‘Time To Celebrate’: Netherlands’ Ozzie Albies Hits Historic WBC Walk-Off HR

The Netherlands left it late against Nicaragua, but when Ozzie Albies stepped up in the bottom of the ninth, it more than made up for it. The Atlanta Braves second baseman hit a game-winning three-run homer to lead the Netherlands over Nicaragua on Saturday in Miami. It was the first walk-off home run ever in a World Baseball Classic game and the tenth walk-off win in the tournament’s history. The Dutch have a record four of those. “Time to celebrate,” Albies said afterward. “The moment I hit it … I felt just like that. It hit the perfect spot on the bat, so I was really happy it happened at the right time.” “I won’t ever forget that,” he added. The Netherlands began its two-out rally on Ceddanne Rafaela’s single against reliever Angel Obando. Xander Bogaerts doubled, advancing Rafaela to third before Albies hit Obando’s first pitch over the wall in right. It was a heartbreaker for Nicaragua and the squad’s manager, Dusty Baker, who has plenty of big-game experience as a longtime MLB manager and a 2022 World Series champion with the Houston Astros. Baker could have intentionally walked Albies but instead allowed Angel Obando to pitch to him. “That was bad luck for us,” Baker said about the ninth-inning rally. “They say it’s a game of inches; that ball just hit the third base bag and bounced over.” The Netherlands stranded 14 baserunners and was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position before Albies’ homer. The win evens the Netherlands’ record in Pool D at 1-1, with games remaining against the Dominican Republic on Sunday and Israel on Tuesday. Nicaragua falls to 0-2, leaving them in a precarious position with only two games left in pool play.