Maikel Garcia’s Helmet from World Baseball Classic among Team Venezuela Artifacts Coming to Cooperstown

2026-03-18

(COOPERSTOWN, NY) – The flow of emotions continued long after the final pitch on Tuesday night in Miami, as Team Venezuela and its fans celebrated a historic World Baseball Classic championship.

Today, artifacts from that unforgettable victory are headed to Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

Following Venezuela’s 3-2 win over Team USA, the Museum acquired several artifacts that will forever tell the story of a team and baseball-loving nation that inspired fans all over the world. Artifacts en route to Cooperstown include:

Helmet worn by WBC Most Valuable Player Maikel Garcia in the championship game
Venezuela-themed shoes worn by closer Danny Palencia in the championship game
Batting gloves worn by Eugenio Suárez during the championship game, which ripped during his final at-bat when he slugged the game-winning double
Cap worn by manager Omar López throughout the WBC
Venezuela-themed elbow guard and shin guard worn by Wilyer Abreu throughout the WBC
Venezuela-themed catcher’s gear, including shin guards, chest protector, helmet and mask, worn by Salvador Perez

Additional artifacts from the 2026 World Baseball Classic donated to the Hall of Fame include:

Cap worn by Team Italy manager Francisco Cervelli
Bat used by Team Italy’s Vinnie Pasquantino during the WBC, including in his three-home run game
Dugout lineup card from Team Netherlands’ first game in the WBC, which featured Hall of Famer Andruw Jones as manager and Jones’ son, Diamondbacks prospect Druw Jones, in the lineup

A new exhibit dedicated to the World Baseball Classic opened on the Museum’s second floor in February and captures the passion that is poured into each pitch and at-bat during the tournament.

Artifacts on exhibit include:

First pitch ball from the inaugural WBC game in 2006 between Team South Korea and Team Chinese Taipei
Jersey worn by Team Japan’s Daisuke Matsuzaka in the championship game in 2006 when he was named tournament Most Valuable Player
Cap worn by Team Netherlands pitching coach Bert Blyleven in 2009 when the team advanced to the knockout round
Bat used by Team Japan’s Ichiro Suzuki in 2009 when he recorded 12 hits while helping his club win a second straight title
Jersey won by Team Dominican Republic’s Fernando Rodney in the 2013 title game when he locked down the championship
Cap worn by Team Italy coach Mike Piazza during the 2013 WBC
Cap worn by Team USA’s Marcus Stroman in 2017 when he threw six shutout innings in the championship game en route to Most Valuable Player honors
Batting helmet worn by Team Israel’s Ryan Lavarnway in 2017 during the club’s debut at the WBC
Batting helmet worn by Team Japan’s Munetaka Murakami when he homered during the title game in 2023 while helping Japan win its third WBC championship
Example of the original WBC championship trophy before it was retired prior to the 2023 tournament

Admission to the exhibit is included with regular Museum admission.