'It means the world': López reflects on Venezuela's Classic title 

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FORT MYERS, Fla. – Pablo López didn’t get to pitch in the World Baseball Classic, but that doesn’t mean he didn’t get to experience it.

López, originally scheduled to pitch for Team Venezuela before an elbow injury ended his season, found ways to spend time around his countrymen as they brought home their first WBC championship. He attended multiple games in Miami, including the final, and spent some time in the clubhouse as well.

The veteran right-hander even got to celebrate on the field after Venezuela won the title. So although he didn’t throw a pitch, he was a part of it.

“It was so much fun,” he said. “I tried my hardest to be in the dugout during the game, but because I was never on the active WBC roster, they didn’t let me. No matter how hard I tried, they didn’t let me during the game. But before the game, because I had my credential, I was able to be in the clubhouse. … I watched all the ceremonies and then I would just go up and sit wherever they could fit me in a suite. So I was usually with like the manager’s family or the bench coach’s family. But it overall was a beautiful, absolutely electric experience.”

López, who resides in Miami, pitched in the 2023 WBC and knows what the tournament means in his home country.

“It was so important,” he said. “For the longest time we’ve tried to be an international presence in soccer. Soccer dominates South America. Obviously baseball is the most popular game in Venezuela, but in South America, soccer dominates everything. … So we’ve always cheered our soccer team so much, but it’s a really tough conference to get [into the World Cup]. So we never make it to the world tournament in soccer, so we know baseball is what we have. Baseball is what we’re supposed to be good at.

“So we go into each WBC with expectations, with hopes for the people. Maybe the soccer team didn’t do it, so the baseball team can do it. … So to the people back home, it means so much. I’ve seen videos of people celebrating that same night, even though the game was on at like 11:30 or midnight, people were celebrating. They’re still doing it. There’s all kinds of meaningful, wholesome videos back home. So to the people back home, it represents something to be very proud of. We’re the best at something. We’re world champions at something. So to the people back home, whether they were soccer fans, if you’re a sports fan in general, it means the world.”