“Me and Roman were like, ‘Man, it’s going to be a little different going back to Fort Myers after this,’ ” Whitlock said.
Still, the Sox have found reason to be excited about how their players have performed on an elevated March stage. As a group, they have had a spectacular tournament.
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“It is amazing seeing my teammates doing a really good job in this tournament, because that gives them the opportunity to be ready for the season,” said Abreu. “If they keep doing that, we’re gonna have a really good season with the Red Sox.”
Outfielder Wilyer Abreu has been a key contributor to finalist Venezuela. Lynne Sladky/Associated Press
Anthony, who’d been unable to experience the playoffs last year due to the oblique injury that ended his year, has been one of the best players on the field for a loaded Team USA. His .318/.423/.591 line — along with a go-ahead, left-on-left homer in the semifinals against the Dominican Republic — reinforced the sense that he’s a budding star.
“Playing in this game and playing in this tournament the way he has has obviously showed everybody what we all know about him,” said Team USA (and former Sox) teammate Alex Bregman. “I feel like he’s going to be one of the best players in the game of baseball for a long, long time. I feel like there will be many playoff runs for him, and he’ll lead many teams to the postseason.”
Abreu authored a seminal moment in the tournament and in Venezuelan baseball history with his go-ahead homer (and epic bat flip) against Japan in the quarterfinals. Jarren Duran was electric for Mexico, slashing .333/.412/1.000 with three homers. Masataka Yoshida (.375/.444/.813) excelled for Japan. Nate Eaton even took Tarik Skubal deep for Great Britain, and slashed .316/.316/.579.
Anthony, mindful of suggestions the Sox will be power-deficient, took some amusement at the show of muscle by his Boston teammates in the tournament, and what it might say about the adequacy of their thump.
“I mean, the bar isn’t very high. Nobody seems to think any of us has any power, or any of us is going to hit many home runs,” said Anthony. “So it’s easy [to exceed expectations] when the bar is set low.
“It’s funny, but we know the players that we are, and we know how we work, and we believe in our ability and what we can do, what we’re going to do this year. When [you] look at all these guys [in the WBC], I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised.”
Added Whitlock: “We know we’ve got juice.”
The eye-opening performances haven’t been limited to the batter’s box. Whitlock (three scoreless innings with five strikeouts entering Tuesday) was dominant in the late innings, including in a perfect inning of work in the semifinals.
“Garrett Whitlock doesn’t get enough love,” said Team USA manager Mark DeRosa. “He’s one of the best relievers in the sport.”
Team USA manager Mark DeRosa called Red Sox righty Garrett Whitlock “one of the best relievers in the sport.”Ashley Landis/Associated Press
Greg Weissert was equally impressive as the closer for Team Italy, firing 3⅓ scoreless innings and recording a tournament-high three saves. Brayan Bello allowed one hit and struck out seven over five innings in his start for the Dominican.
There were exceptions. Both Contreras and Suarez had only limited playing time in the tournament, and will now have to get on an accelerated track to be ready for the start of the season.
That said, in nearly every WBC game, it felt like there was a noteworthy contribution from a member of the Red Sox — making the tournament something of a showcase for the team’s potential. The players hope they’ll be able to carry the energy of what they’ve experienced — and their on-field production — into the regular season.
“It’s not surprising to see what these guys are doing,” said Anthony. “It’s not surprising to see a guy like Wilyer hit a ball into the second deck. But to see him and the passion for his country, this event brings out the best in you. To see that, you can’t help but be excited as a Red Sox player, as a fan, whatever it may be, watching everyone do their thing.”
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Alex Speier can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @alexspeier.
