What happened on the opening day of the 2023 World Baseball Classic?

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The 2023 World Baseball Classic opened unobtrusively Wednesday in Taijung, Chinese Taipei, with an indifferently played Group A contest between the teams representing Cuba and the Netherlands.

Netherlands won the battle between Group A favorites 4-2, but that wasn’t the story. The story was the absence of energy or talent — or both — displayed by the two sides, who combined to set a low bar for WBC performance going forward.

If, as is widely assumed, these are the two best teams in the Taiwan-based group, then the rest of the tournament field has little to fear from whoever emerges out of Group A.

In a languidly played game lasting three hours and seven minutes, the Cubans managed only three base hits off a half-dozen Netherlands pitchers, none of whom you’ve likely ever heard of. To the credit of the Cubans, two of those hits — a second-inning single by Yadil Mujica and a seventh-inning double by Yoelkis Guibert — contributed to their team’s only two runs.

Netherlands batters delivered the more timely blows, particularly in a three-run sixth inning that decided the game. After Didi Gregorius opened the inning with a walk, Jonathan Schoop singled, and Josh Palacios drove home Gregorius with the go-ahead run. Catcher Chadwick Tromp, who aspires to a role with the 2023 Atlanta Braves, provided the eventual winning margin with a double that scored both Schoop and Palacios.

Other than that one sustained outburst, however, the more experienced Netherlands lineup (which includes current or recent big leaguers Xander Bogaerts, Schoop, Tromp, Jurickson Profar, Gregorius, and Andrelton Simmons) did little against five Cuban pitchers. Netherlands hitters produced only three singles in the remainder of the game while striking out 13 times in eight innings.

The game’s stars-on-paper generally came up small. The two bona fide major leaguers on Cuba’s roster, Chicago White Sox regulars Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert, combined for a double and a walk in eight plate appearances and Robert followed that eighth-inning double by being picked off second by Tromp.

Robert struck out in his other three plate appearances, including in the first inning after Netherlands starter Tom DeBlok walked the first two batters he faced.

Randy Arozarena, shown in a recent spring game, chose to play for Mexico rather than his native Cuba. Dave Nelson-USA TODAY Sports /

The World Baseball Classic team that wasn’t

Cuban cleanup hitter and once-feared major leaguer Yoenis Cespedes walked twice and grounded out in his other two at-bats.

Aside from that sixth0inning outburst, the Netherlands stars didn’t fare much better. Bogaerts, the recently enriched shortstop, struck out twice and grounded out to complete an 0-for-4 afternoon, failing to advance runners in three of those four at bats.

Probably the most noteworthy aspect of the game was the number of current Major League players eligible to play for Cuba who (for one reason or another) did not join Moncada and Robert on the field Wednesday. That extensive list included, but was not limited to, Jose Abreu, Randy Arozarena, Yordan Alvarez, Nestor Cortes, Aledmys Diaz, Yandy Diaz, Adolis Garcia, Yasmani Grandal, Lourdes Gurriel, Raisel Iglesias, and Jorge Soler.

Cuba fans could only dream of what might have been had the team on the field Wednesday included Soler, Alvarez, Arozarena and Garcia rather than Roel Santos, Yadir Drake, Guibert, and Mujica.

Cortes had elected to play for the U.S., but was ruled out due to concerns about a hamstring injury. Arozarena opted to play for Mexico instead, and Abreu — who made his name playing for Cuba in a previous WBC‚— chose to stay in spring camp with his new MLB team, the Houston Astros.

Panama’s Ruben Tejada celebrates a run-producing hit against Chinese Taipei. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images) /

World Baseball Classic: Panama vs. Chinese Taipei

Wednesday’s other World Baseball Classic opening game — also played in Taijung between Panama and Chinese Taipei — was equally unenthralling, although for entirely different reasons. The Panamanians scored 11 times in the fourth and sixth innings en route to a 12-5 blowout victory over the Group A hosts.

Mets infielder Jonathan Arauz produced two hits that drove in three runs, and he was hardly alone. Rays catcher Christian Bethancourt, Jays infielder Ruben Tejada, Mariners prospect Jose Caballero, former Tiger prospect Luis Castillo and Jahdiel Santamaria all also had two hits in the 14-hit Panama assault on a half-dozen Chinese Taipei pitchers.

The Chinese Taipei offense kept pace with Panama in one fundamental, base hits, producing 12 of them. But Taipei batters evinced an amazing ability to fail to deliver at key times, stranding 10 baserunners. Left fielder Po-Jung Wang was especially egregious in this respect, leaving six teammates on base in three hitless at-bats.

Wang grounded out with the bases loaded in the first inning, popped out with a runner on in the fourth, and flied out with runners at first and second in the fifth.

Bases on balls were another key distinction. Panama got eight of them, Chinese Taipei just three.

The Panamanian offense also operated profligately, leaving nine runners on base. But given their dozen runs, 14 base hits, eight walks, plus one hit batter and a Taipei error, they could afford the extravagance.

Play continues Wednesday night (Thursday afternoon in Asia) in Groups A and B. In Group A, Panama plays Netherlands in a game that starts at 11 p.m. Eastern time.

Australia and South Korea open Group B play in Japan at 10 p.m. Eastern in a game that can be seen on Fox Sports 1. At 5 a.m. Thursday, China plays host Japan. Meanwhile, in Group B, Italy will play Cuba at 6 a.m. Thursday.

The full schedule can be seen here.

Next. Check out these Team USA WBC bobbleheads. dark

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