Six Games, One Ballpark and a Historic Week for Great Britain in the Lone Star State
Our 2026 World Baseball Classic tour was a little different to the trips we usually organise. Rather than travelling between multiple cities, this time we'd be based in one place for almost a week, with Houston hosting all of Pool B's group stage games. For us, that meant cramming six games in four days, plenty of baseball and baseball food, and our first opportunity to watch Great Britain compete on one of the biggest stages in international baseball.
After their memorable World Baseball Classic debut in Phoenix in 2023, Great Britain had qualified for a second consecutive tournament - so this tour was always on the cards. This time around, they found themselves in another competitive pool alongside the United States, Mexico, Italy and Brazil. There were some huge names involved, not least Aaron Judge captaining Team USA, so there was plenty to look forward to before we'd even left the UK.
Day 1
Arrival in Houston
Our journey began with an early morning direct flight from London to Houston. Thankfully everything went smoothly through immigration, although any hopes of getting into the city quickly disappeared when we ended up waiting almost an hour for our luggage to appear on the carousel.
Just as we thought we were approaching our hotel, our transfer found itself stuck at a railway crossing behind what felt like the longest freight train in American history. For around 45 minutes (it felt much longer), we sat there watching carriage after carriage slowly roll past.
Eventually we made it into downtown Houston and checked into the Club Quarters Hotel. After dropping our bags off, we headed straight over to Biggio's Sports Bar to meet up with the rest of the Great Britain supporters' contingent for a welcome event.
It was great catching up with familiar faces, meeting plenty of new ones and talking baseball over a few drinks in anticipation of what was shaping up to be an unforgettable week. GB legends Harry Ford and Nick Ward were also kind enough to come down and spend some time with the group.
Day 2
Game 1
Mexico vs Great Britain
Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
The following morning brought our first visit to Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros and the venue for every Pool B game. We arrived nice and early to collect our World Baseball Classic rally towels, load up on WBC merch in the Union Station store before it all sold out later in the week, and soak up the atmosphere before first pitch.
It didn't take long to realise just how well supported Mexico were. I'd estimate around 95% of the crowd were wearing green, white and red, creating a brilliant atmosphere throughout the afternoon. The remaining fans were mostly Great Britain supporters (or at least family members of the players and staff), along with a handful of local baseball fans simply enjoying the tournament.
Great Britain actually made an encouraging start. Harry Ford recorded Pool B's first hit before Mexico struck first through a solo home run from Nacho Alvarez Jr. It didn't take long for Britain to respond though, with Ford launching a superb home run into the left-field seats to level the score. It was a jubilant moment - one our travelling supporters celebrated just as loudly as if we'd won the game.
One of the funniest moments of the afternoon came during one of the innings breaks. John Eccles, proudly wearing a Union Jack cowboy hat and draped in a giant Union Jack flag, was selected by the stadium host to take part in one of the between-innings quizzes on the giant video board. Unsurprisingly, with the overwhelming Mexican support inside the stadium, John's cheeky British grin was greeted with a chorus of good-natured boos - something he absolutely loved.
Jordan also found himself being interviewed by an NBC crew. I suppose with so few Great Britain fans in attendance, those of us who had travelled over attracted a fair bit of media attention.
Unfortunately, the game gradually slipped away from Great Britain. Jonathan Aranda's three-run home run proved to be the turning point before Mexico steadily extended their advantage during the later innings. Britain did pull one run back in the ninth, but Mexico eventually ran out comfortable 8-2 winners.
The final score perhaps looked harsher than the game actually felt. Britain had been competitive for long spells and there were certainly moments where the momentum could have swung the other way. In the end though, Mexico's quality showed through and they deserved the victory.
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After the game we headed over to the Marriott Marquis, where four of the five Pool B teams were staying throughout the tournament. The hotel's grounds were huge, including Biggio's Sports Bar, so it would become a fantastic place for supporters, media and players to mingle, making it surprisingly easy to bump into some familiar faces.
For me, the highlight was meeting Manny Ramirez. It was a bit of a full-circle moment, as Manny had actually played in the very first Major League Baseball game I'd ever attended back in Tampa back in 2006, where he'd also hit a home run. Nearly twenty years later I finally got the chance to grab a photo with him.
After a couple of drinks catching up with a few other recognizable faces, it was time to head back to Daikin Park for our second game of the day.
