World Baseball Classics: Five Pros who have already set world records
Baseball fans won’t have to wait for MLB Opening Night to get their fix of professional ball – the World Classics are in town, and the buildup for tonight is bigger and better than ever.
Founded in 2005, The World Baseball Classic is a premier international baseball tournament operated as a joint venture between Major League Baseball and its Players Association.
Every four years, the competition showcases the best players in the world, who compete for their home countries and territories- very much like the Olympic Games.
In past Japan and the Dominican Republic have dominated the WBC, but this year, we’ll see if any underdogs make it to the Championship Round in Los, Angeles California (USA).
In anticipation for the first round of games, we’re highlighting a few noteworthy record titles of successful players who have made the cut for WBC rosters.
Yadier Molina – Puerto Rico
Many passionate fans know that Yadier Molina plays for the St. Louis Cardinals; but they might not know he holds an impressive record title in junction with his two older siblings. The Molina brothers have two things in common: one, that they are all catchers for major league baseball, and two, that they are Most siblings to win the baseball World Series. Yadier and his brothers Jose and Bengie have each won the baseball World Series, with Yadier being the most recent winner with the St Louis Cardinals in 2011. José and Bengie won their first set of rings back in 2002, as they both played for the Los Angeles Anaheim Angels who dominated the World Series. Jose then won his second ring 2009 with the New York Yankees, and Bengie as part of the San Francisco Giants triumph in 2010. Together, the siblings have a combined total of six World Series rings. Although Yadier will be the only brother representing Puerto Rico in this year’s Classics, we’ll see if he adds a silver WBC trophy to the Molina brothers’ notable achievements.
Nelson Cruz – Dominican Republic
Multi-record holder Nelson Cruz has had quite an accomplished pro-baseball career. With three world record titles, he is surely one of the top rightfielders to represent his home nation of Dominican Republic in this year’s Classics. The top-performing hitter earned all three of his Guinness World Records titles in 2011, when he played for the Texas Rangers. The first was Most home runs hit in a single postseason, in which Cruz equalled the mark of eight set by players Carlos Beltran and Barry Bonds only a few years prior. Following that, he also had the Most runs batted in in a postseason series at 13, while playing against the Detroit Tigers (USA) in the 2011 American League Championship Series. In that same game, he crowned his triumphs with another record title for Most home runs hit in a postseason series at six, a difficult accomplishment for even the best of players.
Giancarlo Stanton – USA
Rightfielder Giancarlo made headlines back in 2014, when he received the world’s Largest MLB contract for a baseball player. At a whopping $325 million, Giancarlo agreed to play for the Miami Marlins over the course of the 13 as reported on November 18, 2014. Stanton first made his debut in 2010 for the Marlins, and has already hit 154 home runs in his five-year career. He is a two-time All Star (2012 and 2014) and in 2014 he was the NL home run champion with 37 home runs. Stanton's deal is reportedly the largest in US sporting history and the length of the deal makes it likely to be the largest deal in any sport surpassing the best paid football players and Formula One drivers. The highest annual salary in the MLB is still earned by Miguel Cabrera who signed a 10-year deal worth $292 million earlier in 2014.
Adrian Beltre – Dominican Republic
Another MLB player that will be standing for Dominican Republic is third baseman Adrian Beltre, who has the record for Most times hitting for the cycle. The cycle is a baseball feat achieved when a batter hits a single, double, triple and home run (in any order) in the same game. Only three other players in history have matched Adrian’s three times, including John Reilly, Babe Herman and Bob Meusel. However, Adrian is the first non-American to have accomplished this feat, bringing some preliminary national pride to his home nation before the WBC even begins.
Bartolo Colon – Dominican Republic
Bartolo Colon has been in the game quite a long time; his attendance to this year’s Classics is a reflection of his impressive pitching skills. While the player excels on the mound, his batting skills took a bit to catch up. He currently stands as the record holder for the Oldest Major League Baseball player to hit his first career home run at 42 years 349 days. Colon hit his first major league home run while playing for the New York Mets (USA) in a 6–3 victory against the San Diego Padres in 2016. Although his record has only recently been achieved, we’ll see if he racks up anymore