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World Baseball Classic

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This article is about the current baseball world championship. For the world championship before 2013, see Baseball World Cup.

World Baseball Classic
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event 2026 World Baseball Classic
SportBaseball
Founded2005; 19 years ago (2005)
First season2006
Administrator
No. of teams20 (tournament)
8 (qualification)
RegionWorldwide
Most recent
champion(s)		 Japan (2023)
Most titles Japan (3 titles)
TV partner(s)United States: Fox/FS1
MLB Network
Streaming partner(s)YouTube, Amazon Prime Video
Official websiteWBCI.com
WBSC Championship
Amateur World Series
Baseball World Cup
World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic,[1] is an international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC),[a] the sport's global governing body, and organized in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB) and Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA). The winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy.[2][3] It is one of the two main senior baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the WBSC Premier12, but is the only one to grant the winner the title of "world champion".[4][5][6]

The tournament, proposed in 2005 by MLB and its Players Association, was first held in 2006 as an invitational event. It previously coexisted with Olympic baseball (until 2008) and the Baseball World Cup (until 2011) as tournaments sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation, the predecessor to the WBSC.[7] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after the 2011 edition, when the WBSC accepted an MLB suggestion to make the WBC the officially-sanctioned world championship, on the condition that the Classic should have direct qualifications and follow international anti-doping rules.[8]

After a three-year gap between the first two installments of the tournament, plans were made for the World Baseball Classic to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event. The third installment of the Classic was held in 2013, and the fourth was held in 2017. The World Baseball Classic was held five times from 2006 to 2023, with Japan, the Dominican Republic, and the United States winning the championship. Japan, as of the 2023 tournament, is the only team to win the tournament multiple times.

The tournament is the first of its kind to have national teams featuring professional players from the top-level major leagues around the world, including Major League Baseball and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). In addition to providing a format for the best baseball players in the world to compete against one another while representing their home countries, the World Baseball Classic was created in order to further promote the game around the globe. As of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the tournament is one of the most viewed sporting events in the world.[9]

Background

[edit]
See also: Baseball World Cup and International Baseball Federation
The Cuban national team at the 1951 Amateur World Series. Cuba won the most international titles in the 20th century.

Prior to the advent of the World Baseball Classic, there was no international baseball championship that saw universal participation from players across the globe. Outside the United States, the formally-recognized "world championship" was the Baseball World Cup, sanctioned by the International Baseball Federation and held 38 times from 1938 to 2011; it was known as the Amateur World Series until 1988. The inaugural 1938 Amateur World Series was contested by Great Britain and the United States over a series of five games from August 13 to 20 in England, and was won by Great Britain. Cuba was by far the most successful team at the Baseball World Cup, winning 25 of the 39 editions.

Baseball was also intermittently played at the Summer Olympic Games as early as 1912, although it was not recognized as an official demonstration sport until the 1984 Los Angeles Games. It would take another eight years, at the 1992 Games, for baseball to be accorded the status of a medal sport.

For most of their history, the Olympics and Baseball World Cup were open only to amateur (i.e. non-professional) players; as a results, those participating in top-level professional baseball leagues in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere were not included. Although both competition formally rescinded their amateur-only status in the 1990s, allowing professional players to participate, there was little participation from major league players. Nevertheless, the idea of a tournament with the express involvement of top-level professional ballplayers had been seriously considered since the mid-1990s. Gene Orza, counsel and board member of the Major League Baseball Players Association, began campaigning for such a tournament in 2004, enlisting the support of IBAF president Aldo Notari.[10] The inaugural tournament was announced by MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and MLBPA president Donald Fehr on May 11, 2005.[11][12] The success of the 2006 tournament led organizers to immediately begin planning for a follow-up tournament in 2009.[13]

The IBAF merged with the International Softball Federation in 2013 to form the World Baseball Softball Confederation. That same year, the WBSC discontinued the Baseball World Cup, last held in 2011, making the World Baseball Classic one of the two main senior baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the Premier 12; however, the WBC is the only one which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".[4][5]

History

[edit]
MLB Commissioner Bud Selig was a driving force in creating the WBC

The first World Baseball Classic tournament was announced in May 2005 by Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball.[12] Major League Baseball had been attempting to create such a tournament for at least two years, but faced resistance from both owners and the MLBPA players' union. MLB owners, notably New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, had been concerned about their star players being injured in international play before the beginning of spring training and the regular season. This was a concern for the MLBPA as well, but their primary objection was with drug testing. MLB wanted the stricter Olympic standards in place for the tournament, while the union wanted the more lax MLB standards in place at the time.[14] Eventually, a deal was reached on insurance for player contracts and a fairly tough drug testing standard. MLB teams would not be able to directly block their players from participating.

