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Puerto Rico's Yadier Molina wants USA's Adam Jones to apologize for World Baseball Classic comments

By Alex Butler
Team USA's manager Jim Leyland hoists the World Baseball Classic trophy after Game 3 of the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 22, 2017. Team USA defeated Team Puerto Rico 8-0 in the final game to win the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Team USA's manager Jim Leyland hoists the World Baseball Classic trophy after Game 3 of the Championship Round at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on March 22, 2017. Team USA defeated Team Puerto Rico 8-0 in the final game to win the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

March 24 (UPI) -- In the aftermath of winning its first World Baseball Classic, American baseball hero Adam Jones had a declaration.

He told the crowd Wednesday over the public address system at Dodger Stadium that Team USA was motivated to win the game because it heard that Puerto Rico had preemptive plans for a celebration.

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"Should I tell the truth? Well, before the game, we got a note that there were some championship shirts made, and we didn't make them," Jones said during the postgame ceremony, via MLB.com. "And a flight. That didn't sit well with us. And a parade. That didn't sit well with us. So we did what we had to do."

"[Marcus] Stroman went out there and gave us his all. The players — they battled. The offense swung the bats, and we brought it home for the United States!"

Now Puerto Rico captain Yadier Molina is demanding an apology from Jones, saying some of his claims are bogus. He also took a shot at how the American team is celebrating its historic win.

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"Adam Jones...is talking about things he doesn't know about," Molina told ESPN's Marly Rivera. "He really has to get informed because he shouldn't have said those comments, let alone in public and mocking the way [preparations] were made."

"He has to apologize to the Puerto Rican people," Molina said. "Obviously, you wanted to win; he didn't know what this means to [our] people.

According to the report, the Puerto Rico team planned to fly home to celebrate the WBC regardless of the finale's result.

"That's why I'm sending a message to [Jones], saying, 'Look at this, right now you're in spring training working out, and we're with our people, with our silver medals,'" Molina told ESPN. "You're in spring training and you're working ... you have no idea how to celebrate your honors, you don't know what it means."

Team USA won the matchup convincingly, with an 8-0 trashing in the title game. Puerto Rico was 7-0 before running into the United States, led by its MVP pitcher Stroman. Molina made the All-World Baseball Classic Team. While Stroman, Eric Hosmer, and Christian Yelich made it for Team USA. Jones had two home runs and five RBI during the tournament, while hitting .200. Molina hit .333 with two bombs and six RBI.

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"Up until tonight, they played better baseball than anybody in the tournament," U.S. manager Jim Leyland said of Team Puerto Rico. "[Wednesday], in a must-win situation for both teams, we played better."

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