World Baseball Classic

Diamondbacks plan 'tea party' as USA fans ready for WBC opener vs. Great Britain

Updated Mar. 11, 2023 8:40 p.m. ET

The wait is almost over. Team USA makes its 2023 World Baseball Classic debut against Great Britain on Saturday at Chase Field in Phoenix, the usual home of the Arizona Diamondbacks.

But while the D-Backs are happy to host all five Pool D teams in the WBC's opening stage, they are feeling extra patriotic in advance of the United States' opening game. The team's official Twitter account promised that staffers will dunk a tea bag into the Chase Field pool at the game's first pitch if their tweet received 1,776 retweets — a number that was quickly exceeded.

The D-Backs are of course paying homage to the Boston Tea Party, one of the historical events that eventually helped lead to the American Revolution against Britain and the founding of the United States in 1776. If this extra dose of patriotism before a big sports event between a U.S. team and a British one squad sounds familiar, Saturday's game will mark the second time in five months teams from these two nations have faced off on a major world stage.

And unlike in soccer, where an underdog United States Men's National Team fought a favored England side to a scoreless tie in the 2022 FIFA Men's World Cup last November, this U.S. baseball squad will be heavily favored over its British counterpart.

[2022 World Cup: Social media reacts to scoreless USA-England draw]

Team USA baseball enters with a team full of current MLB greats such as Mookie Betts, Nolan Arenado, Trea Turner and Paul Goldschmidt. But no star will shine brighter than the team's captain, Los Angeles Angels superstar Mike Trout, who will be making his WBC debut Saturday.

[Adam Wainwright to start Game 1 for Team USA in WBC]

There may even be a third big sports matchup between the "Yanks" and the "Brits" later this year. Though the United States and England Women's National Teams will not share a group in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup like the men's teams did, the two squads are currently ranked No. 1 and No. 4 in the world, respectively, by FIFA. It is not a huge stretch to think they may be destined for a high-stakes matchup in that tournament's knockout stage this coming summer.

Speaking of the USWNT, several stars from that team will be rooting on their baseball countrymen Saturday night.

You can catch the United States vs. Great Britiain in the World Baseball Classic on FOX and the FOX Sports app at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, and you can see every WBC matchup through the March 21 championship game exclusively on the FOX family of networks, Tubi and the FOX Sports App in the U.S.

FOX will also be the exclusive U.S. home of the 2023 Women's World Cup, which kicks off from Australia and New Zealand on July 20.

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