MIAMI (AP) — Pablo Cuerta was watching batting practice before the U.S.-Venezuela championship game at the World Baseball Classic, when the realization hit him.
He couldn't lose.
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 — like Cuerta, a Venezuelan-American — 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.
“I was born in Venezuela, and this country gave me the opportunity to come, to be a citizen,” said Cuerta, who drove from his home near Orlando for the final days of the tournament in Miami. “I 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."
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.
“This is a celebration for all of the Venezuelan country,” said designated hitter Eugenio Suárez, who drove in the go-ahead run with a double in the ninth inning.
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 — Venezuela's deposed leader Nicolás 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 — have not had much of an effect on the joy Venezuelans have for this event, even with it being played on U.S. soil.
When both flags were brought to home plate as part of the pregame ceremony, the building seemed to shake with noise.
“Super 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. “We have lived through many difficult things inside our country. This is the moment for Venezuela to accomplish something so special and memorable.”
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 López reiterated that sentiment before the final.
López did, however, acknowledge how much the WBC has meant to Venezuela, a baseball-mad South American country of about 32 million people.
“Together we are going to have better generations for our country, united with no color, political colors or ideology,” López said. "We have people with double citizenship. ... Baseball is one of the best tools or ways to educate a country. Discipline, dedication, determination.
"If you don’t 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."
He was right.
In Caracas — Venezuela's capital and highest-populated city — 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.
“Tonight, all of Venezuela has an appointment with baseball,” acting President Delcy Rodriguez shared on social media.
The party kept going after the final out. Bands played, flags waved and some fans cried — both in Caracas and Miami.
“The USA is (the) best country in the world,” 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. “But Venezuela is the best at baseball.”
In Venezuela, a deeply divided nation, baseball is one of the few activities that bring together young and old no matter their political beliefs.
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 — a frequent occurrence — took place.
And 26-year-old Ashley Peña, a youth organizer in Caracas, said the game gave Venezuelans a much-needed distraction.
“This is a moment for every Venezuelan to regain faith,” she said. “Wherever we are in any country, we are all supporting the national team.”
Josh Rojas, a student from Utah, was outside the stadium three hours before first pitch Tuesday, soaking up the atmosphere. He had a “V” for Venezuela painted on both sides of his face, proudly carrying a flag as well.
“Me and my family knew Venezuela would make a good run, so we came," Rojas said. "Man, it’s meant everything. I’m a Latino American, and it’s just making me more proud of my Latin heritage. It’s just awesome to see a whole country, a whole community come together to support this country through baseball.”
Jaci Douglas said she “hates” baseball. The medical student from Pennsylvania viewed Tuesday's game as something well beyond sport.
“My mother is Venezuelan. I have in-laws who are Venezuelans,” Douglas said. “They're all here tonight and they told me that if I miss this, I'd regret it. ... It's an event.”
Cuerta left Venezuela eight years ago, but knew even before Tuesday's game what this WBC run meant to his homeland.
“When we're born, that's the first thing your parents do. Before they send you to school, they send you to the field,” Cuerta said. "That's what they mean when they say it's in our blood.”
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Associated Press Reporter Regina Garcia Cano in Caracas, Venezuela contributed.
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