AP Photo/Ted S. Warren
Ken Griffey, Jr. plays the unfortunate lead in the World Baseball Classic's version of "Casey at the Bat."

March 16, 2006 - When MLB agreed to throw a party for all of its hardball friends, the Americans were one of the heavy favorites to win the entire inaugural World Baseball Classic. No other team save for the Dominican Republic was stocked with so many high-profile names such as Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira, Johnny Damon -- ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 World Series Champion New York Yankees! Also, Chase Utley, Roger Clemens, Jason Varitek, Ken Griffey, Jr., Derek Lee ... basically, this team had no business losing to anyone short of the Dominicans, Cuba or perhaps the eventual Japanese champions.

When Team USA found themselves in a must-win second round game at Angel Stadium (thanks to a loss courtesy of Cinderella story South Korea), few expected Team Mexico to put up much resistance. America's Southern neighbors had been mathematically eliminated from advancement and were starting Oliver Perez against Roger Clemens. Not exactly an even match-up on paper.

Mario Valenzuela provided the offensive heroics. The outfielder, who never cracked the AAA ceiling in the States, smashed a pitch off Clemens in the third inning. The ball carried far enough to hit the foul pole, but to the absence of instant replay, officials called it a ground-rule double. Valenzuela eventually managed to score on a Jorge Cantu single. That run would prove to be the difference in the final score as seven relievers combined to stave off the American murderer's row.

The 2-1 loss bounced the Americans out of WBC. Meanwhile, Mexico had another cathartic sports victory over the USA to celebrate besides their ritual drubbing of the national soccer team.