\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Kansas City Royals were all over the 2026 World Baseball Classic \u2014 and when it was over, a few of them were celebrating a title.Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia and Luinder Avila are world champions after Venezuela held off the United States 3-2 in the final.Perez took on a bigger role than just catcher. The longtime Royals veteran served as Venezuela\u2019s captain, setting the tone for a team chasing its first WBC title.Garcia, though, was the one who stole the spotlight.The young Royals star put together a standout tournament, hitting .385 with a .970 OPS. In the championship game, he delivered early, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning to get Venezuela on the board. By the end of it all, Garcia was named the tournament\u2019s MVP. Perez didn\u2019t light up the stat sheet, but his impact showed up in other ways. His handling of the pitching staff and presence in the dugout helped steady Venezuela through a deep and competitive field.On the other side, Bobby Witt Jr. gave Royals fans something to watch, too.Representing Team USA, Witt flashed both his bat and glove throughout the tournament. His defense, in particular, stood out in key spots.Kansas City\u2019s impact didn\u2019t stop with Venezuela and the United States.Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone helped turn Italy into one of the tournament\u2019s biggest surprises.Pasquantino provided pop in the middle of the lineup, launching three home runs and posting a .970 OPS. Caglianone, one of the Royals\u2019 youngest players, showed why there\u2019s so much buzz around him. He hit .286 with a 1.071 OPS and reached base at a .500 clip, combining patience with power in a way that stood out against international competition. Royals fans pack KC watch parties as Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez shine in World Baseball ClassicSt. Patrick\u2019s Day celebrations filled Johnnie\u2019s earlier in the day, but by game time, the attention turned fully to baseball.Fans gathered to watch the World Baseball Classic final, cheering on Kansas City Royals stars Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez as they represented their countries on the global stage.\u201cIt\u2019s a great group of guys. Happy they are representing the USA,\u201d said fan Colby.Perez, known to fans as \u201cSalvy,\u201d took the field for Venezuela, while Witt represented Team USA.\u201cWe love Salvy. He\u2019s the best. Been with us for 15 years,\u201d said Chris O\u2019Connor.Others didn\u2019t hold back their support for Kansas City\u2019s young star.\u201cBobby Witt \u2014 the best,\u201d another fan said.Both players stepped away from spring training to compete internationally, creating what fans described as a \u201cduel on the diamond.\u201d\u201cIt means something because they\u2019re playing for their country. It\u2019s great,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.That mix of hometown pride and international competition is driving strong viewership across Kansas City.Fans say the tournament is putting Royals talent on display worldwide.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tKANSAS CITY, Mo. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Kansas City Royals were all over the 2026 World Baseball Classic \u2014 and when it was over, a few of them were celebrating a title.<\/p>\n
Salvador Perez, Maikel Garcia and Luinder Avila are world champions after Venezuela held off the United States 3-2 in the final.<\/p>\n
Perez took on a bigger role than just catcher. The longtime Royals veteran served as Venezuela\u2019s captain, setting the tone for a team chasing its first WBC title.<\/p>\n
Garcia, though, was the one who stole the spotlight.<\/p>\n
The young Royals star put together a standout tournament, hitting .385 with a .970 OPS. In the championship game, he delivered early, driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the third inning to get Venezuela on the board. <\/p>\n
By the end of it all, Garcia was named the tournament\u2019s MVP. <\/p>\n
Perez didn\u2019t light up the stat sheet, but his impact showed up in other ways. <\/p>\n
His handling of the pitching staff and presence in the dugout helped steady Venezuela through a deep and competitive field.<\/p>\n
On the other side, Bobby Witt Jr. gave Royals fans something to watch, too.<\/p>\n
Representing Team USA, Witt flashed both his bat and glove throughout the tournament. His defense, in particular, stood out in key spots.<\/p>\n
Kansas City\u2019s impact didn\u2019t stop with Venezuela and the United States.<\/p>\n
Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone helped turn Italy into one of the tournament\u2019s biggest surprises.<\/p>\n
Pasquantino provided pop in the middle of the lineup, launching three home runs and posting a .970 OPS. <\/p>\n
Caglianone, one of the Royals\u2019 youngest players, showed why there\u2019s so much buzz around him. He hit .286 with a 1.071 OPS and reached base at a .500 clip, combining patience with power in a way that stood out against international competition. <\/p>\n
Royals fans pack KC watch parties as Bobby Witt Jr., Salvador Perez shine in World Baseball Classic<\/p>\n
St. Patrick\u2019s Day celebrations filled Johnnie\u2019s earlier in the day, but by game time, the attention turned fully to baseball.<\/p>\n
Fans gathered to watch the World Baseball Classic final, cheering on Kansas City Royals stars Bobby Witt Jr. and Salvador Perez as they represented their countries on the global stage.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great group of guys. Happy they are representing the USA,\u201d said fan Colby.<\/p>\n
