‘All the glory is for our Lord, Jesus’: Eugenio Suárez leads Venezuela to World Baseball title

As Venezuela recorded the final out of its thrilling victory over the United States in Miami on Tuesday night, designated hitter Eugenio Suárez stepped slowly from the dugout, fell to his knees, and spread his arms wide, looking heavenward.

He was praying.

It was an emotional moment for the faith-driven Suárez, who delivered the go-ahead RBI double to left-center in the ninth, then watched from the dugout as pitcher Daniel Palencia recorded the final three outs to seal Venezuela’s first World Baseball Classic title – a historic 3–2 victory over the United States.

Suárez is a 12-year Major League Baseball veteran and two-time All-Star who plays professionally in the United States – but on Tuesday he was representing his home country in an event that matches the world’s best baseball players in a tournament-style format. 

“It’s amazing. God is good,” Suárez told Fox in an interview that quickly went viral for his enthusiasm and passion. “All the glory is for our Lord, Jesus. He was with us the whole time. We had to glorify – put his name in front of everything. Nobody believed in Venezuela, but now we win the championship.”

Venezuelans “need this celebration,” he added.

Asked what he was thinking when he stood on second base after hitting the double, Suárez answered simply, “I just prayed.” Video showed him looking to the skies. 

“I pointed to my family [in the stands] that were happy for me. God is good. God is good.”

The World Baseball Classic is an international tournament launched in 2006 by Major League Baseball and the World Baseball Softball Confederation to determine the world’s top baseball nation. Held roughly every four years, it features national teams from around the globe – including powerhouses like the United States, Japan, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. It’s played during the Major League Baseball preseason, allowing many of the sport’s biggest stars to represent their home countries in March – a month when most of the American sports world is focused on basketball. Japan won the last title in 2023. The U.S. last won it in 2017.

“We are not just teammates,” Suárez said. “We are family. This team is awesome. We are family here. That’s why we play with passion, with love.”

Suárez led his team in prayer throughout the tournament, both in the locker room and again on the field Tuesday, according to Sports Spectrum.

Venezuela third baseman Maikel Garcia, named the MVP of the Classic, also referenced faith in his post-game interview, saying the country needed a shot of “energy.” In recent years, Venezuela has faced a deep economic and humanitarian crisis marked by widespread shortages of food and medicine, forcing millions of citizens to flee the country in one of the largest migration waves in the world.

“God just gave it to us,” Garcia said, noting that a “lot of Venezuelans” are no longer in Venezuela.

“They need this, and we need this, too.”