Similarly, Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and its players' association had a disagreement over participation in the tournament. While the owners initially agreed to the invitation, the players' union was concerned about the time of year the tournament was scheduled to take place, as well as their right to be better represented for the 2009 tournament. On September 16, 2005, after four months of negotiations, NPB officially notified the IBAF and MLB they had accepted the invitation.

2006–09: Samurai Japan's back-to-back championships

[edit]
See also: 2006 World Baseball Classic championship and 2009 World Baseball Classic championship

The 16-team field for the inaugural 2006 tournament was pre-selected, featuring the countries judged to be the "best baseball-playing nations" in the world; no qualifying competition was held.[15] The tournament format featured round-robin group play in the first and second rounds, followed by single-elimination semifinals and finals. The first game in WBC history saw South Korea defeat Chinese Taipei 2–0 before a crowd of 5,193 at the Tokyo Dome on March 3, 2006. South Korea went on to advance to the semifinals with a 6–0 record but lost to Japan (a team South Korea had beaten twice in the earlier rounds) for a berth in the final game. Meanwhile, Cuba defeated the Dominican Republic in the other semifinal. Both countries had to go through two rounds of group stages and the semi-finals in knockout format to reach the final. Cuba lost only two games, once to Puerto Rico in the first round and once to the Dominican Republic in the second round. However, Japan lost three times, twice to South Korea in each round and the United States in the second round. This sparked a format controversy since South Korea would have a better overall and head-to-head record than Japan by the end of the tournament. As such, Cuba was the favorite to win the final. The team with the higher winning percentage of games in the tournament was to be the home team.

The match began progressing when Japan's starting pitcher–Daisuke Matsuzaka–gave up four hits, five strikeouts and one run by the end of the 4th inning using a gyroball pitching style. Offensively, Japan was able to record 6 runs with the help of Ichiro Suzuki's batting style of contact hitting. Once the Japanese bullpen took the mound in the 6th inning, Cuba aggressively responded for the rest of the baseball game, using power hitting. By the end of the eighth, the disparity would come down to one run in favor of Japan from Frederich Cepeda's home run, who would record three runs batted in by the end of the game. In the ninth, Japan would counter by pushing their offensive limit over Cuba's, which would result in a final score of ten to six. The aftermath of the final most notably included notice from Major League Baseball, from Cuba's increase in defection to Matsuzaka's impact for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox in the next year.

featured the same 16 teams as 2006, but the controversial round-robin format from 2006 was replaced by a modified double-elimination format for the first two rounds (the semifinals and final game remained single-elimination). The eight teams advancing from the first round were the same as in 2006, except for a "Cinderella" performance by the Netherlands, which twice defeated the Dominican Republic to reach the second round. In the semifinals, South Korea defeated Venezuela while Japan defeated the United States. South Korea won the coin flip held after the second semifinal between Japan and the United States, designating them as the home team for the final.[16]

Japan drew first blood, scoring on an RBI single by Michihiro Ogasawara in the third inning. Shin-Soo Choo tied the score 1−all with a home run in the fifth inning. With runners on first and third, Hiroyuki Nakajima hit an RBI single to bring Seiichi Uchikawa home to give Japan the lead 2−1.[17] South Korea failed to take advantage of Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma, who was visibly tired, when they failed to score in the seventh inning, when Iwakuma was relieved by Toshiya Sugiuchi after two outs. Uchikawa hit a single to start the eighth. Atsunori Inaba scored a double to put Uchikawa in scoring position, and Uchikawa scored on Akinori Iwamura's sacrifice fly. Hyun-wook Jong retired the remaining batters to close out the inning.[17]

2006 World Baseball Classic Trophy; the trophy is in the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame

Japan brought out their closer, Yu Darvish, for the bottom of the ninth with a 3−2 lead. Darvish struck out Keun-woo Jeong, but walked Hyun-soo Kim and Tae-kyun Kim to put South Koreans on first and second with one out. Darvish then struck out Choo and was one out away from saving the game. But Bum-ho Lee singled, driving in Jong-wook Lee for the game-tying run to make it 3−all and send the game into extra innings.[18] Japan batted first, with Chang-yong Lim pitching for South Korea in the tenth. Uchikawa and Iwamura hit a single to put runners on first and third with two out. Ichiro was one strike away from ending the inning when he hit a line-drive single up the middle that scored Iwamura and Uchikawa. Lim then hit Nakajima with a pitch and intentionally walked Norichika Aoki to face Kenji Johjima who was hitless up to that point. Lim was able to strikeout Johjima and send the game to the bottom of the tenth. Darvish made short work of South Korea, capping with a strikeout of Keun-woo Jeong to clinch Japan's successful defense of their 2006 championship.[18][19]

Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of Japan was awarded the tournament MVP for the second consecutive time, with a 3−0 record and 2.45 ERA.[20][21]

After the match the team was congratulated immediately for their victory by Japanese prime minister Taro Aso. And Korean President Lee Myung-bak invited the Korean team to come and encourage the team.

