- World Baseball Classic. Puerto Rico advances to the quarter-finals of the World Baseball Classic
- World Baseball Classic. USA edges Colombia 3-2, will face Venezuela in quarter-finals of WBC
Mexican fans are getting excited about their national baseball team and the chance of success at the World Baseball Classic.
It didn't start off as planned, but El Tri have turned their situation around and made the quarter-finals as Group C winners.
Mexico's turnaround at the World Baseball Classic
When Mexico lost in extra innings in its opening game of the World Baseball Classic against Colombia by a score of 5-4, it seemed that the great expectations that the squad full of Major League players had generated in the fans had gone down the drain.
It seemed certain that the fiascos of past editions of 2013 and 2017, where they were unable to advance from the first round of groups, would be repeated.
However, after that painful setback, there have been three consecutive victories for the team led by manager Benjamin Gil, starting with a resounding 11-5 win over favorites Team USA, followed by a 2-1 win over Great Britain and ending with a complete triumph at Chase Field courtesy of a 10-3 win over Canada.
Can Mexico make history at the World Baseball Classic?
Prior to the start of this competition, Mexico's general manager Rodrigo Lopez had promised a historic performance from this team, which was expected to base its success on a strong starting pitching rotation, but has based instead found success through the power of its top hitters, specifically Randy Arozarena and Joey Meneses.
Mexico are not the favorites to win the tournament, that much is clear, nor are they even the team expected to emerge victorious from their quarter-final clash with Puerto Rico's dream team, but they have been excellent thus far.
Who will be Mexico's next opponent in the World Baseball Classic?
Since the groups of the World Baseball Classic were announced, it was known that if Mexico got out of Group C then they would have to face one of the traditional Latin American powerhouses in the quarter-finals.
That is indeed the case as they'll face Puerto Rico, with a semi-final against Japan the prize, but the victory against the United States has made it clear that this Mexican team is not afraid to compete at the highest level.