Team USA almost missed the World Baseball Classic knockout round after a brutal loss to Italy. Embarassingly, team manager Mark DeRosa was proudly touting that his club had already punched its way into the knockout round prior to the loss.
“It’s weird, we want to win this game even though our ticket’s punched to the quarterfinals,” the manager said at the time. “The way the schedule lines up, this is an important game for us.”
Luckily for the United States, it snuck in. Team USA has made the most of the opportunity and will be competing against Venezuela in the final on Tuesday evening. However, Outkick’s Clay Travis had a rather incredulous suggestion before Venezuela punched its ticket to the final.
“If Venezuela beats Italy tonight then President Trump should 100% throw out the opening pitch for the WBC Final in Miami tomorrow. Can you imagine that reception from both Venezuela and US fans in south Florida? Would be iconic,” Travis wrote on Twitter.
If Venezuela beats Italy tonight then President Trump should 100% throw out the opening pitch for the WBC Final in Miami tomorrow. Can you imagine that reception from both Venezuela and US fans in south Florida? Would be iconic.
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) March 17, 2026
Fans reacted to the suggestion on social media.
“These are the same people that say ‘keep politics out of sports’ when liberal athletes speak out,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“I can’t think of anything worse than that fat prick showing up,” antother person, who clearly is not a fan of Trump, added.
“The first pitch? This dude has a war to manage. He don’t have time for baseball. We have lost lives,” one fan added.
It’s clear that Trump’s priority needs to be elsewhere right now and strange of Travis to suggest such a thing when American lives are at stake internationally.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.