2013: Direct qualification and "Plátano Power"

[edit]
See also: 2013 World Baseball Classic championship

In 2013, The World Baseball Classic is one of the two main senior baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the Premier 12 but the Classic is the only one which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".[4][5]

The buildup to the 2013 tournament included a qualifying round for the first time, with the four lowest finishers from 2009 having to re-qualify against 12 additional teams. This resulted in two new nations making their first appearances in the WBC, as Brazil and Spain respectively replaced Panama and South Africa. The round-robin format was revived for the tournament's first-round, while the second-round remained double-elimination. in Pool B, South Korea went into the final game needing not only to win (which would cause a three-way tie for the two second-round berths) but to win by at least five runs in order to have a chance of advancing on tiebreakers. Although Chinese Taipei lost its 2−0 lead in Korea's three-run eighth-inning rally, and then lost the game, they emerged as winners of the pool and of the second-round berth since Korea's margin of victory was only one run. and then Italy was the biggest surprise in the early stages of the tournament, making it to the second round with wins over Canada and Mexico.

2013 World Baseball Classic championship between Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, 20 March 2013

The tournament ended in an all-Caribbean championship game, with the Dominican Republic defeating Puerto Rico, In the final, Samuel Deduno started for the Dominican Republic, while Giancarlo Alvarado started for Puerto Rico.[22][23] 35,703 fans attended the game at AT&T Park in San Francisco. An additional 50,000 Dominican fans watched the game at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.[22] In Puerto Rico, the final was the most watched sporting event for the past year with nearly three-fourths of all households tuning in.[24][25] Edwin Encarnación hit a two-run double in the first inning, giving the Dominican Republic the lead. Erick Aybar had the game's third run batted in for the Dominican Republic. Deduno recorded five strikeouts in five scoreless innings pitched and Fernando Rodney completed the game with a save, his seventh of the tournament.[22] Four Dominican relief pitchers combined for 4 scoreless innings.[26]

This was the third time in the tournament that the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico.[22] The Dominican Republic completed the tournament with an 8–0 record, becoming the first undefeated team to win the World Baseball Classic.[25] Robinson Canó was named the Most Valuable Player of the Classic after he batted 15-for-32 (.469), the most hits in tournament history. After the match the team was congratulated for their victory by Dominican president Danilo Medina.[25][27]

2017: American redemption

[edit]
See also: 2017 World Baseball Classic championship
2013-17 The Classic Trophy

The 2017 tournament returned to the format used in 2006, where both the first and second rounds were round-robin, though with the addition of tiebreaker games if needed. Colombia and Israel qualified for the first time, with Israel using a roster mostly of Jewish American players. Prior to the start of the 2017 World Baseball Classic, ESPN considered Team Israel, ranked 41st in the world, to be the biggest underdog in the tournament, referring to it as the "Jamaican bobsled team of the WBC".[28][29] On the other hand, Defending champion Dominican Republic extended its WBC winning streak to 11 games, dating to the 2013 tournament, before being eliminated in the second round. The United States won its first WBC championship, defeating Japan and Puerto Rico in the semifinals and finals, respectively. Puerto Rico reached the championship undefeated in the tournament, winning all seven games played. Puerto Rico had defeated the United States when they faced each other in Pool F.[30]

In the semi-final Japan reached the semifinals with wins in all six games played in the previous rounds.[31] Tanner Roark started for the United States in the semifinal game,[32] while Tomoyuki Sugano started for Japan.[33] Roark pitched four scoreless innings,[34] while Sugano allowed one run in six innings. The United States scored a run on an RBI single by Andrew McCutchen in the fourth inning, and Ryosuke Kikuchi hit a home run for Japan in the sixth inning to tie the game. The United States scored another run in the eighth inning to take the lead, and Luke Gregerson earned the save. Though the Japanese team was considered the strongest defensive team in the WBC, mistakes by Kikuchi at second base and Nobuhiro Matsuda at third base led to each of the United States's runs.[35]

