The Pirates' tales from the World Baseball Classic ... and why it matters

SARASOTA, Fla. -- Duane Underwood Jr. was in the clubhouse at loanDepot Park getting tuned up for his next game after having just thrown a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh.

A few moments later, the clubbie started screaming.

"We were perfect! We were perfect!"

Underwood had been part of a perfect game, the first in the World Baseball Classic's history, and he didn't know it until that moment.

"I picked up the phone, looked across the stat line and we were perfect," Underwood said before the Pirates' 8-0 loss to the Orioles at Ed Smith Stadium Sunday. "It was a great moment. I got to play with a few of those guys in winter ball. It was a great experience for all of us. It was a dream."

Puerto Rico's eight inning perfect game over team Israel was technically a walk-off, as they scored their 10th run in the bottom of the eighth and triggered the mercy rule to end the tournament. Technically a perfect game requires the team to get 27 outs, but Underwood doesn't want to hear that.

"It’s a perfect game in my book, man," he said.

The Pirates sent 11 players to the World Baseball Classic (WBC) this month, representing eight different countries. They are Underwood, David Bednar (USA), Roansy Contreras (Dominican Republic), Luis Ortiz (Dominican Republic) and minor-leaguers Chavez Young (Great Britain), Rob Zastryzny (Canada), Santiago Florez (Colombia), Tahnaj Thomas (Great Britain), Tsung-Che Cheng (Chinese Taipei), Antwone Kelly (Netherlands) and Josh Palacios (Netherlands). Of that group, 10 have returned, while Bednar and team USA are still in the tournament.

For those who are back in major-league camp, the experience of pitching in the WBC produced memories that will last a lifetime.

LUIS ORTIZ, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

At this time last year, Ortiz was in the Pirates' minor-league camp and not on anyone's top prospect list. One year later, he's on the Pirates' roster and a top 100 prospect, and he got the call from the Dominican Republic to go pitch for them.

"It feels really good," Ortiz said through interpreter Stephen Morales. "I think it’s a product of my hard work through the years to put myself on the map. I think that’s what happened. They saw that on me. I went out there and like I always do over here, give my 100%."

Throughout camp, the game that has been cited most by coaches was Ortiz's start at Yankee Stadium last September. He was facing one of the toughest lineups in the game at one of the most hostile environments, but he didn't let the lights get to him. A strong performance that day left a remarkable impression on his coaches.

But pitching in the WBC? Well, that almost caused some goose bumps, especially pitching in Miami in front of the strong Latino fanbases.

"The whole community was there, but I was just trying to focus on my job on the mound and go from there. But it felt pretty much like Yankee Stadium when it comes to the fan base and energy that was in the ballpark."

Ortiz pitched two scoreless innings of relief, striking out three, showing that he can handle a world showcase. The best moment for him was walking into the game, wearing his country's jersey. As he recalled, "It was really special to walk in, into the Marlins stadium and wear the Dominican jersey. The first thing that went through my mind was my brother. I’ll dedicate this to my brother."

Ortiz revealed shortly after that his brother, Jason, passed in the Dominican two years ago.

ROANSY CONTRERAS, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Those two scoreless innings of relief by Ortiz were in support of the Dominican Republic's starter that day, Contreras. Contreras and Ortiz as a 1-2 punch? 

That doesn't sound too bad for these 2023 Pirates.

“It felt really good to have [Ortiz] on my side with the Dominican team," Contreras said via Morales. "Hopefully we’ll do the same thing with the Pirates this year."

Contreras made that start against Team Israel, where he worked around a single to toss 2 2/3 scoreless innings. In front of that Latino home crowd at loanDEPOT Park, he felt that patriotic pride while also learning how to control those emotions of pitching on a big stage.

"You’re representing your country," Contreras said. "Your family is there. That’s a really good emotion. That’s what I felt. I felt like I owed that to my family and to the Dominican to go out there and do my best."

And while Contreras is a very talented young pitcher, he was not the Dominican's ace. That title is for Sandy Alcántara, the reigning Cy Young winner.

"I talked to a lot of people, but the guy I went to was Alcántara. I asked him about his success, what it takes. He told me about his routine. Just to keep my routine and stay ready every day."

CHAVEZ YOUNG, GREAT BRITAN

Young made some history at the WBC, becoming the first player to ever steal home:

"Really, I don't consider that much of a steal home," Young admitted. "Just a good read."

Ok, so maybe it wasn't a straight steal, but that was just one of five stolen bases Young had in this WBC, becoming just the fourth player ever to do it. The other three were Tsuyoshi Nishioka of Japan, Ichiro Suzuki and Jimmy Rollins.

"Let's just sit down and think about that for a sec," Young said after hearing that stat. "It's a blessing to be around those names. Just to be in the presence of those names, Ichiro and Jimmy Rollins, is a blessing just being mentioned around them."

But his favorite moment? That was taking batting practice for the first time at Chase Field and absorbing the moment.

"When the ball hit the stands, it was like, 'oh my goodness, I'm in the stadium. A big league stadium.' It was surreal. It was my first time ever participating at any big league stadium. Felt good. The atmosphere was amazing." 

