Team USA Nears One of the Most Embarrassing Moments in Its Baseball History

By Muhammad MubashirPublished On 12 Mar 2026

Team USA is on the verge of one of the most embarrassing exits in World Baseball Classic history and, at this point, there’s nothing the Americans can do about it.

After a shocking 8-6 defeat to Italy on Tuesday, a game that saw the Americans fall behind 8-0 before trying to rally in the final innings, Team USA will be stuck watching Italy-Mexico on Wednesday night to determine whether a pre-tournament favorite can continue into the quarterfinals or if the squad is to make a shock tournament exit.

This American team was constructed with nothing less than winning in mind. Going out in pool play, for the first time in the tournament’s 20-year history, would be an incredible upset of a group that was thought to be baseball’s answer to the Dream Team.

Not only would it be shocking for the nation who called baseball “the national pastime” to be sent home before the knockout rounds, it would also mean arguably the tournament’s top team being eliminated and ending its attempt at avenging a loss to Japan in the 2023 final. The field would be wide open for teams like the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and defending champion Japan.

Beyond the play on the field, there are real questions over whether manager Mark DeRosa understood his team’s qualification status and purposely picked a weaker lineup against the Italians and Team USA went from tournament favorite to the verge of being a laughingstock in the span of about four hours on Tuesday.

Here’s what you need to know about Team USA’s current predicament and how the team can still keep its World Baseball Classic bid going.

Wait, the USA got beat by Italy?

So, let’s start with the results on the field. Yes, Team USA and its roster of stars like Aaron Judge were defeated by the Italian national team. But it’s not like these are some random guys who grew up tossing around a baseball among the olive trees of Tuscany.

Italy shortstop Sam Antonacci celebrates with teammates after a home run against the United States on Tuesday night. 

Ashley Landis/AP

The World Baseball Classic has incredibly loose rules on what allows a player to qualify to play for one of the national teams. That means that the Italian team is full of American-born players who have some connection to Italy through one of their parents, and most of them are playing in the major leagues.

Still, that 8-6 loss could have been much, much worse – it was 8-0 after five-and-a-half innings – and there might be a reason for that.