Venezuela, which cried 17 years ago after being blocked by none other than Yoon Seok-min, finally crossed the "Fourth of the Devil"! "The Devil" is a match between beauty and the end

*This content was translated by AI.

In 2009, 17 years ago, Venezuela, which was blocked by South Korean right-hander Yoon Seok-min (40, KIA Tigers at the time), finally relieved its anger. It is the first time in the history of Venezuela's World Baseball Classic (WBC) competition that it will be on the final stage.

The Venezuelan baseball team defeated Italy 4-2 in the 2026 WBC semifinals at Rondipo Park in Miami, Florida on the 17th (Korea time). As a result, Venezuela achieved the feat of advancing to the finals for the first time since the creation of the 2006 tournament.

In fact, in Venezuela's baseball history, the WBC semifinals have always been an "unbreakable wall." In particular, the semifinals of the second tournament in 2009 remain a painful memory. Venezuela, which built super-luxury members who played in major leagues such as Miguel Cabrera and Felix Hernandez at the time, met South Korea.

But the result was disastrous. South Korea's starting pitcher Yoon Seok-min's perfect control of the team tied the lineup, and eventually had to pack up with a 2-10 defeat. Yoon Seok-min showed good pitching with seven hits and two runs in six ⅓ innings at the time. Since then, Venezuela has repeatedly been blocked by the high walls of the tournament, defying the pride of a baseball powerhouse. In the previous 2023 WBC, he withdrew from the quarterfinals.

After 17 years of waiting, he did not miss one opportunity. On the 17th, Venezuela showed a scary concentration in the top of the seventh inning when it was trailing Italy 1-2. Starting with Ronald Acuña Jr. (Atlanta Braves)' infield timely hit with two outs and runners on first and third bases, Mikel Garcia (Kansas City Royals) and Luis Arraez (San Francisco Giants) made consecutive timely hits to embrace the game.

Venezuelan coach Omar Lopez, who held a press conference after the game, could not hide his overwhelming emotion. "This is a dream come true for me," Lopez said. I have always thought about what I can do to bring joy to my country," he said.

Venezuela's last opponent, which has advanced to the final for the first time in history, is the U.S., the "host country" and the "host country of the tournament." Lopez predicted left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez (33, Arizona Diamondbacks) as the starting pitcher for the final. The starting pitcher of the U.S. is right-hander Nolan McClain (25, New York Mets). As it is the last game of the tournament, it is expected to go all out. "The United States is a legion of superstars, but our players are just as valuable," Lopez said. I will do my best for my country," he said.

On-site reporters view the confrontation as a structure between the United States and Latin America. Some pointed out that the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, and Cuba are likely to support Venezuela, not the United States. In particular, the U.S. is receiving attention that it is receiving "preferential treatment" in its favor in the overall operation, such as tournament schedules and match tables. The "American Villain" frame became even stronger as the final strikeout decision against the Dominican Republic came in favor of the U.S.

Baseball fans around the world are looking at Miami to see if Venezuela, which was frustrated by Yoon Seok-min 17 years ago, will be able to beat the U.S. and lift its first-ever WBC trophy.

<© STARNEWS. All rights reserved. No reproduction or redistribution allowed.>

*This content was translated by AI.