AILSA CHANG, HOST:
OK, it's the U.S. versus Venezuela tonight in the final of the World Baseball Classic. It is the top international event in the sport, and it's all part of an upward momentum for baseball, as ratings and interest in the game are growing again. NPR sports correspondent Becky Sullivan has been watching and joins us now. Hi, Becky.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: Hey, Ailsa.
CHANG: All right. So what are we going to see in tonight's game?
SULLIVAN: I mean, I'm hoping we're in for a great final. So the U.S. is fielding one of the best baseball teams ever, maybe, is what people are saying. And so, I mean, if you're a baseball fan, this lineup is crazy. You've got Aaron Judge in the outfield, Bobby Witt Jr. at shortstop, Paul Skenes pitched in the semifinal. That's nuts.
CHANG: Boom.
SULLIVAN: And then Venezuela is also really great. Their leader is just this guy named Ronald Acuna Jr. - no big deal - just a five-time all-star for the Atlanta Braves.
CHANG: (Laughter).
SULLIVAN: And, you know, hopefully - it's a lot to live up to, but the last World Baseball Classic final three years ago, Ailsa, came down to one of the most epic baseball moments of my lifetime. You had Shohei Ohtani pitching for Team Japan versus Mike Trout of Team USA at the plate, and Ohtani got the strikeout, just...
CHANG: Ooh.
SULLIVAN: ...Incredible. The games so far this year have been, I think, thrilling, intense. So hopefully, we're in line for another iconic moment tonight.
CHANG: Wow. OK, just back up a bit and tell us how did these two teams get to this championship...
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
CHANG: ...Moment here.
SULLIVAN: Sure. Yeah, Venezuela got in just last night. They ousted Italy, who were sort of the surprise Cinderella team of the tournament. But Venezuela also took out Japan in the quarter final, who, of course, had Ohtani. They also had last year's world series' MVP, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, on the mound that game. The U.S., meanwhile, beat the Dominican Republic in the semifinal. That was basically an all-star game, Ailsa. I mean, you had all those Americans on the one side. And then on the DR team, you had Juan Soto. You had Fernando Tatis Jr. You had Julio Rodriguez. So impressive that even the manager of the U.S. team, Mark DeRosa, said afterward that he had had to pause to take it all in before the game.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
MARK DEROSA: You know, looking at the lineup card before the game started and walking down the tunnel out, you just look at all the names. I don't think there's ever been a game that's had that much talent both sides of the field.
SULLIVAN: Just an incredible game to watch...
CHANG: Yeah.
SULLIVAN: ...A final score of 2-1. It's amazing.
CHANG: So many legends. OK, wait. But Becky, this event is supposed to be sort of, like, the baseball version of the FIFA World Cup, right?
SULLIVAN: Yeah.
CHANG: Do you think it's living up to that?
SULLIVAN: I mean, obviously, the World Cup is older. It's bigger. You know, but for baseball - for players and fans, this has become a huge, huge deal. The backstory here is sort of - even as baseball was growing over the decades to include so many international players from Japan, from Korea, from all over Latin America - all of the sort of international baseball events were just for amateurs. And so the World Baseball Classic - it started in 2006, trying to be different, like, and have these real big-league players.
It's tough with the season about to begin. You know, pitchers, especially have to be on these strict pitch counts, so they don't match up their schedule before the regular season begins just in a week or two. And I thought this has been just tremendous to watch. They've really gotten the rosters up to a great level. The ratings have been great. The Japan-USA final from a couple of years ago that I mentioned...
CHANG: Yeah.
SULLIVAN: ...Got just around 5 million viewers. And this year, at least one game already, a pool stage game between the U.S. and Mexico, had already beaten that mark. We're still waiting on ratings for the semifinals, but I expect the final, especially tonight, to beat that. And what helps is that the players are so into it because it's just so meaningful for them to represent their country. Ronald Acuna Jr. talked about that a little bit last night at the game. Here's a little bit of what he said.
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RONALD ACUNA JR: (Speaking Spanish).
SULLIVAN: What he's saying is he loves the Atlanta Braves. That's the team he plays for. But before coming to Atlanta, Venezuela made him, is what he said. He's - so to get to play for them is one of the proudest moments of his career. He called it the No. 1 moment of his career so far.
CHANG: Oh, my God.
SULLIVAN: So it's really cool to get to watch it.
CHANG: I think you're going to make me watch baseball tonight (laughter).
SULLIVAN: OK.
CHANG: That is NPR's Becky Sullivan. Thank you, Becky.
SULLIVAN: You're welcome.
(SOUNDBITE OF JACK NORWORTH AND ALBERT VON TILZER SONG, "TAKE ME OUT TO THE BALL GAME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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