Team USA captain and Angels star Mike Trout was at the center of the ending to the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday night, as he stepped into the batter’s box with two outs in the ninth to face his MLB teammate, Team Japan pitcher Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani got the better of Trout, striking out the star outfielder to capture the World Baseball Classic for Japan.
The two major league teammates will now go and work together to try to lead the Angels to the playoffs in the American League West, but on Wednesday morning, Trout was still reflective about his time leading Team USA.
“It’s hard to sum into words what these last couple of weeks have meant to me,” Trout tweeted. “I had the time of my life representing that USA on my chest! The energy was electric and made the WBC a moment I’ll always cherish. So thank you all so much. It was an honor to be your captain.”
Although Trout and the United States fell one game shy of their goal of a WBC championship, the run to the top of the baseball world will always be remembered by the Angels outfielder, who earlier called the title matchup the biggest game he’s ever played in.
Now he and Ohtani will prepare for the major league baseball season together, with Opening Day just under two weeks away.
