Vance Worley took the ball for Great Britain opposite the United States in Team USA's first World Baseball Classic matchup. Unfortunately, his return to baseball was not as he had hoped. He couldn't hold the early 1-0 lead Trayce Thompson's solo home run afforded him as he lasted 2.2 innings and gave up two (unearned) runs in the loss.
Despite showing some promise, including striking out Mike Trout and not surrenduring an earned run to the United States, it was not the kind of debut the former pitcher would have wanted. Worley has been out of Major League Baseball for some time now.
He began his MLB career in 2010 with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Great Britain star finished his career in 2017 after eight major league seasons.
Which MLB teams did Vance Worley pitch for?
Vance Worley debuted with the Phillies and spent the first three seasons of his career with them. It was the team he spent the most time with. From there, he moved to the Minnesota Twins in 2013.
He spent one season with the Twins before moving to the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Worley spent his 2016 with the Baltimore Orioles and then his final season with the Miami Marlins before retiring.
Worley hasn't pitched since 2017 but looked promising for Great Britain. The defense behind him didn't help, but he was also facing a juggernaut offense and didn't allow an earned run.
He will be crucial to Great Britain's WBC success as he was picked to face the best offense in the entire world.