In the championship game, Seth Lugo started for Puerto Rico,[36] and Marcus Stroman started for the United States. Ian Kinsler hit a two-run home run for the United States in the third inning, as Puerto Rico's performance faltered without earning a single run throughout the innings. Kinsler scored again in the fifth inning on a single by Christian Yelich, and Yelich scored on an infield single by McCutchen. Two more runs scored on a bases loaded single by Brandon Crawford in the seventh inning, and Giancarlo Stanton scored the inning's third run with an RBI single. Meanwhile, Stroman did not allow a hit for the first six innings of play. The United States added another run in the eighth inning with an RBI single by McCutchen. The United States completed the shutout to win the championship.[37] Stroman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.[38]

2023: "Baseball's already won"

[edit]
World Baseball Classic Championship gold medal November 21, 2023

In January 2020, MLB announced that the 2021 WBC would be expanded to 20 teams. The additional four participants would be determined through qualifying tournaments, which were originally planned to take place in March 2020.[39] However, on March 12, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that the 2021 tournament would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[40]

The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) from the 2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout planned for the next World Baseball Classic to be held in 2023.[41][42] Qualification for the tournament concluded on October 5, 2022, with Nicaragua claiming the final berth in a victory against Brazil.[43] The competition took place from March 8, 2023, to March 21, 2023.[44][45]

For the 2023 classic, the MLB urged its stars to participate. Mike Trout announced his participation, which motivated a cascade of others including Trea Turner, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, J. T. Realmuto, Mookie Betts and more of MLB's finest to join Team USA. This further stimulated participation of other important stars in countries around the world. The Samurai Japan team assembled their own star-studded roster, including Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Yu Darvish, Masataka Yoshida, Munetaka Murakami, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, to form what many consider to be the most powerful Japanese team in history.

The United States beat Venezuela to face Cuba in the semifinals. Baseball is Cuba's most popular sport, and is played at a very high level. Therefore, the stakes of the encounter were high. Meanwhile, Japan faced Mexico in the semifinals, who were on a Cinderella run, majorly led by Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena.

After defeating Cuba in the semifinals by a wide margin, the United States faced another great rival, Japan, in the final. The final was incredibly popular in Japan, drawing over 54 million Japanese viewers. Shota Imanaga started for Japan, while Merrill Kelly started for USA. With a 3 - 2 lead, two outs, and no runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Japan's Shohei Ohtani - one of the best pitchers in recent memory - stood on the mound as his Angels teammate Mike Trout, widely considered the greatest player of his generation, stepped up to the plate. After the first pitch of this iconic matchup, Fox Sports commentator Joe Davis reflected on the spectacle, saying, "As Benji Gil said last night, 'Baseball's already won.'" The two battled to a full count. Ohtani would lure Trout to swing and miss with a gutsy slider down and away, sealing the victory for Japan.

After the match, the team was congratulated for their victory by Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida. With Japan's win over USA in the championship game, they became the second team to win the World Baseball classic without losing a single game the entire tournament, after the aforementioned Dominican Republic in 2013.[46]

2026 tournament

[edit]

Before the championship game of the 2023 tournament, MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the next World Baseball Classic would be held in 2026.[47] Sixteen teams qualified by making the top four of their four respective pools during the 2023 tournament. The other four remaining participants will be determined through the qualifying tournament scheduled for 2025.[48]

In May 2024, it was announced that the pool play rounds will be played in Miami, Florida; Houston, Texas; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Tokyo, Japan. The quarterfinals will be split between Miami and Houston, and the final round will be played in Miami.[49]

Format

[edit]
See also: World Baseball Classic Rules

The World Baseball Classic is held during the month of March, coinciding with the spring training pre-season for most top-level professional baseball leagues such as Major League Baseball (MLB), Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the KBO League.[50] Venues are located in either indoor baseball domes or at outdoor baseball stadiums which have mild or moderately warm temperatures during early spring.