Game 2
United States vs Brazil
Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
If the afternoon had been lively, the evening was on another level altogether. Team USA's opening game had drawn a packed house, creating the best atmosphere we'd experienced so far.
It didn't take Aaron Judge long to make his mark. In his very first at-bat as Team USA captain, he launched a towering home run into the famous Crawford Boxes, bringing the crowd to its feet.
Brazil, however, certainly weren't overawed. They responded immediately thanks to Lucas Ramirez, son of Manny Ramirez, who crushed a home run on just their second pitch against Logan Webb. It was an incredible moment and one that stunned the crowd.
In fact, Brazil held their own far longer than many expected. They stayed in the game during the opening few innings and continued to play with real energy despite facing one of the strongest line-ups ever assembled; Judge, Harper, Witt Jr, Schwarber, Raleigh - the list goes on.
One of the players I was particularly excited to see was 17-year-old Joseph Contreras. There had been plenty of hype surrounding the young Brazilian pitcher before the tournament and he certainly didn't disappoint. His standout moment came with the bases loaded against none other than Aaron Judge. Somehow, Contreras kept his composure and induced a double play to escape the inning, prompting huge celebrations from both the young pitcher and his teammates.
As the game wore on though, the depth of the American line-up (and back up players) eventually told. Brazil struggled to consistently throw strikes, handing out too many walks, while Team USA punished almost every mistake. The runs gradually piled up and the United States eventually powered to a 15-5 victory.
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By the time we made it back to the hotel we'd watched two games, spent almost an entire day inside the ballpark and were definitely beginning to feel the effects of the jet lag.
It had been a long first day of baseball, but what an incredible way to begin our first ever World Baseball Classic tour.
Four more games still awaited.
Day 3
NASA Johnson Space Center
With just one evening game on the days schedule, we made the most of the morning by heading out to one of Houston's biggest attractions - the NASA Johnson Space Center.
After a short Uber ride from downtown, we spent a few hours exploring what is an absolute must-visit if you're ever in Houston. The centre does a brilliant job of combining the history of America's space programme (and Houston's influence within it all) with the future of space exploration, so there was plenty to keep us busy - well certainly myself.
One of the first things we did was hop on the tram out to see the enormous Saturn V rocket. Even lying on its side, it's almost impossible to comprehend just how large it is. Seeing one of the rockets that would have powered the Apollo missions, including Apollo 11's journey to the Moon and the infamous Apollo 13 mission, was genuinely one of those moments that left me in awe.
There were plenty of other fascinating exhibits too, including the Space Shuttle Independence mounted on top of a modified Boeing 747, which gave a real sense of the scale involved in transporting the orbiters around the country. We also visited the White Room, the final room astronauts pass through before boarding their spacecraft, as well as exhibits covering both the historic Apollo programme and NASA's current Artemis missions, which aim to return humans to the Moon.
The highlight of the visit, though, was undoubtedly the Mission Control tour (you have to pay extra for on top of your admission ticket - 100% worth it though).
After another tram ride, we arrived at the memorably named Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center, Nasa's nerve center during the Gemini and Apollo missions, including the historic Apollo 11 Moon landing. Sitting behind the glass viewing gallery, in the very spot visitors would have watched from during the Apollo era, we experienced a recreation of the tense final moments before Eagle touched down on the lunar surface. As the original mission audio echoed around the room and Mission Control came to life, it was surprisingly easy to imagine the emotion and anticipation of that incredible day in 1969, moments before Neil Armstrong delivered those immortal words.
What made it even more special was knowing that this historic room sits directly above NASA's current Mission Control, which is still in operation today. We were under strict instructions to keep our voices down so as not to disturb the crew working below. It was a brilliant experience and one I'd highly recommend to anyone visiting Houston, whether you're interested in space or not.
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Houston Rodeo
With barely enough time to catch our breath, we jumped in another Uber and headed over to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, one of the biggest annual events in Texas. The way our schedule worked out, this was the only viable time we could do it.
The scale of it was ridiculous - true Texas style.
Before even reaching the rodeo arena itself, we found ourselves wandering through enormous exhibition halls packed with everything from western clothing and cowboy boots to food stalls, agricultural displays and livestock competitions. There were cattle, horses and other farm animals everywhere, with many of them actually being auctioned or judged as part of the event. Everywhere you looked there were people dressed head to toe in cowboy hats, boots and jeans - we definitely looked out of place with our baseball tees and shorts.
