With MLB season about to start in one month, the World Baseball Classic has been catching the attention of many Americans. The event features 16 countries compete in the biggest tournament of this sport.

As usual, the Hispanic world had the biggest representation in the championship. Teams from Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Cuba, Mexico and Spain put the Spanish flavor.

United States and Italy eliminated Mexico and Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic ousted Venezuela in the first round.

Cuba, on other hand, advanced to the second round, being eliminated later on by Netherlands, which has been the biggest surprise in the tournament after the European country made it to the semifinals. Many players of the Dutch team are from the Caribbean Antilles. 

The final was disputed between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, two of the countries with the richest history in this sport. Both teams eliminated the United States, which was the favorite and also the host of the final rounds.

Puerto Rico and Netherlands were big surprises since neither have big stars in their rosters like the U.S. The Dominican Republic was able to take vengeance on Netherlands in the semifinals, after the Dutch eliminated the Dominicans in 2009. 

Both finalists have in their teams all-star players like Robinson Cano (Yankees), Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina (St. Louis), so the final didn’t lack known stars like in the last two editions when teams like Japan, Cuba and South Korea were finalists with few MLB players.

This tournament is catching the attention of non-traditional baseball-playing countries. Italy, Netherlands, Spain and East Asian nations have been developing leagues that are getting better, and from an international standpoint, this tournament is considered a success, being transmitted in all the continents.