Venezuela's Salt Lake City Pool Play (2023)

Venezuela's 2023 WBC pool play games in Salt Lake City were a preview of the electricity that would eventually carry them to the 2026 championship. Playing in a small market that does not have an MLB team, Venezuelan fans transformed the venue into a mini-Caracas. Drums, flags, face paint, and an energy that made every game feel like a World Series.

The Venezuelan roster was stacked with MLB talent — Jose Altuve, Ronald Acuna Jr., Gleyber Torres — and they played with the kind of urgency that only a country hungry for its first WBC title can produce. Their pool play games were appointment television, drawing fans from across the country who identified with the passion and the dream.

What made Venezuela's 2023 campaign special was the team chemistry. Players who competed against each other all season in MLB were suddenly brothers, sharing meals, practicing together, and building the foundation for the culture that would eventually win the 2026 WBC. The Salt Lake City pool play was the beginning of something special.