Ah, America the beautiful!
Growing up in this country, we are all exposed to so many different things. Our parents influence us in so many ways as does the world around us. My family is a pretty standard American family. We have our music, our sports, and our drama. Sports is perhaps the only thing that unites all of us. Whether it's trips to Yankee Stadium or gathering around the television on Sundays, my household surely loves sports.
I was born and raised on Long Island. I am the son of a southpaw (someone who is left-handed). According to my father, he threw a screwball that tied opposing hitters in knots. He grew up here as an avid New York Yankees fan and naturally, he passed that on to his children. I was born in 1996, which many Yankees fans say is the beginning of "The Dynasty." Because of that, I am forever linked with Derek Jeter, who won five World Series over his career that ranged from 1995-2014.
I've spent most of my life being a die-hard Yankees fan. I've stuck with them through the best moments and I've stuck with them through the most heart-breaking moments. I know there's no crying in baseball, but I am not ashamed to admit that I have cried.
In 2006, it was announced that there was going to be this crazy international baseball tournament. Being ten, this was insane to me. I had no idea what the Olympics really were nor did I even know what soccer was, so the FIFA World Cup was also non-existent in my life. My favorite player, Derek Jeter, was named the captain for the United States baseball team. I was convinced that we were the best in the world because I didn't really understand that the players in this tournament came from literally all over the world, and the world had many many superstars.
The United States lost in 2006 and three years later they lost again. After two really disappointing tournaments, there seemed to be a disinterest in this country for the World Baseball Classic, as it is named. The next time the tournament rolled around, in 2013, the United States fielded a team that clearly did not have our country's "best players." As a result, we lost...again, possibly worse than the previous two times.
Fast forward to the next World Baseball Classic, which started three weeks ago. There are few people that can argue that Mike Trout, Clayton Kershaw, and Bryce Harper are mainly our country's best baseball players. For the 2017 World Baseball Classic, where were the three of these men? Not playing for the United States. They were with their respective baseball teams, which is completely understandable considering baseball season starts in about three weeks. But it's still worth noting that some of our best players didn't even want to participate in this event and represent our country.
The United States put out a team that had its biggest superstars absent. There was again a clear disinterest in this tournament for pretty much everyone. Even when the United States had fielded its best squads, we hadn't come close to winning. In the 2017 World Baseball Classic, there were teams licking their chops knowing that they were going to have extremely reasonable shots at lifting the trophy.
Against all odds, honestly, I watched a United States team roll over the largest baseball powers in the world. First, they knocked off the defending champion Dominican Republic. Then they knocked off the two-time champion Japan. And finally, the United States hammered Puerto Rico 8-0 in the final Wednesday night to win our country its first World Baseball Classic championship.
Baseball fans both young and old should be proud of the accomplishment that was achieved. We showed the world that even without "the superstars," the United States can still win. We should care that our team finally was able to put it together and win a tournament we're always supposed to be major contenders for. This also establishes the players on the team as being world-beaters. By winning the championship last night, every single player on the United States team put to rest the talk of us not fielding "our best players." Our best players got the job done. 
