Ahead of tonight’s World Baseball Classic final featuring the United States against Japan, Bob Elliott shares some final thoughts and stories from this year’s very successful tournament.

Bob Elliott writes that in the end it came down to two things that were lacking for Canada at the World Baseball Classic: not enough major leaguers and not enough pitches for strikes.

After Canada’s 5-0 win over Colombia at the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday, Bob Elliott writes that there are two new Canadian names that belong on the country’s Mount Rushmore of the international stage.

At 19, left-hander Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) became the youngest player ever to pitch for Canada at the World Baseball Classic on Monday night. He started against a powerful U.S. squad that featured big league MVPs Mookie Betts, Mike Trout and Paul Goldschmidt as their first three hitters. Things didn’t go well for Bratt in Canada’s 12-1 loss, but after the game, the young lefty was offered words of encouragement by many, including Trout. Canadian Baseball Network editor-in-chief Bob Elliott shares his game story from Chase Field in Phoenix, Ariz.