John and I came very close to buying ourselves cowboy hats to improve the look, but with time ticking away and another baseball game still to come, we reluctantly decided against it.
Eventually we made our way into NRG Stadium for our first ever rodeo.
It was every bit as entertaining as we'd hoped. The programme was very well organised and fast paced. It featured a whole range of traditional rodeo events, from horseback competitions and cattle roping through to steer wrestling, before building towards the headline event of the day, and the one we all personally wanted to see - bull riding. Some (most) of those riders went flying! There was also a hilarious segment called the Calf Scramble where 30 students try to catch and secure one of the 15 calf's, in order to win some prize money - pure chaos.
Sadly, we couldn't stay for the post-rodeo concert, which that evening was headlined by Dwight Yoakam, as we still had another baseball game to get to.
Looking back though, I'm really glad we squeezed the rodeo into our itinerary. It's such a uniquely Texan experience and something that added another memorable chapter to our time in Houston.
A quick Uber back to the hotel, a rapid change of clothes, and before long we were heading straight back to Daikin Park for our third game of the tour.
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Game 3
Great Britain vs United States
Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
After an unforgettable day exploring Houston, it was time for the game we'd all been waiting for.
For every Great Britain supporter in attendance, this was the one.
Taking on Team USA, packed with Major League Baseball superstar; often referred to as baseball's "Dream Team", was always going to be a huge occasion. We made sure we had incredible seats, just five rows behind the Great Britain dugout, giving us a brilliant view of the action and allowing us to get right behind the team throughout the evening.
As you'd probably expect, almost the entire stadium was supporting the United States. I'd estimate around 98 or 99 per cent of the crowd were backing the host nation, with regular chants of "USA! USA!" echoing around Daikin Park. That left only a small pocket of us cheering on Great Britain, but that certainly didn't stop us making as much noise as possibl - especially for the national anthem.
The game couldn't have started any better.
On the very first pitch of the game, Nate Eaton turned on a fastball from reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal and launched it deep down the left-field line. For a few seconds, nobody seemed quite sure whether the ball had cleared the yellow home run line. The umpires originally signalled a double, but we were convinced it had gone and were already celebrating wildly behind the dugout.
Moments later, the umpires made it official. Home run. Great Britain were leading the United States 1-0.
As you'd imagine, a group of British fans dressed head to toe in Union Jack shirts, bucket hats and flags celebrating wildly didn't exactly go unnoticed. The television cameras seemed to find us every few minutes, much to the amusement of everyone around us, and every appearance on the giant video board was met with a chorus of playful boos from the American fans. We absolutely loved it.
Even better, Great Britain weren't simply making up the numbers.
Tyler Viza was outstanding on the mound, frustrating one of the strongest batting line-ups in international baseball history, and keeping Team USA quiet for much of the opening half of the game. Incredibly, Britain held a 1-0 lead all the way into the fifth inning.
There were some incredible defensive moments too, none better than Trayce Thompson's (brother of NBA superstar Klay Thompson) stunning catch at the wall to rob what looked like a certain home run. For a few seconds nobody inside the stadium quite knew what had happened. Had he caught it? Had it cleared the fence? After what felt like an eternity, Thompson calmly emerged with the baseball still in his glove. The whole stadium stood there in disbelief.
Eventually, though, Team USA's quality began to shine through. The Americans finally got themselves on the scoreboard before Kyle Schwarber did what he does best - launching an absolute Schwarbomb. His mammoth home run disappeared high into the second deck and instantly brought the packed crowd to life. From that point onwards, the momentum had firmly swung in America's favour.
Even then, Great Britain continued to battle. One of the biggest positives came from the bullpen, where Najer Victor produced a sensational 1-2-3 inning, striking out Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and Gunnar Henderson in a row. It was another reminder that this Great Britain side has plenty of talent and continues to make huge strides on the international stage.
The final score of 9-1 perhaps didn't quite reflect how competitive the game had been for much of the evening. For four or five innings, Great Britain had genuinely gone toe-to-toe with one of the tournament favourites, and for a while we all dared to believe an upset might just be on the cards.
