Team USA and Venezuela will put a wrap on the 2026 World Baseball Classic on Tuesday night, capping off what has been a spectacular, drama-filled tournament that has not lacked for emotion or incredible baseball.
The Americans are seeking their second title, having previously won the whole thing back in 2017. The Venezuelans have never played in the final and look to put the finishing touches on an emotional ride.
Though the game will be played in Miami, the crowd is expected to be in Venezuela's favor. For evidence of that, check out any clip from Monday night's game against Italy. The United States has some very recent history with this situation as the same type of partisan crowd was against them in their semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic on Sunday night.
Team USA will serve as the official home team for the final, thanks to World Baseball Classic rules that still believe in an old-fashioned way of breaking ties.
Why Team USA is home team in World Baseball Classic final
Though Major League Baseball did away with coin tosses in its tie-breaking procedures in 2022, the classic method is alive and well in the WBC.
Teams are placed into their quarterfinals matchups based on how they did in pool play, and then the country with the best record is awarded the advantage of serving as the home team in the semifinal and final rounds.
For instance, Italy was the home squad on Monday night against Venezuela because they entered with a 5-0 record compared to 4-1. The United States was the visiting team in their semifinal due to entering with a 4-1 record against the Dominican Republic's 5-0 mark.
Because Venezuela and the United States will both come into Tuesday night's big game at 5-1, a coin toss was needed in order to determine which team would get the final at-bat. By virtue of having a higher ranking in the World Baseball Softball Confederation rankings at the start of the tournament, Team USA was given the honor of choosing heads or tails. It appears they chose correctly.
How big of an advantage is this?
Reasonable minds can disagree here. It's a common practice in all levels of baseball for the team with the option to choose the home team option. But there's definitely something to be said about getting the opportunity to bat first in the game and take an early lead. And over the last 20 games of the World Baseball Classic, visiting teams have won 14.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Here's Why Team USA is the Home Team in World Baseball Classic Final vs. Venezuela.
