Aaron Judge says World Baseball Classic has surpassed World Series in importance

On a night when All-Stars and future Hall of Famers thrilled fans and each other until the final out, Aaron Judge proclaimed the World Baseball Classic had grown into the sport's biggest event.

MIAMI — On a night when All-Stars and future Hall of Famers thrilled fans and each other until the final out, Aaron Judge proclaimed the World Baseball Classic had grown into the sport's biggest event.

"It's bigger and better than the World Series," the U.S. captain said after a 2-1 semifinal win over the Dominican Republic that came down to Sunday night's final pitch. "The passion that these fans have, representing their country, representing some of their favorite players, there's nothing like it."

American tradition emphasizing understatement on a team led by Judge and Bryce Harper was showcased against Latin flair on a side featuring Juan Soto and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. When Junior Caminero homered against Paul Skenes to put the Dominicans ahead in the second inning, he celebrated with an overhand bat flip.

In the sixth tournament of an event that started in 2006, the game featured starting lineups featuring 17 All-Stars totaling 56 selections among the 20 starters. They had won five MVP awards, one Cy Young, five Rookies of the Year and three batting titles.

Before a crowd of 36,337 at IoanDepot park, the U.S. overcame the deficit on fourth-inning home runs by Gunnar Henderson off Luis Severino and Roman Anthony against Gregory Soto.