In the 2018 U-18 tournament, Abrams, Greene, and Witt Jr. dominated for Team USA.
In 2018, they were members of a Dream Team—a group of exceptionally talented teenagers who secured the gold medal for Team USA at the COPABE U-18 Pan-American Championships.
On Tuesday night in Arlington, Washington’s CJ Abrams, Detroit’s Riley Greene, and Kansas City’s Bobby Witt Jr. will reunite as All-Stars at the 94th Midsummer Classic.
“It’s special,” Witt remarked. “The team we had in 2018 was incredible.”
In addition to this trio of first-time All-Stars, the 2018 Pan-Am lineup featured 2023 All-Star and NL Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll, 2023 AL Gold Glove Award winner Anthony Volpe, and future first-round draft picks Dylan Crews, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Drew Romo. The winning pitcher in the gold medal game was another future first-round pick, Jack Leiter.
“It was just a team of really, really good players, one after the other,” Greene said.
So talented, they went undefeated to win the gold, with a 9-0 record and a 131-27 score differential, averaging a double-digit margin of victory. Collectively, they slashed .407/.517/.683.
In the 17-2 championship game win over host Panama, Witt hit for the cycle and earned tournament MVP honors, batting .576 with 3 doubles, 3 triples, 3 home runs, and 18 RBIs with a 1.736 OPS in 9 games.
“Everyone wanted to win,” Witt said. “That’s what I remember most. It was a lot of fun.”
The team was so deep and talented that natural shortstops Abrams and Volpe had to play center field and second base, respectively.
“I don’t think we realized how good we were until we started playing together and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we’re really good,’” Greene said.
One person who knew their potential was their manager, Jack Leggett.
“I honestly saw this coming when these kids were playing for us in Panama,” said Leggett, the longtime Clemson head coach. “They were such good athletes, really good people, I just saw great things ahead of them.”
Leggett texted his All-Star pupils when their selections were announced.
“I just wanted to tell the guys how proud I am of them,” said Leggett, a three-time ACC Coach of the Year who led Clemson to six College World Series appearances. “I saw this coming. I just want them to keep working hard and keep grinding.”
To Leggett, the three All-Stars displayed clear talent and maturity as teenagers in 2018.
“CJ was willing to give up playing shortstop for us,” Leggett said. “He was a table-setter for us. He was laid back, but always had a smile, a good teammate.
“Riley was as polished a hitter as I’ve ever seen at that age. He hit a home run to left-center field and I remember thinking, ‘Man, he just snapped his hands.’ And this was all with wooden bats. Not many hitters like him at 17-18 years old.
“I can’t say enough good things about Bobby. Tremendously hard worker, loves being around the baseball field, great person. He’s got the arm, can run, has power, has instincts on the bases, really good defensive skills. I could see him being the face of a franchise. The Royals are lucky to have him.”
All three are still young—Witt, the oldest, turned 24 in June—and it’s amusing to hear what they remember about their three weeks together in late 2018. Witt recalls taking ground balls in a parking lot in Panama. Abrams remembers Carroll, his roommate, doing homework in the hotel, despite Carroll batting .500 and going 9-for-10 on stolen-base attempts.
But winning the gold medal is their strongest memory.
“That was probably the highest accomplishment I achieved,” Greene said. “Playing for your country is unparalleled, and I can’t imagine anything better. It was one of the coolest moments for me, being able to play for Team USA.”
Abrams agrees: “Winning the gold medal was definitely the best memory.”
“It was a lot of fun doing that with the guys and making lifelong memories,” Witt said. “Seeing us all here at this level is special.”
This level—the Major Leagues—has reached new heights with a few of them becoming All-Stars.
“I’ll be watching the game with a sense of pride, seeing these kids make their mark on the biggest stage in baseball,” said Leggett, who lives in Greenville, S.C.
“It’s big,” Abrams said. “We put in the work. I saw it back then. Even the ones not here yet will be at some point.”
Greene has one more task for his first All-Star experience, a request via text from Leggett.
“He wanted me, Bobby, and CJ to get a picture together and send it to him,” Greene said. “We’ll have to get that done for him.”
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