ROB ZASTRYZNY, CANADA

Zastryzny was born in Alberta, Canada, but doesn't have a lot of connection there since he moved to Texas when he was one year old. He had some Canadian home schooling from his parents, as he put it, but outside of youth tournaments growing up, he hasn't had as much connection to his home country as he would like.

"Every time I can play for team Canada, it feels like I'm getting that little bit of an experience," he said.

Now leaning into being a lefty reliever, Team Canada asked him if he could start. Zastryzny said yes, up to about 50 pitches. Normally when he enters a game, he likes to take a moment in the outfield to absorb everything that's happening. 

So in his first game against Mexico, that moment got to be a bit longer since he was pitching the first. It also ended up being more impactful.

"When I did that, I became overcome with emotions," Zastryzny said. "I didn't believe it was happening as it was happening. You don't get those moments very often."

The only other times he was star struck like that were his major-league debut and when he made the Cubs' playoff roster.

____________________

The WBC has been very popular this year, especially on the international scale. It also has sparked conversations of if major-league players should be allowed to participate. Mets closer Edwin Díaz suffered a partial tendon tear in his right knee after celebrating a save and could be out for the season. Jose Altuve is likely out for months after being hit in the hand and breaking his thumb.

Teams give guidelines for what their players are cleared to do -- can they pitch back-to-back days, how many pitches are they allowed to throw and so on -- but some bumps and bruises are expected. And some argue it's not worth the risk.

"I’ve heard a lot of that chatter," Underwood said. "I disagree on all those fronts. For everybody involved, to go out and represent and go out there toe-to-toe with your country mates and go out there and compete against other countries trying to bring home the gold, that’s all you’re worried about. Those guys cared as much then as they probably do during the season.

"You felt the effect, especially after that Díaz incident. We had a lot of celebration going, but when it did happen, when he did go down, you felt it even from the stands. Everybody was concerned, not just because of Puerto Rico, but because of the player he is and what he means to the sport of baseball. He’s, if not the best reliever, one of the best relievers in this game, and you hate to see that. It was an emotional time for all of us. But he was out there prideful. He wanted to go out there and win for Puerto Rico. That next game we played against Mexico, that game was for Edwin. We did everything we could to try to pull out the win. That’s how it goes there in the World Baseball Classic. You do everything you can to win. "

And while it can be easy for fans to prioritize their team's well-being first, it's not always so simple for the players:

"I understand why fans, especially fans of teams who had somebody who got hurt, [can be upset], because people grow up Mets fans or Cubs fans or Dodger fans," Zastryzny said. "They're generations deep of fandom, and they might not be a fan of the country that player plays for. Sometimes it doesn't line up. For the player, it's an experience that's hard to put into words, and playing for your country, especially one you were born in or grew up in, it's something that's very hard to put into words.

"It's an unforgettable experience, and I don't think any of those guys would trade it for anything."

MORE FROM THE GAME

• Something to watch from Underwood: He's got a new cutter, and he used it a ton in the tournament.

 "I pitched for [Criollos de] Caguas in Puerto Rican winter ball," Underwood said. "That’s something I dialed in heavy. When I got here, I got to play with it a little bit more. Once you get into an environment like that and everything is full tilt — adrenaline’s going — you want to see that pitch take full form. I still think it has room to grow and it’s something I’ll continue to keep working on."

• Ok, I guess I should write something about this game.

Vince Velasquez is probably looking forward to the regular season because it means he won't have to pitch at Ed Smith Stadium again. All three of his spring starts have been at the Orioles' home, and this one was by far the worst. On Sunday, he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits, four walks and two home runs over 4+ innings. He struck out three.

"Third time around, guys tend to get a little more comfortable with what you’re trying to execute," Velasquez said. "At the end of the day, I still have to make pitches."

Velasquez's stuff was spinning too much and he wasn't locating, something that he attributed to not getting into a good tempo.

"I think it’s a lesson learned to go in with the approach of staying on the attack the whole time," Velasquez said. "The last two times that I’ve faced them, I really stuck with that game plan. I think it really helped out a lot. Today got the best of me, but I think it’s just a matter of continuing … not forgetting what I actually have done well so far. Taking a lot of the good with the bad and kind of gaining that workability every bullpen and every game that I’ve thrown. There’s something good to take away. More plusses than minuses."

• Just to play devil's advocate, but José Quintana looked worse last spring. They're spring games. Only so much should be pulled from this. With that said, of course this was a bad start.

• Contreras looked good in his first game back from the WBC, striking out four with no walks and three hits allowed over three scoreless frames. Saw him touching 95 mph on the stadium radar gun, too.

• On offense: Five hits, no multi-hit performances, 12 strikeouts as a team.

That's about all that needs documentation from this one.

• But it was still just two hours, 22 minutes. The pitch clock is just the best.

• Wil Crowe had Pitt (and Princeton) in the team's pool, in case you were wondering.

• After the game, the Pirates optioned Cal Mitchell to Class AAA Indianapolis and reassigned Nick Gonzales to minor-league camp.

Gonzales never had a chance of making the team out of camp and Mitchell simply hasn't stood out in this outfield competition like Canaan Smith-Njigba and Travis Swaggerty have. This opens up a little more playing time for guys competing for spots.

There are now 48 players in camp.