The 2026 World Baseball Classic was one for the ages. It consisted of a few underdog teams that went far in Team Italy and Canada, to teams that showcased an absolutely stacked lineup in Team USA and Team Dominican Republic. Team Venezuela ended up on top, upsetting Team USA in the finals.

This loss for Team USA makes it back to back tournaments losing in the final match. For Team Venezuela, this is their first championship in the WBC since its inception in 2006.

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Notable players included Maikel Garcia, Eugenio Suarez, Jackson Chourio, Luis Arraez, Gleyber Torres, Ronald Acuna Jr., Ranger Suarez, and Salvador Perez. While Houston Astros second baseman Jose Altuve wished he was able to perform for his home country, insurance coverage did not allow it. The only notable Astros member? Bench coach Omar Lopez, who was behind Team Venezuela winning its first WBC title.

Lopez, A Longtime Astros Employee

The 2026 WBC saw Lopez take the Venezuela managerial helm for the second straight time. As a current bench coach for the Astros, his baseball career spans from humble beginnings growing up in Venezuela to playing briefly in the majors during the 1990s. Following his playing career, Lopez got a job in the Astros organization and has been with the team for 27 years.

He first started as a full-time scout for the first eight years with Houston and is notably recognized for bringing in a short, scrawny then 16-year-old Altuve. On paper, a player with no business becoming an MLB MVP eventually flipped the script, turning into one of the best Astros players in franchise history.

Lopez recognizing the untapped potential of Altuve earned him manager positions with the Astros minor league teams. Years later, it was a full promotion to the big leagues as a first base coach in 2020 and then a bench coach for Astros newest manager, Joe Espada for the 2024 season.

Often rare these days for an MLB employee to work their way up earning promotions on a single team for 27 years, Lopez is the definitive outlier for loyalty.

Team Venezuela Manager Defying The Odds

His opportunity to manage Team Venezuela in the WBC for the second straight time was also in response to receiving job offers managing Astros minor leagues and Venezuelan Winter Ball. For 2026, Lopez’ path to the mountaintop was not easy.

In the quarterfinals, they faced Team Japan, the defending WBC champions. This was a team that included back to back World Series champions in Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, five-time NPB All-Star and current Cubs outfielder Seiya Suzuki, Masataka Yoshida, and Japanese sluggers Munetaka Murakami and Kazuma Okamoto, both who recently signed to MLB teams this offseason.

Heavily favored Japan and rightfully so, his Venezuelan team came out slugging, outlasting the defending champs 8-5 to move on to the semifinals against Team Italy, the hottest underdog team in the WBC.

Italy, a team that celebrated home runs by a classy Italian gesture of gulping down a dugout espresso shot, had performed major upsets against favored teams in the Pool rounds. They nearly took out Team USA’s eligiblity to advance, edging them 8-6 and then ran away with the lead against Team Mexico, beating them 9-1 to go undefeated in the Pool placement.

Lopez Silences Italy’s Hot Streak

In the quarterfinals, Lopez and Team Venezuela faced the belly of the beast when it came to scorching hot underdog teams in Italy. With only known MLB players in Michael Lorenzen, Aaron Nola, Vinnie Pasquantino, and Astros minor league outfielder Zach Dezenzo, Team Italy on paper didn’t pose much of a threat compared to powerhouses in USA and the DR. Yet, they were fearsome, team oriented, and caught heavy-favored teams off guard.

During the matchup, Venezuela trailed 2-1 with nine outs left to spare. Italy’s strong pitching from Nola and Lorenzen kept them in front with another possible upset to shock the baseball world and face Team USA in their first finals appearance.

Not going to finish 2026’s WBC the same way Lopez fell in the semifinals in the last WBC tournament, his roster started a three-run rally, taking a 4-2 lead that they would not surrender. The Astros bench coach’s country was in the WBC finals to face Team USA.

The matchup brought a few Astros teammates to watch the final game of the WBC. This included Espada and Altuve, making this a full circle milestone for the current Astros bench coach. Facing an overpowered American team you’d construct on MLB The Show, Team USA consisted of last season’s top two AL MVPs in Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, along with All-Stars Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr., Alex Bregman, Gunnar Henderson, Kyle Schwarber, Paul Skenes, Logan Webb, and many more.

Team Venezuela got out to an early 2-0 lead and silenced Team USA’s bats up until the eighth inning, thanks to a Harper two-run blast that tied the game. The tie wouldn’t last long, as slugger Eugenio Suarez swatted an RBI double to retake the lead. Lopez handed the ball to Chicago Cubs righthander, Daniel Palencia, to finish Team USA off, securing the WBC championship.

“Long live Venezuela,” Lopez exclaimed.

Lopez Adds Another Accolade To His Resume

These key moments in Venezuela’s WBC–decisions calculated by the beloved Astros bench coach–eventually led them to climb the WBC mountaintop. Additionally, they achieved this by winning against several powerhouse teams in USA and Japan, both who were in the finals in the last tournament, is a significant testament to his work ethic with the Astros and Venezuela for over 25 years.

Been quite a run for Omar López, who led Santurce to the Puerto Rican Winter League title and Venezuela to the WBC title. He'll be back with the Astros tomorrow.

"Be nice to have a triple crown for him this year," manager Joe Espada said.

— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) March 18, 2026

Entering his third year as Astros bench coach, a 2026 World Series win would cement the elusive Triple Crown for him. leading to a magnificent run of title winnings. This includes a win leading Santurce to the Puerto Rican Winter Ball title and the WBC.

It’s safe to say Omar Lopez is more than deserving of a manager position at the major league level in the near future. Due to Espada assuming the Astros current manager position, expect Lopez to receive multiple offers from other teams when his time is up with the Astros.