Number of MLB 26-man players by country (or possession) (2022)[51][52]
Rank Country (or possession) # %
1  United States 1,057 70.7%
2  Dominican Republic 171 11.4%
3  Venezuela 106 7.1%
4  Cuba 33 2.2%
5  Puerto Rico 28 1.9%
6  Mexico 24 1.6%
7  Canada 15 1%
8  Colombia 13 0.9%
9  Panama 9 0.6%
10  Japan 7 0.5%
11  South Korea 6 0.4%
12  Curaçao[b] 5 0.3%
13  Australia
 Germany		 3 0.2%
15 Multiple[c][d][e] 2 0.1%
18 Multiple[f][g][h] 1 0.1%

Despite the absence of many elite MLB pitchers due to exposure or conditioning limits set by their club employers and insurance underwriting issues and non-standardization,[53][54] the tournament continues to attract a star-studded field of elite baseball players, particularly among position players who are potent batters.[55]

In 2006, many high caliber players from both Major League Baseball and in leagues around the world participated in the World Baseball Classic. Amongst the players that made the All–WBC team were Americans Derek Jeter and Ken Griffey Jr. From Japan, Daisuke Matsuzaka, Ichiro Suzuki and Tomoya Satozaki were on the team. Other internationals included players from Cuba—Yulieski Gurriel, Yoandy Garlobo and Yadel Martí; and from the Dominican Republic—Albert Pujols, Pedro Martínez and José Bautista. The 2009 Classic saw a similarly high-profile field, with a number of players such as Hall of Famers Pedro Martínez, Iván Rodríguez and Chipper Jones and the major international debuts of Cuba's Yoenis Céspedes and Aroldis Chapman.

For the 2013 tournament, Japanese players threatened to boycott the event despite its domestic popularity,[56] before later agreeing to take part after reaching a compromise in September 2012 with tournament organizers on sharing sponsorship and licensing revenue.[57] Nevertheless, many key players from the 2009 Japanese team such as Yu Darvish, Ichiro, and Hisashi Iwakuma decided not to participate. However, other prominent MLB players accepted selections from their national teams, such as Miguel Cabrera, David Wright, R. A. Dickey, Joey Votto, Adrián González, Robinson Canó, and José Reyes, among many others.

In 2017, former All-Stars such as Adam Jones, Chris Archer, Buster Posey, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew McCutchen and others played for the United States. For the Dominican Republic, former All-Stars Adrián Beltré, Robinson Canó, Manny Machado, José Reyes, Edinson Vólquez, and more participated. Adrián González played once more for Mexico, and Yadier Molina and Carlos Beltrán represented Puerto Rico alongside up-and-coming stars such as Javier Báez, Carlos Correa, and Francisco Lindor. Venezuela's roster included José Altuve and Miguel Cabrera.

In 2023, former All-Stars on the U.S. team included Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, Pete Alonso, Mookie Betts, Tim Anderson, Jeff McNeil, J. T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, and Paul Goldschmidt.[58] St Louis Cardinals teammates Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman both participated as part of Japan and South Korea respectively, in honor of both their mothers' heritages.[59][60] Similarly, Los Angeles Dodgers player Freddie Freeman decided to play for Canada instead, in honor of his late mother.[61] Randy Arozarena, despite being Cuban, opted to play for Mexico instead after the WBC rules allowed players who legally were residents in a country to play for that country, having asked Mexican president Andrés Manuel López Obrador to help him in his case for approval of his application as a legal citizen of Mexico.[62]

Participation

[edit]
See also: 2026 World Baseball Classic
Flag of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC)

The first two iterations of the Classic featured the same 16 teams, chosen by invitation. A qualifying round was added leading into the 2013 tournament and takes place in the year before the WBC proper. Brazil and Spain were the first new countries to earn berths in the WBC via qualification, and so far the addition of qualifying has allowed seven nations to play in the tournament who were not part of the original 16.

The qualification setup for the 2013 and 2017 WBCs featured the top 12 finishing teams from the previous WBC being automatically entered in the following edition, while the four lowest finishers (the teams that finished in last place in their first-round pools) were relegated to the qualifying round. Qualifying consisted of four four-team modified double-elimination tournaments, with the winners earning the last four slots in the main tournament.

With the 2023 WBC expanding to 20 teams, the qualifying format changed as well. All 16 participants from the 2017 WBC received automatic bids. The restructured qualifying round consisted of a pair of six-team double-elimination tournaments, from which the winners and runners-up advanced to play in the 2023 WBC.

