WBC: The Lost Identity

Cuba's signature resilience was nowhere to be found in San Juan—just a team undone by the very details that once defined them.

There are losses you explain with numbers, by diving deep into scouting reports, analytics, and advanced metrics. And then there are losses you explain with images: a ball that hits a glove and drops onto the grass, another that floats between two players staring at each other unsure who should catch it, and a third that rolls behind an outfielder while a runner crosses the plate with the expression of someone who can’t believe what he’s seeing.

Canada 7, Cuba 2.