Juan Soto Makes Bold Claim About Dominican Republic After Controversial Call in World Baseball Classic

Soto didn’t have quite as good of a performance this time around as he did three years ago, but he still put together a solid tournament.

However, despite his team’s exceptional efforts, the story of the tournament was the controversial call that the Dominican Republic lost on.

The United States team was leading 2-1 in the bottom of the ninth inning when closing pitcher Mason Miller threw a 3-2 slider to Arizona Diamondbacks infielder Geraldo Perdomo.

Fans all around the world could see that the pitch was well below the strike zone, but the umpire called Perdomo out anyway, ending the Dominican Republic’s impressive run in heartbreaking fashion.

The pitch was similar to one thrown to Soto earlier in the game, which also caused a strikeout and an emphatic protest from the New York Mets star.

He was asked about the controversial call after the game, just as many of his teammates and coaches were, but he chose to take a more positive approach.

Soto told reporters that the Dominican Republic, “showed the world who’s the best team in baseball.”

There’s no question that the rest of the world is beginning to catch up to the USA, as evidenced by their loss to Japan in the 2023 World Baseball Classic final, so it’s hard to fault Soto for the belief in his team.

There are major league stars all over the roster, like San Diego Padres star Fernando Tatis Jr. and Toronto Blue Jays slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr., and they flashed their talent all the way to the end.

It was a close game the entire way, with neither team leading by more than a run, and it’s anyone’s guess as to what would have happened if the pitch to Perdomo was called correctly.

The Dominican Republic will have to wait three years before they get another crack at winning it all, but Soto thinks he knows how the game against the United States would have played out.