With less than a week to go before pitchers and catchers report to spring training, we can finally say that baseball is right around the corner.
The 2023 season will soon get going and will bring more baseball excitement.
This year is special thanks to the long-awaited return of the World Baseball Classic, which was canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic.
But at long last, it makes its return.
And now is the perfect time to look back on some of the greatest moments in WBC history.
Atlanta Braves legend Chipper Jones took part in the Classic in 2006, which was his first appearance in the tournament.
On the first pitch he saw in WBC play, he hit a home run.
On Twitter, the official account for the World Baseball Classic tweeted a video of the highlight.
Fun fact: Chipper Jones hit a home run on the first pitch he saw in the World Baseball Classic. pic.twitter.com/zVK1wt6pFC
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) February 6, 2023
That’s one way to start off your WBC career.
It was the first for Jones, yet it came towards the end of his legendary career.
Still, he made the most of his first opportunity, going deep against Team Mexico at Chase Field in Arizona.
The home run gave Team USA a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Jones played his entire career with the Braves, winning an MVP, earning eight All-Star nods, a batting title, and a World Series ring in 1995.
But this was one of the best moments of his historic career.
Maybe some moments like this will take place this year during the Classic as certain players get their first taste of this historic event.
