WBC Final showed world why Eugenio Suárez is so beloved by Mariners fans

The World Baseball Classic isn't just a chance to pull for your country. It's also a chance to pull for your guys to own an increasingly large stage. Eugenio Suárez did exactly that for Venezuela in the WBC Final, and then he showed why Seattle Mariners fans still count him as one of theirs.

It wasn't merely the game-winning double in the ninth inning, though that obviously helped. It was the difference in a 3-2 win over Team USA, making it every bit as big (if not bigger) than the grand slam that won ALCS Game 5 for the Mariners last year.

After his bat spoke for his talent, Suárez then spoke for the team in a postgame interview with FOX's Ken Rosenthal. What he said was pure "Geno."

“We are family here,” the 34-year-old said. “That’s why we play with passion, with love. Because we feel that jersey, we feel our country in front of us. That’s why this is a lot for us as players, as people, as human beings and as Venezuelans. Now, we are the champions.”

Mariners fans know all about the good vibes Eugenio Suárez brought to Venezuela's WBC triumph

As a Mariners fan, it was hard to watch that and not get all teary-eyed. Maybe there was some extra emotion there, but that's still the "Good Vibes Only" Suárez that Mariners fans got to know and love in his two stints and three years with the team.

Naturally, hitting 66 home runs in 365 games for a team is a good way to become a favorite both within the clubhouse and for the fanbase. But Seattle's love affair with Suárez ran deeper than that, mostly owing to how he made it impossible not to like him.

He really lives by "Good Vibes Only," mainly by only saying positive things when he speaks. It's not easy to do while playing a sport where failure seven times out of 10 constitutes success. But as he said last October, "You’ve just got to work hard, never quit, never doubt yourself, and not put too much pressure."

It would be easy to keep a mantra like that as a strictly personal backbone, but Suárez has a way of projecting his special blend of humility and confidence onto everyone around him. You can see why a whole team would be willing to hold a plane for him.

Though Suárez has been around the majors for 12 years, he has yet to make it to the World Series. And with all respect to the Cincinnati Reds and their contention aspirations, last year's run to ALCS Game 7 with the Mariners may well be the closest Suárez ever gets.

You therefore have to be thrilled for the guy right now. He not only made it to an arguably even bigger stage in the WBC Final, but was the one who delivered the win for a country he has represented so well. Venezuela's third all-time leading home run hitter being the one to get the big hit is all too appropriate.

He didn't need his postgame moment to make the night truly memorable, but nobody ever says no to a deal-sweeter. And if what Mariners fans already knew about Geno is now being internationally recognized, that is fine. He deserves all the fans he can get.