If Maikel Garcia wasn’t a household name entering this World Baseball Classic, he sure is one leaving it.
Garcia was named the WBC MVP on Tuesday night after helping Venezuela to a tournament title with a 3-2 victory over the United States. In the clinching win, the 26-year-old from La Sabana opened the scoring for the Venezuelans, bringing home Salvador Perez with a sacrifice fly in the third inning.
It built on what was already an exceptional tournament for the third baseman, as Garcia slashed .385/.393/.577 with two doubles, one home run, seven RBIs and three stolen bases over Venezuela’s seven games.
“I’m proud to be part of this group of players and coaching staff, and I’m proud of what we did,” Garcia told Fox’s Tom Verducci in Spanish after the game as his teammates chanted “M-V-P” in the background. “I’m proud to be representing 30 million Venezuelans back in my country.”
Perhaps making the title even sweeter for Garcia was being able to win it alongside his cousin, Ronald Acuña Jr., who was the face of this Venezuelan team throughout the WBC.
Garcia was coming off a breakout season in MLB with the Kansas City Royals in 2025, where he earned his first career all-star nod and won the American League Gold Glove at third base. He ended the year with an .800 OPS, 16 homers, 39 doubles and 23 stolen bases in 160 games.
His strong showing earned him a five-year, $57.5-million extension from the Royals in December.
Garcia now joins an exclusive list of players to be named WBC MVP. Japan’s Daisuke Matsuzaka won in 2006 and 2009, the Dominican Republic’s Robinson Canó won in 2013, the USA’s Marcus Stroman won in 2017 and Japan’s Shohei Ohtani won in 2023.