Trophy

[edit]
See also: World Baseball Classic Trophy

Broadcasting and promotion

[edit]
See also: World Baseball Classic television ratings

The tournament is one of the world's most viewed baseball events.[9][63][64] The 2023 tournament was broadcast in 163 territories through 63 media partners, and it was broadcast in 13 languages around the globe.[65] and received US$100 million in benefits,[66] In Japan, nearly 100 million people watched the WBC in 2023,[67] and 55+ million people watched the end of the tournament, as Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout. The tournament is one of the most popular events in the Caribbean, Central and South America, particularly in Venezuela, part of Northern Colombia and is called the "Clásico Mundial".[68][69][70] The match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico is considered a strong rivalry, called "El Clásico". In 2023, the Pool D game between Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic was viewed by 62% of households in Puerto Rico.[71]

Attendance

[edit]
See also: List of sports attendance figures

World Baseball Classic attendance:

Year Total attendance # games Avg attendance
2006 737,112 39 18,900
2009 801,408 39 20,549
2013 781,438 39 20,037
2017 973,699 40 24,342
2023 1,165,857 47 24,805

World Baseball Classic qualifier attendance:

Year Total attendance # Games Avg attendance
2013 103,774 24 4,324
2017 111,795 24 4,658
2023 26,080 18 1,449

Venues

[edit]

While comparable tournaments traditionally have had one host country, each WBC has used multiple hosts spread around different parts of the world. Thus far, seven different countries have hosted at least one WBC pool, with each edition of the tournament featuring games played in Asia, Latin America, and the United States. However, the championship round has always been held at Major League Baseball stadiums in the United States.

class=notpageimage|
  Qualifier
  WBC venue
Bold: Championship venue
Round 2006 2009 2013 2017 2023 2026 2030
Qualification Germany Regensburg
Panama Panama City
Taiwan Taiwan
United States Jupiter		 Australia Sydney
Panama Panama City
Mexico Mexicali
United States New York City		 Germany Regensburg
Panama Panama City
Pool stage Japan Tokyo
Puerto Rico San Juan
United States Orlando
United States Phoenix
United States Scottsdale		 Canada Toronto
Japan Tokyo
Mexico Mexico City
Puerto Rico San Juan		 Japan Fukuoka
Puerto Rico San Juan
Taiwan Taichung
United States Phoenix
United States Scottsdale		 Japan Tokyo
Mexico Zapopan
South Korea Seoul
United States Miami		 Japan Tokyo
Taiwan Taichung
United States Miami
United States Phoenix		 Japan Tokyo
Puerto Rico San Juan
United States Miami
United States Houston
Knockout stage Puerto Rico San Juan
United States Anaheim		 United States San Diego
United States Miami		 Japan Tokyo
United States Miami		 Japan Tokyo
United States San Diego		 Japan Tokyo
United States Miami		 United States Houston
United States Miami
Championship United States San Diego United States Los Angeles United States San Francisco United States Los Angeles United States Miami United States Miami

Results

[edit]
Keys
  • F/N: result/match won after extra innings or mercy rule, where N is the total number of innings in the match
  • TBD: to be determined
Ed. Year Hosts First place game Semi-finalists T
Champions Score Runners-up Third place Fourth place
1 2006  United States
 Japan
 Puerto Rico
Japan 		10–6
Petco Park, San Diego
Cuba
South Korea
Dominican Republic 		16
2 2009  United States
 Canada
 Japan
 Mexico
 Puerto Rico
Japan 		5–3
(F/10)
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
South Korea
United States
Venezuela 		16
3 2013  United States
 Japan
 Puerto Rico
 Taiwan
Dominican Republic 		3–0
AT&T Park, San Francisco
Puerto Rico
Japan
Netherlands 		16
4 2017  United States
 Japan
 Mexico
 South Korea
United States 		8–0
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Puerto Rico
Japan
Netherlands 		16
5 2023  United States
 Japan
 Taiwan
Japan 		3–2
LoanDepot Park, Miami
United States
Mexico
Cuba 		20
6 2026  United States
 Japan
 Puerto Rico 		To be determined To be determined 20

