the greatest game in the world because you bring so many different styles together, especially in this tournament.”
Team USA and Team Dominican Republic may have different celebrations, but they came together for a tremendous baseball game on Sunday night. It had to have been one of the most entertaining 2-1 games in recent memory. It had clutch home runs, impressive pitching performances and defensive highlights.
In the end, the USA earned the win and they will play either Team Venezuela or Team Italy on Tuesday night in the WBC championship.
