The US Settled For Silver

After one of the weirdest Olympics in recent history due to the ongoing pandemic, the United States baseball team battled the hosting team, Japan, for the gold medal Saturday. The U.S. sought a win against the team that beat them 7-6 just five days prior. Unfortunately, the U.S. could not get runs on the board and dropped the Gold Medal game, 2-0. While the U.S. had strong pitching, with a team ERA of 1.58, their bats struggled to keep up with the Japanese All-Star lineup.

U.S. bats struggled with runners in scoring position, something I’m all too familiar with as a New York Mets fan, with them going 0-4 against Japan. However, hitting for both teams proved to be extremely difficult, and the star pitching matchup was enjoyable for a Gold Medal match. 

“Our team played really under such different circumstances than they usually face back in the states in a normal season. Every game was a Game 7,” manager Mike Scioscia said in a post-game interview. “We got within a couple breaks of winning the Gold Medal.”

Before anyone says anything about the strength of the U.S. team, just know that the professional baseball league in Japan, the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league, halted their season for the Olympics so that their top-level players could compete. So for a veteran-rookie squad, I’d say it’s one of the best U.S. rosters we’ve seen in a while.

And hey, while we did not come out on top, these veterans and newcomers put on a show, especially in the year that baseball finally made a return to the Olympics. So, although we will not see baseball in the next few Olympics, let’s take a minute and see who hit it out of the park at the 2020 Olympics.

Superlatives

MVP — LHP Anthony Gose

Personally, I think relief pitchers have probably the most challenging job in the sport, and everyone ends up hating them regardless of how well they do. It is undeniable, though, the talent that Columbus Clippers Triple AAA affiliate Anthony Gose showed to win crucial games, such as the game to send them to the Gold Medal match vs. South Korea.

Brought in the game to clean up the mistakes of the U.S. pitchers in the seventh with one having just scored, two on and one out, the game was indeed headed downhill, even after leading 5-1. Gose went on to strike out the next two batters. He was arguably one of the best relief pitchers in the entire Olympics, and while I may throw people with my pick, I certainly think he deserves more credit than he’s been given.

Best Pitcher — RHP Nick Martinez

While some of you may say I’m slightly biased, Martinez performed exceptionally well for the innings he pitched. Starting the Gold Medal match, he recorded six innings, with seven strikeouts and one earned run. Across his two tournament starts, Martinez recorded 11 innings, with 16 strikeouts and two earned runs. While the U.S. is super excited to bring the Silver Medal home, Martinez will stay in Japan, where he will be playing in Japan’s NPB.

The Next Best Thing — 1B Triston Casas

No surprise here — the 21-year-old Boston Red Sox prospect led the team in home runs (3) and RBIs (8). In the games where the U.S. struggled to put numbers on the board, Casas showed his impressive hitting abilities and proved to be a reliable hitter, even in the clutch.

In an interview with USA Today, Casas discussed what it felt like being drafted to the U.S. Olympic team and the reactions of his former teammates. 

“They know how much it meant to me to want to be on this team,” Casas said. “I think they’ve been really open to wanting me to play at this high level. All kudos to them to letting me play at this high level, they could have held me back in Double-A.” 

Who knows, maybe we’ll be seeing him on the 40-man roster for the Red Sox in no time.

Best Vet — DH Tyler Austin

You may remember Austin from his stints with the New York Yankees and the Milwaukee Brewers, and now, most recently, his transition into the NPB. During this year’s Olympics, Austin led the MLB veterans coming just shy of Casas for leading in home runs and RBIs. Before the final game against Japan, Austin was hitting .429 and, funny enough, got to close out his Olympic run at his current home stadium of the Yokohama DeNA Bay Stars.

All-Star Lineups

Aside from my opinions, many USA Baseball players also made the All Olympic Roster, aka the Olympic All-Star team. The U.S. led in All Olympic nominations with five total players. The names included Gose, Casas, 2B Eddy Alvarez, Austin and SS Nick Allen, who took home the best defensive player title in the Olympics.

Other positions featured players from various teams, including Japanese RHP Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dominican 3B Erick Mejia and Israeli RF Mitch Glasser. Sorry to Mexico, who unfortunately did not land a single All Olympic Roster pick. They had it bad this tournament and hopefully can bounce back on the main stage soon.

Believe it or not, baseball was one of the most anticipated sports in this Olympics, especially in the host country. While the Olympics this year featured no fans due to the global pandemic, close to several hundred staff members and volunteers attended and cheered on Japan at the Gold Medal game. Everything else aside, it’s amazing how excited people were for the sport to make its return, and I can only hope the U.S. gets another shot at gold sometime soon.

Cover photo courtesy of Koji Watanabe/Getty Images