By the end of the game, I'd almost completely lost my voice from cheering.
Win or lose, it had been an incredible occasion and, without doubt, one of my favourite baseball games I've ever experienced. In fact, when you add in our visit to the NASA Space Center and the Rodeo earlier that day, I can go one better - it was the best day I've ever had with Home Run Travel!
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Day 4
Game 4
Italy vs Great Britain
Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
After two spirited performances against Mexico and the United States, Great Britain returned to Daikin Park still searching for their first win of the tournament. This always looked like one of the more realistic opportunities to get on the board, although Italy were far from pushovers, boasting a number of Major League players including Vinnie Pasquantino and Jac Caglianone.
Compared to the electric atmosphere of the previous evening, the ballpark was noticeably quieter for this early afternoon game. With plenty of empty seats available, we were able to move much closer to the action, giving us a fantastic vantage point behind home plate alongside GB's official painter (yes, painter!), the legend that is Andy Brown.
Britain couldn't have asked for a better start.
Taking advantage of a couple of Italian passed balls, Great Britain raced into a 2-0 lead in the opening inning, giving us genuine hope that this might finally be the day they secured their first victory.
Unfortunately, Italy responded in emphatic fashion.
Back-to-back home runs from Fischer and D'Orazio in the third inning levelled the game before they broke things open an inning later, moving into a 5-2 lead.
The Italians extended their advantage again in the seventh, helped by an inside-the-park home run after a series of unfortunate defensive errors from Great Britain. It was one of those innings where nothing quite seemed to go Britain's way.
One of the real positives, though, came from the bullpen.
Graham Spraker produced an outstanding performance after entering the game with the bases loaded and nobody out. Somehow he escaped the jam without allowing a single run to score before continuing to pitch brilliantly for two more innings. It was one of the best individual pitching performances we saw from Great Britain during the tournament and deserved far more reward than it ultimately received.
Britain refused to give in.
Heading into the ninth inning trailing 7-4, they mounted one final rally and even managed to load the bases, bringing Harry Ford to the plate as the go-ahead run. Sadly, it wasn't to be, as Ford's fly ball was caught to end the game, handing Italy a 7-4 victory.
Although another defeat, it somehow felt more encouraging than the scoreline suggested. Great Britain showed real fight to stay in the game and nearly came away with a remarkable comeback victory.
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Pinkerton's BBQ
With a rare evening off from the baseball, we decided it was finally time to tick another item off the Texas bucket list.
After a short drive north of downtown, we arrived at Pinkerton's BBQ, one of Houston's best-known smokehouses. We made it just before the queue closed for the evening, although we still found ourselves waiting close to two hours before reaching the front.
Thankfully, it was worth every minute.
The brisket was incredible, the ribs were just as good, and it was easily some of the best barbecue I've ever had. If you're visiting Texas, experiencing authentic smoked barbecue is an absolute must, and Pinkerton's certainly didn't disappoint.
Day 5
Game 5
Great Britain vs Brazil
Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
Our final morning at Daikin Park had a very different feel to the previous few days.
Both Great Britain and Brazil entered the game with 0-3 records, making this a winner "avoids the wooden spoon" kind of game. To most, it would seem like a dead rubber, but the game actually hinged quite a lot of importance for those involved - the winner would also secure automatic qualification for the 2030 World Baseball Classic, avoiding the need to go through the incredibly competitive qualifying rounds.
There was definitely a few more nerves than usual as we made our now familiar walk to the ballpark.
Before heading inside, we spent some time exploring the World Baseball Classic fan village outside the stadium. There were plenty of interactive games, opportunities to pose with the World Baseball Classic trophy, sponsor giveaways and a few bits of free merchandise to pick up. I also gave myself one final visit to the WBC shop and picked up a few bonus items.
Once again, with the stadium far from full, we managed to find some fantastic seats close to the Great Britain dugout - a lot better than the $5 we paid for…
As nervous as we'd all been beforehand, the game itself turned out to be surprisingly comfortable.
Great Britain controlled proceedings from the very beginning, playing some of their best baseball of the tournament. Ian Lewis Jr.'s home run provided one of the biggest highlights of the afternoon, while Britain's pitching staff including Brendon Beck, Gary Gill-Hill and Ryan Long continued to keep Brazil quiet throughout.
By the late innings, everyone behind the dugout was beginning to relax a little.
