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MIAMI -- Major League Baseball players have not taken part in the Olympics (not yet, at least). So, as far as international competition goes, the World Baseball Classic is the only time to see the very best players in the world compete for their countries. The 2026 iteration has been action-packed and joyous. It has shown just how much international competition matters to both players and fans. And there's still one game remaining.

It's Team USA vs. Venezuela for the championship on Tuesday night in Miami. Team USA has one of the first five World Baseball Classics, back in 2017. Venezuela has now gotten further than ever before, having finished in third place in 2023. 

To witness the event live has been an absolute pleasure. There's no comparison to any other game. I've been to over 75 World Series games. It's always amazing, but it's also always a very partisan crowd. The USA-Dominican Republic semifinal on Sunday night was nearly evenly divided, with the crowd bringing the noise for both teams. The energy from the Dominican fans was relentless and, as a result, USA fans naturally started cheering louder themselves. You just can't really see something like that when there's a true home team in Major League Baseball. 

I know that many American baseball fans care more about their favorite MLB team, and that won't change any time soon. But there's something really fun about getting to cheer for all the best players. It's like getting to root for Steph Curry in the Olympics. If you're a Pirates fan, for example, you get to be excited about Paul Skenes taking the ball, but you also get to see root for guys like Aaron Judge and Bobby Witt Jr. That's all kinds of fun.

In the Team USA-D.R. game, there were many big moments when the crowd was standing, as if this was a college basketball student section. On Monday, when a Venezuela hitter got a bases-empty single against Italy, it felt as loud as a regular-season MLB crowd would get for a lead-changing home run in the late innings. I'm not kidding. It was deafening when Gleyber Torres singled in the second inning. And then the Eugenio Suárez home run? The seventh-inning comeback? The final out? Get outta here. It was absurd. Take a look (and a listen): 

After the game, it was absolutely unhinged. I went down to the main concourse and the Venezuelan fans did not disappoint. They were still going strong a good half hour after the final out. A few shots from on the scene: 

I've honestly never seen anything like this. 

Again, you just won't see stuff like this in the next several months, no matter where you watch baseball. 

Judge said the crowd Sunday was louder than any World Series game he experienced and he just played in the Fall Classic in 2024 in Dodger Stadium and Yankee Stadium.

"It's been bigger," he said. "The World Series I was in. The crowd here, the crowd we had when we played Mexico. It's bigger and better than the World Series. The passion these fans have. There's nothing like it."

It wasn't just here, either. Shohei Ohtani's mere existence in Japan causes a rock-star like atmosphere. I spoke with reporters who covered the games in Japan and one compared it to Beatlemania. Ohtani one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, and he's theirs, and they only get to see him a few times a year. 

The crowds in Houston were electric, particularly during the USA-Mexico game, as Judge said. But things always pick up steam as an event progresses. The semifinals here in Miami were truly breathtaking.

I've been to many All-Star Games, but I've never seen such a vast variety of jerseys and other team gear. I saw jerseys from several countries that didn't even qualify for the quarterfinals (including Chinese Taipei!). People were walking around with flags draped over their shoulders and in all kinds of crazy outfits.

The international flavor is all over the place. I mean that in more ways than one, because check this out: 

(The Dominican Republic wins this contest, for me).

Walking around outside the ballpark both before and after the game is like seeing one huge block party after another. 

This is, of course, also about the players and managers and coaches representing their countries. This isn't for a hefty paycheck, it's for national pride. 

There was a big spot in Sunday's game when Fernando Tatis Jr. was coming to the plate with runners on base for the Dominican Republic. Junior Caminero ran out of the dugout to scream in Tatis' face in order to get him fired up for the at-bat. Again, you just don't see that in regular-season MLB action. 

"Everyone should know that the whole country of Venezuela will be paying attention to a team of 30 players, 10 to 12 coaches, 12 people working in the operational part," Venezuela manager Omar López said Monday. "We are ready so that we are all together to win. They who are watching on the screen can celebrate together.

"God willing, we want to give that joy to the people. That would make us very happy because that way, we would be contributing to the mental health, life of our people in Venezuela."

Said Mets pitcher Nolan McLean, who will get the start in Tuesday's title game: "I think you're crazy if you don't want to do this, honestly. Just getting the opportunity to put USA on your chest and go out there and compete with honestly the best players in the world, I think it's an unbelievable experience for me."

"For me, it is [the biggest stage in baseball]," USA manager Mark DeRosa added. "I think it's where your feet are, right, at the moment. I've been involved with this since 2023, and in trying to recruit players like Nolan, you try and give them an idea of what it's going to be like.

"I credit the other countries as well, the Latin American countries, Japan, all around the world. (Sunday) night was such a crazy, crazy good environment to be a part of. Looking at the lineup card before the game started and walking down the tunnel out, you just look at all the names. I don't think that there's ever been a game that's had that much talent both sides of the field, and just high-level play, great defense, great pitching, just great energy throughout."

Seeing all the different teams embrace different cultures is always fun, too. How about the espresso machine in the Italy dugout? Or this Venezuelan dance party? 

I've more than caught the fever. I know it wouldn't be quite as special if it happened more often, but I really don't want to wait several more years. The 2028 Olympics might have MLB players, but it would be a smaller field of teams. The next WBC won't arrive until 2030. Can't we just do this again next year?