Performance of nations

[edit]
See also: National team appearances in the World Baseball Classic
Team 2006
(16) 		2009
(16) 		2013
(16) 		2017
(16) 		2023
(20) 		Total
 Australia R1
13th		 R1
12th		 R1
16th		 R1
9th		 QF
7th		 5
 Brazil × × R1
14th		 • • 1
 Canada R1
9th		 R1
13th		 R1
12th		 R1
15th		 R1
12th		 5
 China R1
15th		 R1
11th		 R1
13th		 R1
16th		 R1
20th		 5
 Chinese Taipei R1
12th		 R1
14th		 R2
8th		 R1
14th		 R1
17th		 5
 Colombia × × • R1
11th		 R1
18th		 2
 Cuba 2nd R2
6th		 R2
5th		 R2
7th		 4th 5
 Czech Republic × × • • R1
14th		 1
 Dominican Republic 4th R1
9th		 1st R2
5th		 R1
10th		 5
 Great Britain × × • • R1
15th		 1
 Israel × × • R2
6th		 R1
16th		 2
 Italy R1
10th		 R1
10th		 R2
7th		 R1
12th		 QF
8th		 5
 Japan 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 1st 5
 Mexico R2
6th		 R2
8th		 R1
11th		 R1
13th		 3rd 5
 Netherlands R1
11th		 R2
7th		 4th 4th R1
11th		 5
 Nicaragua × × • • R1
19th		 1
 Panama R1
14th		 R1
15th		 • • R1
13th		 3
 Puerto Rico R2
5th		 R2
5th		 2nd 2nd QF
6th		 5
 South Africa R1
16th		 R1
16th		 • • • 2
 South Korea 3rd 2nd R1
9th		 R1
10th		 R1
9th		 5
 Spain × × R1
15th		 • • 1
 United States R2
8th		 4th R2
6th		 1st 2nd 5
 Venezuela R2
7th		 3rd R1
10th		 R2
8th		 QF
5th		 5
Team 2006
(16) 		2009
(16) 		2013
(16) 		2017
(16) 		2023
(20) 		Total
Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarterfinals (2023–present)
  • R2 – Round 2 (2006–2017: second round)
  • R1 – Round 1 (2006–2017: first round, 2023–present: pool stage)
  •      – Relegated to qualification tournament
  • Q – Qualified
  •  •  – Did not qualify
  •  ×  – Did not enter

Debut of national teams

[edit]
Year Debutants Total CT
2006  Australia,  Canada,  China,  Chinese Taipei,  Cuba,  Dominican Republic,  Italy,  Japan,  Mexico,  Netherlands,  Panama,  Puerto Rico,  South Korea,  South Africa,  United States,  Venezuela 16 16
2009 None 0 16
2013  Brazil,  Spain 2 18
2017  Colombia,  Israel 2 20
2023  Great Britain,  Czech Republic,  Nicaragua 3 23
2026 TBD – –

Overview

[edit]
Team Apps Record
streak 		Active
streak 		Debut Most
recent 		Best result
 Australia 5 5 5 2006 2023 Quarterfinals (2023)
 Canada 5 5 5 2006 2023 Pool stage
 China 5 5 5 2006 2023 Pool stage
 Chinese Taipei 5 5 5 2006 2023 Quarterfinals (2013)
 Cuba 5 5 5 2006 2023 Runners-up (2006)
 Dominican Republic 5 5 5 2006 2023 Champions (2013)
 Italy 5 5 5 2006 2023 Quarterfinals (2013, 2023)
 Japan 5 5 5 2006 2023 Champions (2006, 2009, 2023)
 Mexico 5 5 5 2006 2023 Third place (2023)
 Netherlands 5 5 5 2006 2023 Fourth place (2013, 2017)
 Puerto Rico 5 5 5 2006 2023 Runners-up (2013, 2017)
 South Korea 5 5 5 2006 2023 Runners-up (2009)
 United States 5 5 5 2006 2023 Champions (2017)
 Venezuela 5 5 5 2006 2023 Third place (2009)
 Panama 3 2 1 2006 2023 Pool stage
 South Africa 2 2 0 2006 2009 Pool stage
 Colombia 2 2 2 2017 2023 Pool stage
 Israel 2 2 2 2017 2023 Quarterfinals (2017)
 Brazil 1 1 0 2013 2013 Pool stage
 Spain 1 1 0 2013 2013 Pool stage
 Great Britain 1 1 1 2023 2023 Pool stage
 Czech Republic 1 1 1 2023 2023 Pool stage
 Nicaragua 1 1 1 2023 2023 Pool stage

Honors

[edit]

Most Valuable Player

[edit]
Daisuke Matsuzaka is the only player to twice win the WBC MVP

The inaugural winner of the award in 2006 was Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka, who pitched 13 innings and finished with a 3–0 record. Soon after this performance, Matsuzaka received a multimillion-dollar contract to join the Boston Red Sox of America's Major League Baseball.[72] Again in the 2009 World Baseball Classic, Matsuzaka received the world classic MVP, finishing with a record of 3–0 and an ERA of 2.54. In 2013, Robinson Canó won MVP after hitting .469 with two home runs and six RBI over the course of the tournament.[73] Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman took home the award in 2017 for the United States. Stroman posted a 2.35 ERA over three starts and no-hit Puerto Rico through six innings in an 8–0 win in the Finals.[74] In 2023, Los Angeles Angels two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani claimed MVP honors after slashing .435/.606/.739 as a hitter and posting a 1.86 ERA and 11 strikeouts in 92⁄3 innings as a pitcher, also pitching the final inning of Japan's win over the US in the final.[46]

