Written by Matt Snyder at CBS Sports.com
Team USA won the World Baseball Classic on Wednesday night, 8-0 over Puerto Rico, in no small part to starting pitcher Marcus Stroman. The diminutive hurler dealt for six-plus scoreless innings, giving up on a only single hit while striking out three and walking one. He got grounder after grounder and induced soft contact all night.
Stroman ended up going home as the World Baseball Classic MVP.
In three starts for USA, he posted a 2.35 ERA and 0.91 WHIP. His 14 1/3 innings pitched tied for the most in the entire tournament and, well, he was arguably the best player in the championship game.
We’d be remiss to not dig deeper here. Stroman actually had a no-hitter going into the seventh in the finals before Angel Pagan broke it up with a double down the left-field line.
Stroman’s never bashful out there. It’s one of the things that makes him so fun to watch. He’ll get into the game with everything he’s got, including outward emotion.
There was a particular swagger in this one — the shoulder shimmy! — to the point that it seemed like there was a chip on his shoulder. Maybe I’m only saying that because of the background, but that’s because there is relevant background.
You see, Stroman is a born-and-raised American, but his mother was born in Puerto Rico. As such, he was eligible to play for Puerto Rico and chose USA instead. Some dug up this tweet from 2013 to hold against Stroman:
Hopefully have the chance to represent my mom @aya11763 and Puerto Rico in the next World Baseball Classic! That would be unreal. #latinoboy
— Marcus Stroman (@MStrooo6) September 13, 2013
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