No offense, Captain: With Classic title on line, Cabrera puts country first

TAMPA, Fla. – The count ran full on Aaron Judge in the sixth inning Tuesday, the potential tying run at the plate as Team USA tried to wrestle back momentum from Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final.

Surrounded by friends and family on a couch some 285 miles from the festive cacophony inside Miami’s loanDepot park, Oswaldo Cabrera felt conflicted.

The Yankees infielder reveres Judge as a teammate and leader, the true north of the only organization he has known. But in that moment, perhaps for the first time, the native Venezuelan found himself rooting against him – country over pinstripes.

“That was so weird,” Cabrera said. “All the love that we feel for my Cap and obviously for this country. But at the end of the day, it’s my country. That’s where I’m coming from.”

Judge grounded out to end the threat. Bryce Harper tied the game with an eighth-inning homer, but Eugenio Suárez delivered a go-ahead double off Garrett Whitlock in the ninth, lifting Venezuela to a 3-2 victory.

When Daniel Palencia sealed it, Cabrera said tears were shed.

“The reaction in my house was incredible,” Cabrera said. “My mom, my dad, my sister – everybody was crying at home, because we know how much this means for us. … All the criers and the feelings came out. We were so happy.”

Not that there is much proof. Cabrera said his mother, Yiti, was tasked with documenting the celebration. When they watched it back, her thumb had obscured the camera phone’s lens.

“We have no video, just audio,” Cabrera said, with a laugh.

Cabrera said he sent a congratulatory message to Gleyber Torres afterward: “Thank you for making 30 million Venezuelan people proud.”

While Judge and his USA teammates absorbed the sting of their silver medals, Cabrera said the victory resonated far beyond the field – a symbol of hope for a nation enduring prolonged political and economic upheaval.

“Now they are the champions,” Cabrera said. “That means a lot for everybody, but especially for a country who is having tough moments. It means a lot for us.”

Suárez said as much late Tuesday, when he noted that the country “needed this happiness with all the things that we’ve gone through.” Delcy Rodríguez, Venezuela’s acting president, declared a National Day of Joy to celebrate the title.

Cabrera rummaged through his car on Wednesday morning in Tampa, looking for a Venezuela hat, intending to needle his teammates. He never found it.

It didn’t matter. His beaming smile told the story.

“For the country, it means everything,” Cabrera said. “I was explaining to a couple of teammates last night, USA is good in everything. They are good in baseball, they are good in hockey, they are good in soccer, they are good in basketball.

“For Venezuelans, we are not that good in too many things at the Olympics. To have this championship in a sport for Venezuela, it’s a big thing.”