Year Player Position Nationality
2006 Daisuke Matsuzaka Starting pitcher Japan Japan
2009 Daisuke Matsuzaka Starting pitcher Japan Japan
2013 Robinson Canó Second baseman Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
2017 Marcus Stroman Starting pitcher United States United States
2023 Shohei Ohtani Starting pitcher
Designated hitter 		Japan Japan

All-WBC teams

[edit]

At the end of each edition of the World Baseball Classic, an all-star team is selected based on their play in the tournament. Three pitchers, eight other position players (one each at each position, including three outfielders), and a designated hitter are named to the team. Japanese pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka, Puerto Rican catcher Yadier Molina and Puerto Rican shortstop Javier Báez are the only players to be named to the All–WBC team twice. Japanese two-way player Shohei Ohtani is the only player to be named to the All-WBC team at two separate positions, having been named to the 2023 team as both a designated hitter and a pitcher.

Pos. 2006 2009 2013 2017 2023
C Japan Tomoya Satozaki Puerto Rico Iván Rodríguez Puerto Rico Yadier Molina Puerto Rico Yadier Molina Venezuela Salvador Pérez
1B South Korea Seung-yuop Lee South Korea Tae-kyun Kim Dominican Republic Edwin Encarnación United States Eric Hosmer Chinese Taipei Yu Chang
2B Cuba Yulieski Gourriel Venezuela José López Dominican Republic Robinson Canó Puerto Rico Javier Báez Puerto Rico Javier Báez
3B Dominican Republic Adrián Beltré South Korea Bum-ho Lee United States David Wright Puerto Rico Carlos Correa Cuba Yoán Moncada
SS United States Derek Jeter United States Jimmy Rollins Dominican Republic José Reyes Puerto Rico Francisco Lindor United States Trea Turner
OF United States Ken Griffey Jr. Japan Norichika Aoki Dominican Republic Nelson Cruz Netherlands Wladimir Balentien Mexico Randy Arozarena
South Korea Jong-beom Lee Cuba Frederich Cepeda Puerto Rico Ángel Pagán Dominican Republic Gregory Polanco United States Mike Trout
Japan Ichiro Suzuki Cuba Yoenis Céspedes Canada Michael Saunders United States Christian Yelich Japan Masataka Yoshida
DH Cuba Yoandy Garlobo South Korea Hyun-soo Kim Japan Hirokazu Ibata Puerto Rico Carlos Beltrán Japan Shohei Ohtani
P Cuba Yadel Martí South Korea Jung-keun Bong Puerto Rico Nelson Figueroa Japan Kodai Senga Japan Shohei Ohtani
Japan Daisuke Matsuzaka Japan Hisashi Iwakuma Japan Kenta Maeda United States Marcus Stroman Mexico Patrick Sandoval
South Korea Chan Ho Park Japan Daisuke Matsuzaka Dominican Republic Fernando Rodney Israel Josh Zeid Cuba Miguel Romero

Overall, players representing 12 countries have been named to an All-WBC team, with Japan leading the way with 12 representatives.

Puerto Rico's Yadier Molina is tied for the most All-WBC Team selections (2)
Rank 2006 2009 2013 2017 2023 Total
 Japan 3 3 2 1 3 12
 Puerto Rico 0 1 3 5 1 10
 United States 2 1 1 3 2 9
 Dominican Republic 1 0 5 1 0 7
 South Korea 3 4 0 0 0 7
 Cuba 3 2 0 0 2 7
 Mexico 0 0 0 0 2 2
 Venezuela 0 1 0 0 1 2
 Canada 0 0 1 0 0 1
 Israel 0 0 0 1 0 1
 Netherlands 0 0 0 1 0 1
 Chinese Taipei 0 0 0 0 1 1

Statistical leaders

[edit]

All-time WBC individual leaders in various statistical categories through the end of the 2023 tournament, excluding qualifier games.[75]

See also

[edit]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ From 2013 onward
  2. ^ Curaçao is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
  3. ^ Aruba, Bahamas & Nicaragua all had two players compete in MLB games.
  4. ^ Aruba is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
  5. ^ Bahamas is represented by Great Britain in certain international competitions.
  6. ^ Brazil, Guam, Honduras, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Peru, South Africa, Taiwan & United States Virgin Islands all had one player compete in MLB games.
  7. ^ Guam is represented by the United States in certain international competitions.
  8. ^ The US Virgin Islands is represented by the United States in certain international competitions.

References

[edit]
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[edit]
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