Eliminated!

Great Britain Loses to Mexico 2-1 

PHOENIX, AZ, USA – Mexico is may very well be the best team in pool C of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

The team, brimming with Major League talent, handed an overpowered USA squad their only loss of the group stage of the tournament when they beat them demonstratively on Saturday, 11-5. 

After throttling a team with Major League all-stars and a couple of hall of famers, putting away an upstart Great Britain team one day removed from its first win in WBC history, featuring a group of young prospects, Bahamian Minor leaguers whose best player and only full-time Major Leaguer is a 9 hitter, should have been easy work, right? 

Conventional wisdom would tell us that Great Britain wouldn’t have a chance against Mexico, especially not playing in front of a Mexico-friendly crowd in a home state that borders Mexico. Despite these disadvantages, they managed to battle Mexico until the very end, Before losing 2-1

Taijuan Walker, a Major League all-star in 2021 got the start for Mexico. He kept the British bats cool, pitching 4 innings, surrendering only 1 hit and one walk while managing to strike out 8 hitters total. 

A British platoon of Joseph King and Ryan Long managed to fight Walker to a near standstill, pitching 4 innings, giving up 1 run in the 2nd when Isaac Paredes scored on an infield single by Alexis Wilson. 

Great Britain’s Bahamian players would tie the game in the top of the 6th when Chavez Young scored on an infield single by BJ Murray, their only score in the game. 

The pitching dual would continue into the 7th when Wilson would drive in a single to left field off Grand Bahama’s Tahnaj Thomas to drive Alan Trejo for the go-ahead run. 

The Bahamian bats for Great Britain had a quiet night against Mexico’s pitchers. Chavez Young and BJ Murry both when 1-4. D’Shawn Knowles got in as a PH/DH going 0-2. Anfernee Seymour went 1-3 with a single. Young also stole 3rd base in the 5th inning for his 5th steal in the series, giving him a tie for the record for steals 

Elite company for our fan favourite right fielder.

Young scores on Murray’s single, tying the game half way through the 6th.#LetsGoGB
🇬🇧⚾🦁 https://t.co/BK4kvbvWqu pic.twitter.com/z8heyn9Z1S

— Great Britain Baseball (@GB_Baseball) March 15, 2023

The loss eliminates Great Britain from the WBC with a record of 1-3.

The tournament may have been a rough one for the team as far as wins and losses are concerned. But the team held their own against much more well-heeled opponents (Canada game notwithstanding). The Bahamian players, most of whom are minor-league prospects, have no reason to feel ashamed. They showed, against all odds, that they belong.

Look for these players to return to their organizations with new confidence heading into the 2023 season.