Pablo Cuerta was watching batting practice before the U.S.-Venezuela championship game at the World Baseball Classic, when the realization hit him.<\/p>\n
He couldn’t lose.<\/p>\n
There were thousands of Venezuelans at the game in Miami on Tuesday night. There were thousands of Americans at the game as well. And some \u2014 like Cuerta, a Venezuelan-American \u2014 got to basically cheer for both sides. His shirt: a Venezuela jersey. His hat: the Venezuelan team cap. And draped over his shoulders, tied across his chest: the U.S. flag.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was born in Venezuela, and this country gave me the opportunity to come, to be a citizen,\u201d said Cuerta, who drove from his home near Orlando for the final days of the tournament in Miami. \u201cI appreciate both countries, you know. One, I was born in Venezuela. And two, this one gave me everything I’ve got. So, I’m proud to have both countries.”<\/p>\n
Venezuela won 3-2, taking the WBC title for the first time. And when the game ended, loanDepot Park became one giant, deafening roar. Venezuela might have been the visiting country, and the visiting team on the scoreboard, but a very Latin-flavored crowd in Miami sure made the new champions feel right at home.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a celebration for all of the Venezuelan country,\u201d said designated hitter Eugenio Su\u00e1rez, who drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning.<\/p>\n
As they have throughout the tournament, Venezuelan fans showed up in a big way to see their team in Miami; all seven of Venezuela’s games at the WBC were played inside the Miami Marlins’ ballpark. From the outset, these unusual political times \u2014 Venezuela’s deposed leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro is currently jailed in New York and facing drug trafficking charges, after American forces executed a military operation in Venezuela earlier this year to capture him \u2014 have not had much of an effect on the joy Venezuelans have for this event, even with it being played on U.S. soil.<\/p>\n
When both flags were brought to home plate as part of the pregame ceremony, the building seemed to shake with noise.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuper emotional with Venezuela and being here for the championship game. This is beyond sport. It is well deserved,” said Argenis Masiaf, a Miami resident who had the Venezuelan flag painted on his face for the game. \u201cWe have lived through many difficult things inside our country. This is the moment for Venezuela to accomplish something so special and memorable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Venezuela’s players and coaches tried to avoid all political talk throughout the tournament. They’ve said in many ways that they’re at the WBC to play baseball, and manager Omar L\u00f3pez reiterated that sentiment before the final.<\/p>\n
L\u00f3pez did, however, acknowledge how much the WBC has meant to the baseball-mad South American country.<\/p>\n
\u201cTogether we are going to have better generations for our country, united with no color, political colors or ideology,\u201d L\u00f3pez said. “We have people with double citizenship. … Baseball is one of the best tools or ways to educate a country. Discipline, dedication, determination.<\/p>\n
“If you don\u2019t believe in that, you should start believing. You have to believe in that. Thirty human beings today are going to unite Venezuela through a baseball game.”<\/p>\n
He was right.<\/p>\n
In Caracas \u2014 Venezuela’s capital and highest-populated city \u2014 the streets were empty Tuesday night. Everyone was watching baseball. Thousands of people, many of them children, gathered at a public plaza to watch the game, many dancing and waving Venezuelan flags.<\/p>\n
\u201cLong live Venezuela! Truly, I am very happy,” acting President Delcy Rodriguez said after the game. \u201cI want, on behalf of our people and the government of Venezuela, to thank and embrace each one of our players.”<\/p>\n
The party kept going after the final out. Bands played, flags waved and some fans cried \u2014 both in Caracas and Miami.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe USA is (the) best country in the world,\u201d Enrique Cabrera, a retired teacher, screamed over the din of a celebration that basically became a human parking lot along the right-field concourse at loanDepot Park after the game. \u201cBut Venezuela is the best at baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n
In Venezuela, a deeply divided nation, baseball is one of the few activities that bring together young and old no matter their political beliefs.<\/p>\n
Take 75-year-old Miguel Blanco for example. He traveled roughly 43 miles (70 kilometers) to watch the game with other fans at the plaza in Caracas because his home was without power for 12 hours Monday and he did not want to risk missing the game if another outage \u2014 a frequent occurrence \u2014 took place.<\/p>\n
And 26-year-old Ashley Pe\u00f1a, a youth organizer in Caracas, said the game gave Venezuelans a much-needed distraction.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a moment for every Venezuelan to regain faith,\u201d she said. \u201cWherever we are in any country, we are all supporting the national team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh Rojas, a student from Utah, was outside the stadium three hours before first pitch Tuesday, soaking up the atmosphere. He had a \u201cV\u201d for Venezuela painted on both sides of his face, proudly carrying a flag as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and my family knew Venezuela would make a good run, so we came,” Rojas said. “Man, it\u2019s meant everything. I\u2019m a Latino American, and it\u2019s just making me more proud of my Latin heritage. It\u2019s just awesome to see a whole country, a whole community come together to support this country through baseball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jaci Douglas said she \u201chates\u201d baseball. The medical student from Pennsylvania viewed Tuesday’s game as something well beyond sport.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy mother is Venezuelan. I have in-laws who are Venezuelans,\u201d Douglas said. \u201cThey’re all here tonight and they told me that if I miss this, I’d regret it. … It’s an event.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cuerta left Venezuela eight years ago, but knew even before Tuesday’s game what this WBC run meant to his homeland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we’re born, that’s the first thing your parents do. Before they send you to school, they send you to the field,\u201d Cuerta said. “That’s what they mean when they say it’s in our blood.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press Reporter Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela contributed.<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/mlb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pablo Cuerta was watching batting practice before the U.S.-Venezuela championship game at the World Baseball Classic, when the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":196303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[123,125,124,70672],"class_list":["post-196302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-miami","tag-miami","tag-miami-headlines","tag-miami-news","tag-world-baseball-classic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=196302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/196302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/196303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=196302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=196302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=196302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}