World Classic 2026: Dominican players frustrated with arbitration
The Dominican Republic was eliminated from the World Classic with a strike called by the umpire that was four inches outside the strike zone.
MIAMI — Two hours after an erroneous ball-and-strike call ended the Dominican Republic’s participation in the World Baseball Classic, the players emerged from the team’s locker room with smiles, music and a message.
The smiles hid the pain of the 2-1 loss suffered Sunday night, which sent the United States team to the final of the World Classic; The music accompanied them as they walked through the hallway of LoanDepot Park towards the team bus; and the message came from star Juan Soto, who preferred to evaluate the tournament as a whole instead of focusing solely on the last match.
“We showed the world which is the best team in baseball,” Soto told AM850. “That’s all I have to say.”
Soto’s frustration – as well as that of his teammates – was palpable after home plate umpire Cory Blaser called a maximum count slider (3-2) by American closer Mason Miller against Dominican shortstop Geraldo Perdomo as a strike, even though the pitch was clearly below the strike zone. The decision came one inning after Soto struck out without swinging on a slider that also fell below the zone, although not to the same extent as Perdomo, who had had a brilliant seven-pitch at-bat before that eighth pitch ended the Dominicans’ dreams of taking home the World Classic championship.
“I knew 100% that it was ball,” Perdomo told AM850. “I knew it.”
While the Americans celebrated what had otherwise been an intense and tense exhibition of elite baseball between the two most talented countries in the world, the outcome left a bitter taste in the Dominicans, for whom the World Classic is as important as the Olympic Games. Even more frustrating was the fact that the automated ball-and-strike challenge system – which will debut in the Major Leagues this season precisely to correct these types of officiating errors – is not being used in the World Classic.
In 2023 – the year the pitch clock was introduced in Major League Baseball – the World Classic also did not implement this rule. In order for the automated balls and strikes system (ABS) to work accurately in Major League Baseball this season, the league took height measurements of each player in order to assign them a personalized strike zone. Doing the same for the World Classic would have required taking measurements of the players from the 20 countries participating in the tournament, as well as implementing the technological system used for refereeing in Japan and Puerto Rico.
“It’s part of the game,” Nelson Cruz, general manager of the Dominican Republic, told AM850. “He missed by inches. In a few years we’ll have ABS, so hopefully next time we can challenge plays like that.
“This event is really good for baseball. You have the regular fans who love the game, and you have people who normally don’t pay attention to it, and you’re bringing them in.”
The attention has been notable, particularly around the Dominican team, full of stars and, even more, energy and enthusiasm. The Dominican Republic broke the World Baseball Classic record for home runs in a single tournament when Junior Caminero hit a home run off American ace Paul Skenes, making the score 1-0 in their favor. The United States managed to come back thanks to home runs by Gunnar Henderson and Roman Anthony. And the game was left in the hands of the bullpens; Team USA’s powerful relief corps managed to neutralize a Dominican squad that had dominated during the group stage and in its quarterfinal victory.
The crowd of 36,337, strongly pro-Dominican, booed the erroneous third strike decision against Soto and angrily protested the one ruled against Perdomo; The latter reproached Blaser – who, otherwise, led a consistent and solid game behind the plate – that the umpire knew it was a ball.
“It was a lot,” said Perdomo, who earlier in the count had seen a slider similar to the pitch that was the subject of the wrong call called as a ball, and who had also fouled out two consecutive 101 mph pitches with two strikes in the count to stay alive. “It was the whole tournament on the line, but we didn’t lose the game right then and there. That’s part of the game, and I hope we do better next time.”
That next time could come in the Olympic Games, if Major League Baseball and the players manage to reach an agreement that allows major leaguers to participate in the Los Angeles Games in 2028. The next edition of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) has not yet been scheduled, but the success obtained has filled both the players and MLB executives with satisfaction.
The United States team will face the winner of Monday’s semifinal – between Italy and Venezuela – in the WBC final to be played on Tuesday.
