Alex Rodriguez Had the Weirdest Line to Describe USA-Venezuela WBC Final

USA and Venezuela will play in the WBC final on Tuesday night. | @MLBonFox

Venezuela rallied back to beat Italy in a thrilling World Baseball Classic showdown on Monday night to set up what should be a very fun championship game against Team USA on Tuesday night. LoanDepot Park in Miami was rocking in the late innings as Venezuela scored three runs in the seventh and then held on for the 4-2 victory.

Now it all comes down to one game to decide the winner and it has all the makings of being an instant classic, as both Venezuela and Team USA have big names up and down their rosters and the atmosphere in these last few rounds have been electric. In fact, Aaron Judge said the crowds have been better than World Series crowds.

MORE WBC: Three Bold Predictions for Venezuela vs. USA

After Monday night’s game, Alex Rodriguez tried really hard to get fans even more excited as he compared Tuesday night’s championship game to... the Oscars?

"This is gonna be must-see TV,” Rodriguez said on Fox Sports’ postgame show. “I know we had the Oscars a couple nights ago, but this is gonna be an 'Oscars.'"

"This is gonna be must-see TV. I know we had the Oscars a couple nights ago, but this is gonna be an 'Oscars.'"@AROD is looking forward to a star-studded WBC Final tomorrow night 🍿 pic.twitter.com/P1clpqR8Vg

— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March 17, 2026

I get that Rodriguez is trying to make a relevant comparison here but there are a few things about his statement that don’t really make sense. First, he was factually wrong about the Oscars being “a couple of nights ago.” The awards show was held the night before in Los Angeles. That’s not really a big deal, of course, but it does show that if Rodriguez was so enamored by the Oscars he would have remembered when they took place.

Second, there’s just no way anyone watching tonight’s game is going to say, “This is just like the Oscars!”

The WBC championship game is going to be played in front of a screaming crowd of over 35,000 fans who will be hanging on every pitch and every crack of the bat. There will be loud chants, there will be fired-up reactions, and there might even be some dancing.

The Oscars, meanwhile, is a more subdued event with people in attendance dressed like they’re going to the prom. The awards show is full of long speeches and forced comedic lines read off of teleprompters. But hey, at least Conan O’Brien was there to bring some laughs.

Tonight’s Venezuela-USA game could be one of the most fun baseball games we’ll see all year and something fans talk about for years to come. The Oscars, meanwhile, is already old news.

How USA and Venezuela got to the WBC final

Team USA came way too close to not making it out of pool play after losing to Italy. They then got into the quarterfinals thanks to Italy’s win over Mexico. The U.S. then beat Canada, 5-3, in the quarterfinals and were able to squeak past an electric Dominican Republic team with a thrilling 2-1 victory in the semifinals.

Venezuela, meanwhile knocked out Japan, who were the defending champs, 8-5 in the quarterfinals before beating Italy.

Team USA is back in the championship game for a third straight time. They lost to Japan in 2023 after Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout to end the game. USA won its first and only WBC in 2017.

This is Venezuela’s first trip to the WBC championship game.

Tonight’s game starts at 8 p.m. ET and will be aired on Fox.

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