Najer Victor once again impressed before San Francisco Giants pitcher Tristan Beck helped close out an emphatic 8-1 victory.
The win not only secured Great Britain's first victory of the tournament, but more importantly guaranteed their place at the next World Baseball Classic. That felt like a huge achievement and thankfully made the trip a successful one for us travelling folk. Requalification means another opportunity to grow baseball back home, attract new supporters and continue building on everything this programme has achieved over the last few years.
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Following the game, we headed back to the Marriott Marquis one final time to celebrate with the other Great Britain supporters.
Before long we bumped into a number of familiar faces, including Yankees legend Jorge Posada, Mexico and Cubs pitcher Javier Assad, along with Brazil's young stars Lucas Ramirez and Joseph Contreras, who were still more than happy to stop for a chat despite the disappointment of their own tournament coming to an end.
One of the funniest moments came when the Great Britain squad returned to the hotel. As part of their team initiation, the players were made to stand in front of everyone gathered in the lobby and sing the national anthem together. It was one of those moments that perfectly summed up the atmosphere surrounding the squad all week - relaxed, close-knit and enjoying every minute of representing their country.
Before long, it was time to say our goodbyes to many of the Great Britain supporters we'd spent the week with. For us, however, there was still one game left.
Game 6
United States vs Mexico
Daikin Park – Houston, Texas
If there was one game every neutral wanted to see during Pool B, this was it.
The United States versus Mexico.
Daikin Park was absolutely packed and, although Team USA were the hosts, it genuinely felt as though around 70% of the crowd were backing Mexico. The atmosphere from first pitch was unlike anything we'd experienced all week.
Back-to-back Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes got the start for Team USA, and seeing one of baseball's biggest stars pitch in person was a real treat. He was dominant across his three innings on the mound, showing exactly why he's regarded as one of the very best in the game.
The Americans made a fast start. Aaron Judge launched another home run, Roman Anthony added a huge three-run blast and, before long, Team USA had built what looked like a comfortable 5-0 lead.
But Mexico refused to go quietly.
A series of timely home runs, both from the bat of Red Sox's Jarren Duran, suddenly brought the game to life. Every Mexican rally lifted the noise inside Daikin Park to another level and, although they ultimately fell short, those brief moments where it looked like a comeback might be on the cards created one of the loudest atmospheres I'd experienced all week.
Garrett Whitlock eventually closed the game out for the United States, securing a 5-3 victory.
Walking out of the stadium for the final time, you'd have been forgiven for thinking Mexico had won. Their supporters were still singing, dancing and celebrating both inside and outside the ballpark, creating one final unforgettable memory from an incredible week in Houston.
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Day 6
Heading Home
With an afternoon flight back to the UK, we had just enough time for one final stop before leaving Houston.
Naturally, food was the priority.
A visit to Rodeo Goat for one last American burger proved to be the perfect way to round off the trip before heading to the airport.
Wrapping Up
Although we'd only spent five nights in Houston, it felt like we'd packed an incredible amount into a relatively short space of time.
Watching six World Baseball Classic games all at the same ballpark was certainly different to our usual Home Run Travel tours, where we're constantly on the move between cities, hotels and stadiums. It was actually quite refreshing to only unpack once, giving us more time to explore both Houston itself and Daikin Park from different vantage points throughout the week.
From NASA's Johnson Space Center and an authentic Texas rodeo to incredible barbecue and some unforgettable baseball, Houston proved to be a fantastic host city for our first World Baseball Classic.
Of course, the biggest highlight was seeing Great Britain secure qualification for the next World Baseball Classic. It was a brilliant achievement for the programme and one that will hopefully continue to grow the game back home.
More than anything though, this trip reminded us just how special the World Baseball Classic really is. For one week, Houston became a true baseball festival, with supporters proudly wearing their nation's colours wherever you looked. Whether it was chatting with players and their families, spending time with fellow Great Britain supporters or simply experiencing the incredible passion every nation brought to the tournament, it felt unlike any baseball event we've attended before.
This may have been our first World Baseball Classic tour, but after experiencing Houston, I'm pretty confident it won't be our last.
Bonus Blog
So it turns out, Houston wasn't the end of my WBC 2026 journey.. Read all about my time in Miami for the finals stretch of the tournament here.
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