MLB Showdown Obsession

 Texas baseball had recently seen success, but for the longest time it had a less prestigious track record. The Astros in the 80s struggled to win the NL West and when they did they'd always get checked in the NLCS while the Rangers never sniffed the playoffs, and before that neither team stood much of a chance. In the 90s, both teams became contenders, but teams like the Yankees and Braves proved to be too overpowered for them. In the 2000s, the Astros finally clinched a pennant but failed in the World Series while the Rangers slipped back into obscurity. The Rangers themselves finally won pennants in 2010 and 2011, but both times were on the wrong end of the fall classic result. Finally in 2017, the Astros put Texas on top of the baseball world, but their cheating scandal put a huge asterisk on all their accomplishments. What Texas needed was a clean title to brag about. In 2023, the Astros were reigning champions, but nobody was accepting it as clean. The Rangers went into the s...

 Japan may have been the 2 time champions going into the 2013 WBC, but neither time were they unbeatable. The Dominican Republic had a chance to dominate in a way that no other country would be able to say that "they got lucky!" The Dominican Republic began by beating Venezuela 9-3, followed with a 6-3 win over Spain then just to flex handed Puerto Rico a 4-2 loss to sweep Pool C. Round 2 began with a 5-4 nailbiter win over Italy, then came the United States for the biggest test yet in the tournament. DR passed the test with a 3-1 win, punching their ticket to the semi-finals. Pool 2 play ended with a rematch against Puerto Rico, which DR won again 2-0 to sweep yet another group of games. As the only undefeated team remaining, Dominican Republic pushed aside the Netherlands 4-1 to lock up a spot in the championship game. Japan, meanwhile, finally lost a game that mattered as Puerto Rico set up a third battle, this time with more than just bragging rights on the line. Edwin En...