Chicago White Sox infielder Tim Anderson said prior to the World Baseball Classic championship Tuesday, “This is kind of my World Series at the moment,” according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY.

The 2023 World Baseball Classic comes to its conclusion tonight with a highly anticipated championship game between the United States and Japan.

The event has taken a lot of criticism throughout the two-week tournament. Multiple long-term injuries to all-star players have raised some concerns as to whether the tournament is worth playing, or at least with MLB player participation.

New York Mets closer Edwin Diaz and Houston Astros second baseball José Altuve are the two biggest names to sustain injuries.

Diaz is expected to miss the entirety of the 2023 MLB season after injuring his knee during a celebration after a Puerto Rico win.

Altuve fractured his right thumb after being hit by a pitch in Venezuela's quarterfinal loss to the U.S. which is expected to keep him out for four-to-six weeks.

Other stars like Freddie Freeman and Nolan Arenado had to leave World Baseball Classic games early due to injuries as well.

Tim Anderson's words can also be looked at as a jab toward the White Sox. Anderson has spent his entire seven-year career in the majors with the White Sox. Chicago made the playoffs twice in those seven years, one of them being the shortened 2020 season.

Anderson is in the final year of his current contract with a team option for 2024. It will be interesting to see if the White Sox takes those words to heart from one of the outspoken leaders of the franchise.