Perez, known to fans as \u201cSalvy,\u201d took the field for Venezuela, while Witt represented Team USA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love Salvy. He\u2019s the best. Been with us for 15 years,\u201d said Chris O\u2019Connor.<\/p>\n
Others didn\u2019t hold back their support for Kansas City\u2019s young star.<\/p>\n
\u201cBobby Witt \u2014 the best,\u201d another fan said.<\/p>\n
Both players stepped away from spring training to compete internationally, creating what fans described as a \u201cduel on the diamond.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means something because they\u2019re playing for their country. It\u2019s great,\u201d O\u2019Connor said.<\/p>\n
That mix of hometown pride and international competition is driving strong viewership across Kansas City.<\/p>\n
Fans say the tournament is putting Royals talent on display worldwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Kansas City Royals were all over the 2026 World Baseball Classic \u2014 and when it was over,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":629793,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2387],"tags":[10264,5,17303,80805,806,80779,80781,80814,80833,80794,80785,80808,1351,80842,2500,18579,2138,49697,1622,14,2155,80839,80836,231,80838,936,2123,80782,80810,41950,80819,80788,55,80843,80827,80813,80803,80799,2596,2595,58092,58066,80806,58034,80792,80816,80798,2536,80826,80825,80831,3736,4,80834,80797,80844,11315,727,24872,80841,5319,252,67773,80793,80804,16259,80802,80817,80796,67130,80807,80847,80791,80823,80840,80800,80812,80787,80811,373,80832,80786,80815,80809,80824,80795,28725,185,80780,1578,80783,317,80848,235,4819,77609,80789,80846,5824,80801,80818,8814,71349,80829,80835,80790,80822,80821,2126,80837,50863,32205,80828,80784,80820,80845,80849,2158,4820,80635,80830],"class_list":["post-629792","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-kansas-city-royals","tag-2026-world-baseball-classic","tag-baseball","tag-baseball-fans","tag-baseball-fans-kansas-city","tag-baseball-game","tag-baseball-night","tag-baseball-viewing","tag-baseball-watch-party-kc","tag-bobby-witt-jr-defense-highlights","tag-bobby-witt-jr-highlights","tag-bobby-witt-jr-stats","tag-bobby-witt-jr-team-usa","tag-bobby-witt-jr","tag-caglianone-ops-italy","tag-championship","tag-crowd","tag-fan","tag-fan-reaction","tag-fans","tag-game","tag-garcia","tag-italy-cinderella-run-baseball","tag-italy-world-baseball-classic-run","tag-jac-caglianone","tag-jac-caglianone-italy-stats","tag-kansas","tag-kansas-city","tag-kansas-city-bars","tag-kansas-city-baseball-community","tag-kansas-city-baseball-fans","tag-kansas-city-baseball-scene","tag-kansas-city-fans-baseball","tag-kansas-city-royals","tag-kansas-city-royals-global-impact","tag-kansas-city-royals-wbc-players","tag-kansas-city-sports-bars","tag-kansas-city-sports-crowd","tag-kansas-city-sports-scene","tag-kansascity","tag-kansascityroyals","tag-kc-baseball-fans","tag-kc-metro","tag-kc-nightlife-watch-party","tag-kc-sports","tag-kc-sports-bars-watch-party","tag-kc-sports-crowd","tag-kc-watch-party-baseball","tag-local-sports","tag-luinder-avila-venezuela","tag-maikel-garcia-mvp-wbc","tag-maikel-garcia-stats-wbc","tag-missouri","tag-mlb","tag-mlb-players-in-wbc-2026","tag-mlb-world-baseball-classic","tag-mlb-world-baseball-classic-recap","tag-mvp","tag-ops","tag-other-side","tag-pasquantino-home-runs-wbc","tag-perez","tag-royals","tag-royals-fan-reaction","tag-royals-fan-reaction-kc","tag-royals-fan-support","tag-royals-game","tag-royals-global-spotlight","tag-royals-global-stage","tag-royals-international-players","tag-royals-players","tag-royals-players-international-stage","tag-royals-players-performance-wbc","tag-royals-players-wbc","tag-royals-players-world-baseball-classic","tag-royals-prospects-international-play","tag-royals-spring-training-players","tag-royals-watch-party","tag-royals-watch-party-kc","tag-royals-wbc-performance","tag-salvador-perez","tag-salvador-perez-leadership-venezuela","tag-salvador-perez-royals","tag-salvador-perez-salvy","tag-salvador-perez-salvy-royals","tag-salvador-perez-venezuela-captain","tag-salvador-perez-venezuela-team","tag-salvy","tag-sports","tag-sports-crowd","tag-sports-fans","tag-sports-fans-kc","tag-sports-news","tag-standout-tournament","tag-team","tag-team-usa","tag-team-usa-baseball","tag-team-usa-bobby-witt-jr","tag-team-usa-wbc-roster-2026","tag-usa","tag-usa-vs-venezuela-baseball","tag-usa-vs-venezuela-wbc","tag-venezuela","tag-venezuela-baseball-team","tag-venezuela-beats-usa-3-2","tag-venezuela-first-wbc-title","tag-venezuela-salvador-perez","tag-venezuela-vs-usa-wbc-final","tag-venezuela-wbc-championship","tag-vinnie-pasquantino","tag-vinnie-pasquantino-italy-wbc","tag-watch-party","tag-wbc","tag-wbc-2026-results","tag-wbc-final","tag-wbc-final-kansas-city","tag-wbc-mvp-garcia-royals","tag-wbc-title","tag-witt","tag-world-baseball-classic","tag-world-baseball-classic-final","tag-world-baseball-classic-final-score"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629792","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=629792"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/629792\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/629793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=629792"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=629792"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=629792"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}