Maikel Garcia was consistency personified for Venezuela in its run to its first World Baseball Classic title, and he was honored for it.
The Venezuelan third baseman was named MVP of the 2026 World Baseball Classic following his nation’s 3-2 win over the USA in Tuesday’s Final. Garcia went 10 for 26 (.385) at the plate in the tournament with a home run, two doubles and seven RBIs.
None of those hits came in the championship win. However, Garcia helped Venezuela get on the board first when he hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning that scored Salvador Perez. Two innings later, outfielder Wilyer Abreu hit a solo homer that extended the lead to 2-0 before Eugenio Suarez hit the game-winning double in the top of the ninth.
Garcia had an RBI in all three of Venezuela’s elimination games. The Kansas City Royals’ budding star hit a key two-run homer in Venezuela’s quarterfinal win over Japan, which cut the lead to 5-4 at the time en route to its 8-5 win.
In Monday’s semifinal win over Italy, Garcia knocked in what would be the game-winning run with his single in the seventh inning. Garcia’s single was sandwiched between a pair of other RBI singles for Venezuela that turned a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2.
Following Venezuela’s semifinal victory, Garcia expressed his excitement over the atmosphere at the World Baseball Classic when he spoke with the FS1 postgame crew.
“Big leagues is not like this,” Garcia said. “This is amazing. This is different. I think this is going to help me to play better in the big leagues.”
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