Pujols: “The mission is to win the World Baseball Classic”
Albert Pujols, a key figure in Dominican baseball, is clear about the goal for the Dominican Republic in the upcoming World Baseball Classic: to win the championship for the second time. The national team leader has been working together with the general manager, Nelson Cruz, in the selection of the players who will represent the country in the tournament. Pujols assured that the team is practically defined.Pujols is aware of the importance of building a competitive team, especially after the results of the 2023 edition, where the Dominican team was eliminated in the first round. Regarding the team’s preparation and commitment, Pujols added:“I think there’s 95 percent of the roster that’s already set. The other 5 percent is because we’ve been scouting several guys who are playing in the winter league who also have that chance to represent and I believe that our country and the fans are going to be happy and satisfied with the roster that Nelson Cruz and I and the group are forming,”
Albert Pujols
Dominican Republic will compete in Group D of the next World Baseball Classic, along with Venezuela, Netherlands, Israel and Nicaragua. The last time the team advanced to the second round was in 2017. In the previous edition, they were eliminated in the first phase.“I think with the team we are putting together, in which the guys know that in the past Classic they did not represent the country as everyone was expecting, everyone knows that we have a responsibility and the responsibility is to try to win that championship once again. I can tell you that all the guys who were representing us in the past Classic gave it their all and the discipline has always been there. These are things that happen in baseball, it is a learning experience to try to prepare ourselves better”
Albert Pujols
