{"id":2080557,"date":"2025-10-09T23:09:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T23:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2080557"},"modified":"2025-10-09T23:09:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T23:09:39","slug":"royals-all-star-fires-public-shot-at-team-venezuela-ahead-of-2026-wbc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/royals-all-star-fires-public-shot-at-team-venezuela-ahead-of-2026-wbc\/","title":{"rendered":"Royals All-Star Fires Public Shot At Team Venezuela Ahead Of 2026 WBC"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<figure class=\"style_hfl21i-o_O-style_uhlm2\"\/>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_z6xcpe4k6\">After a breakout season, Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia&#8217;s career is undoubtedly heading in the right direction.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_mbyytzatm\">The 25-year-old Garcia struggled mightily a season ago, leading to some doubt over whether he would stick as a long-term starter in the Kansas City lineup. But this season, he made the American League All-Star team, managed a career-high .800 OPS, and put up an impressive 5.8 wins above replacement.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_h1bsjhsjx\">Those sort of numbers tend to get a player wherever they want to go in their career. However, Garcia appears to be concerned over whether they&#8217;ll lead to his selection as a prominent member of his country&#8217;s national team at the upcoming World Baseball Classic. <\/p>\n<div data-mm-id=\"_mmeesyxvi\" class=\"\">\n<div class=\"style_120ff32\">\n<figure data-id=\"_mmeesyxvi\" class=\"base_1ruub6q\" data-mm-type=\"image\"><canvas class=\"style_1e28o3x-o_O-initial_9vayoh\"\/><picture class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\"><source\/><source\/><source\/><img class=\"base_1emrqjj-o_O-initial_fzbddc-o_O-style_1a1csmw\" alt=\"Maikel Garcia\" title=\"Maikel Garcia\"\/><\/picture><noscript><picture class=\"base_1emrqjj\"><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_360,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1080,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 719px)\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_620,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 3x\" media=\"(max-width: 1079px)\"\/><source srcset=\"https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_620,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 1x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 2x, https:\/\/images2.minutemediacdn.com\/image\/upload\/c_crop,w_7965,h_4480,x_0,y_0\/c_fill,w_1240,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto\/images%2FImagnImages%2Fmmsport%2Finside_the_royals%2F01k75gvs82s5mm239pjf.jpg 3x\" media=\"(min-width: 1080px)\"\/><\/picture><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<p><figcaption class=\"tagStyle_1ulimm5-o_O-text_1j8vahs\">Sep 14, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Kansas City Royals infielder Maikel Garcia (11) throws to first against the Philadelphia Phillies in the fifth inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images \/ Kyle Ross-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_cip877236\">Garcia is eligible to play for Team Venezuela, always a threat to make a deep run in the WBC. But on Thursday, he seemingly expressed doubt over the coaching staff\/front office enabling him to play third base for the team. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_oye4nuppc\">X user Wilber S\u00e1nchez wrote a post on Thursday that seemingly claimed Team Venezuela wouldn&#8217;t choose Garcia to be its starting third baseman, even though he led all Venezuelan-born players in WAR this season. In response, Garcia quote-tweeted the post with a short, but pointed message.<\/p>\n<figure data-mm-id=\"_enwdqum66\" class=\"style_1y6if9u-o_O-style_6s3kpz\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">They don\u2019t like me <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tf41L4tZZR\">https:\/\/t.co\/tf41L4tZZR<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Maikel Garcia (@maikeljose06) <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/maikeljose06\/status\/1976334397067645439?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 9, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_h0ne1w9q2\">&#8220;They don&#8217;t like me,&#8221; Garcia said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_204lnm12j\">The post had over 1,300 likes as of 6 p.m. ET on Thursday evening. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_zu83gs1og\">The other notable Venezuelan third baseman in the majors these days is Seattle Mariners slugger Eugenio Su\u00e1rez, who hit 49 home runs this season, but is a significantly worse defender than Garcia at third base. In theory, there should be a lineup for Venezuela that makes use of Garcia&#8217;s glove at third and keeps Su\u00e1rez&#8217;s bat in the lineup, either as a first baseman or designated hitter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_pcf55xth1\">Roster decisions were not due until February at the last World Baseball Classic, and the event kicks off in March, so it will be a while until Garcia finds out his fate.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_xbescbuyd\">Garcia seems to be victory-lapping his breakout season on social media, and justifiably so. He posted, &#8220;They wanted the 11 to leave,&#8221; referring to his jersey number, at the end of September, and truthfully, there were plenty of people who thought Garcia didn&#8217;t deserve another chance to play every day after his .614 OPS a year ago.<\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_k55k5b6qe\">Thankfully for the Royals, Garcia didn&#8217;t waver in himself, and he carried the team to a few more wins than they likely would have had otherwise. <\/p>\n<p class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_mxvz7o-o_O-style_12bse5w-o_O-style_6s3kpz\" data-mm-id=\"_twpnszbgi\"><em><strong>More MLB: <\/strong><\/em><a target=\"_blank\" class=\"tagStyle_16dbupz-o_O-style_1gn6yjz\" href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/mlb\/royals\/news\/royals-owner-makes-revealing-comment-on-salvador-perez-s-future-in-kc-jackson3\"><em><strong>Royals Owner Makes Revealing Comment On Salvador Perez&#8217;s Future In KC<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.si.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a breakout season, Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel Garcia&#8217;s career is undoubtedly heading in the right direction. The 25-year-old Garcia struggled mightily a season ago, leading to some doubt over whether he would stick as a long-term starter in the Kansas City lineup. But this season, he made the American League All-Star team, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2080558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2080557","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Royals-All-Star-Fires-Public-Shot-At-Team-Venezuela-Ahead-Of.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080557","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2080557"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080557\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2080559,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2080557\/revisions\/2080559"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2080558"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2080557"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2080557"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2080557"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}