Ichiro Suzuki and his less-famous Japanese countrymen beat Cuba 10-6 in the World Baseball Classic final on Monday, ripping a page out of Cuba's scorebook by winning a major international tournament.
Cuba had won 22 of 24 games in international competition and dominated the globe for decades, but they cracked at the worst possible time against a team which qualified for the semifinals only after the US was upset by Mexico.
In the Classic's inaugural final, Japan led 6-1, Cuba rallied to within one to make it exciting, then Japan ran away for good with four runs at the top of the ninth.
When reliever Akinori Otsuka got the final out, he was mobbed near the mound by his teammates. The Japanese then tossed Sadaharu Oh, their manager, into the air twice.
"I'm unbelievably happy," Ichiro said. "To be honest, I never imagined we'd get there. We had a great team, the best. I hope we showed everyone what a great sport baseball is."
Two Cuban players posed with Suzuki for a photo.
"I never coached a team for a tournament like this, and never thought the pressure to be so high," Oh said. "Baseball is the best sport. Everyone has to work together. There is nothing more wonderful than that the Japanese players did such a wonderful job and showed that to everyone in the world."
Ichiro doubled, singled and drove in a run. He also scored three times, including in a four-run first inning that proved Cuba's pitchers are vulnerable, after all.
Cuba's fans perked up when their team, wearing its lucky red uniforms, pulled to 6-5 on a two-run homer by Frederich Cepeda with one out in the eighth. Then Otsuka came on and retired the side.
Ichiro singled in the ninth to score Munenori Kawasaki on a close play at the plate and make it 7-5. Kawasaki slid, turned and stuck his right hand just inside of catcher Ariel Pestano's left foot to -- perhaps -- touch the plate. Japan broke it open on a two-run single by pinch-hitter Kosuke Fukudome and a sacrifice fly by Michihiro Ogasawara.
Otsuka allowed a run in the ninth before closing it out for a save.
With the US failing to make it out of the second round and the Dominican Republic losing to Cuba in the semifinals, Ichiro, the Seattle Mariners' star, was the only major leaguer in the starting lineups. Otsuka is the only other US big leaguer on Japan's roster.
The Cubans consider themselves amateurs, although Miguel Tejada and Albert Pujols, who played for the Dominican Republic, said leading up to the semis that most of the Cubans could be in the US majors.
But as good as the Cubans are, Japan took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first while hitting the ball out of the infield just once.
Cuba starter Ormari Romero was on a short leash to begin with, but was yanked after throwing 23 pitches. He retired leadoff hitter Kawasaki, then loaded the bases on infield singles by Tsuyoshi Nishioka and Nobuhiko Matsunaka, and a walk to Ichiro.
Vicyhoandry Odelin came on and hit Hitoshi Tamura on the left elbow with a pitch to force in the second run, walked Ogasawara with two outs to bring in another, before Toshiaki Imae hit a sharp, two-run single up the middle to make it 4-0.
Eduardo Paret hit a leadoff homer for the Cubans in the first, but they didn't score again until the sixth, when they made it 6-3. One of Cuba's two runs that inning was unearned due to an error by shortstop Kawasaki, who earlier in the game made two brilliant plays.
Japan took a 6-1 lead by scoring twice in the fifth on three straight hits -- Ichiro's leadoff double and singles by Matsunaka and Tamura.
At first, communist Cuba was denied a permit to participate in the tournament due to decades of political animosity with the US government. And Japan kept a stiff upper lip after it appeared to be deprived of the go-ahead run in a 4-3 loss to the United Sates on March 12 in the opener of Round 2.
The tournament was considered a success, coming not long after baseball was booted from the Olympics effective in 2012.
Petco Park, the San Diego Padres' downtown ballpark, hasn't seen such a festive night since it opened in 2004.
The San Diego Symphony Orchestra played the national anthems of Japan, Cuba and the US. The Japanese players bowed after their anthem was played.
Sadaharu Oh, the Japanese hero who hit 868 homers and now manages the national team, escorted Hank Aaron to the third-base line. Aaron, whose 755 homers are the most in US major league history, went to the mound by himself to throw the ceremonial first pitch to Pestano, who had Aaron autograph the ball.
The Classic's slogan is "Baseball Spoken Here." In this case, it's yakyu, which in Japanese means "field ball."
BACK IN JAPAN
Japan's victory was met with euphoria as fans said at last their nation would get the respect it deserved on the diamond.
The title showdown with Cuba began late in the morning on a national holiday, allowing businessmen to devote their full attention to the game without being distracted by their jobs.
Japan's victory was especially sweet after last week's loss to bitter rival South Korea, which had caused many to assume Japan would be eliminated.
But a shock Mexican win over the US handed Japan a place in the final four, where it avenged that South Korean defeat to pound their rivals 6-0 and earn a place in the final.
Fans packed sports bars to cheer on the team, and streets in the downtown Shibuya area, on weekends usually jammed with young people, were notably quieter than normal.
"I just wanted to say that we proved that Japan's the best ... hell yeah," Kentaro Watanabe said. "It's great, just fantastic," added the 25-year-old advertising agency worker, who draped himself in the Japanese flag after watching the game at a Shibuya sports bar.
Watanabe and around a hundred others at the bar watched avidly until Japan finally edged Cuba 10-6, cheering when their team scored and groaning, heads in hands, when Cuba scored.
When the game ended with Japan the inaugural world champions, they jumped to their feet and set off crackers, shouting and chanting "Japan, Japan."
"I thought my heart would stop," said Kanako Miyake, also a 25-year-old ad agency worker. "But we won, so everything's fine."
In the Akihabara district, a haven for electronics buffs, people filled the streets in front of stores displaying televisions in their windows, hanging on every move and clapping when Japan's victory became clear.
"I think that this win may bring Japanese young people back to baseball," said a beaming Miyake.
DOWN IN CUBA
A stunned silence fell across hundreds of baseball fans crowded around a giant outdoor television screen in Parque Central early Tuesday as they watched Japan beat Cuba 10-6 in the World Classic final.
Earlier in the evening, the fans sang and danced to salsa music in the park, then boisterously cheered on their struggling team.
"It hurts, it hurts a lot," Alexei Serrano said after Cuba's defeat.
"Cuba lacked batting and speed, but I'm still proud of my team," added his twin brother, Alberto.
Both men were among at the park, where sports fans gather daily to loudly argue about teams and players.
Cuban state television carried the ESPN broadcast of all the games live across this island of 11.2 million, but the giant screen wasn't erected until the final.
In recent days, euphoria about Cuba's chances of success in the inaugural World Classic was hyped up after the team's dramatic 4-3 win over Puerto Rico at the end of the second round, and its 3-1 win over the Dominican Republic in Saturday's semifinals.
"Cuba has overcome the best players in the world," said fan Jorge Perez.
Ives Luciano said he wasn't happy about the final result, "but I'm not disillusioned either, because we won with honor."
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