World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic, is a quadrennial international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC), the sport's global governing body, and organized by World Baseball Classic Inc., a partnership of the WBSC and Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), also in the U.S. The winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy. It is one of the two main adult baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the WBSC Premier12, but the only one to grant the winner the title of "world champion". 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. The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after the 2011 edition, when the WBSC accepted MLB's 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. After a three-year gap between the first two installments of the tournament, plans were made for the WBC to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event. The 2021 event was delayed to 2023 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the 2026 event proceeded as originally scheduled. Japan is the only team to win the tournament multiple times, with back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2009, and a third win at the 2023 tournament. The tournament is the first of its kind to have national teams featuring their best professional players from the top-level major leagues around the world, including MLB in the U.S. and The Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPBO) in Japan. 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 WBC was created in order to further promote the game around the globe. The 2023 WBC was one of the most viewed baseball events in the world.
Current season, competition or edition: 2026 World Baseball Classic | |
 | |
| Sport | Professional baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | May 11, 2005 |
| First season | 2006 |
| President | Jim Small[1][2][3] |
| Organising body | |
| No. of teams | 20 |
| Region | International |
| Most recent champion |  Venezuela (1st title) (2026) |
| Most titles |  Japan (3 titles) |
| Official website | WorldBaseballClassic.com |
The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the Classic,[4] is a quadrennial international baseball tournament sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC),[a] the sport's global governing body, and organized by World Baseball Classic Inc., a partnership of the WBSC and Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), also in the U.S. The winning team is awarded the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy.[5][6] It is one of the two main adult baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the WBSC Premier12, but the only one to grant the winner the title of "world champion".[7][8][9]
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.[10] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after the 2011 edition, when the WBSC accepted MLB's 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.[11]
After a three-year gap between the first two installments of the tournament, plans were made for the WBC to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event. The 2021 event was delayed to 2023 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the 2026 event proceeded as originally scheduled. Japan is the only team to win the tournament multiple times, with back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2009, and a third win at the 2023 tournament.
The tournament is the first of its kind to have national teams featuring their best professional players from the top-level major leagues around the world, including MLB in the U.S. and The Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPBO) in Japan. 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 WBC was created in order to further promote the game around the globe. The 2023 WBC was one of the most viewed baseball events in the world.[12]
| WBSC Championships | |
|---|---|
| Amateur World Series | |
| Baseball World Cup | |
| WBSC Premier12 | |
| World Baseball Classic | |
|
WBSC world championship since 2013 |
|
Background
[edit]Prior to the advent of the WBC, there was no international baseball championship of national teams 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 (IBAF) 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. In 2012 it was once again dropped from the Olympic program, appearing as an optional event in 2020.
For most of their history, the Olympics and Baseball World Cup were open only to amateur (i.e. non-professional) players; as a result, those participating in top-level professional baseball leagues in the United States, Japan, and elsewhere were not included. Although both competitions 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 (MLBPA), began campaigning for such a tournament in 2004, enlisting the support of IBAF president Aldo Notari.[13] The inaugural tournament was announced by MLB commissioner Bud Selig and MLBPA president Donald Fehr on May 11, 2005.[14][15] The success of the 2006 tournament led organizers to immediately begin planning for a follow-up tournament in 2009.[16]
The IBAF merged with the International Softball Federation in 2013 to form the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). That same year, the WBSC discontinued the Baseball World Cup, last held in 2011, making the World Baseball Classic one of the two main adult baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the WBSC Premier12.
Status
[edit]The WBC is often compared to the WBSC Premier12 as they are the only two adult international baseball tournaments. However, the WBC is the only one which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".[7][8]
Alongside the WBSC recognition, another reason WBC is also considered larger is that active players in MLB, widely regarded as the highest-level baseball league in the world, do not participate in the Premier12.[17] This renders the Premier12 less significant among some baseball fans while elevating the WBC, even often referring to it as "The World Cup of Baseball" and comparing the tournament with the FIFA World Cup.[18]
Despite this, controversially, the WBSC World Rankings award higher points for winning the WBSC Premier12 than winning the WBC.[19]
History
[edit]The first World Baseball Classic tournament was announced in May 2005 by Bud Selig, the commissioner of Major League Baseball.[15] MLB had been attempting to create such a tournament for at least two years, but faced resistance from both owners and the MLBPA. 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.[20] 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.
2006–2009: Samurai Japan's back-to-back championships
[edit]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.[21] 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 scored 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 MLB, from Cuba's increase in defection to Matsuzaka's impact for the World Series champion Boston Red Sox in the next year.
The next iteration of the tournament, taking place in 2009, featured the same 16 teams from 2006. However, 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.[22]
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.[23] 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.[23]
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.[24] 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.[24][25]
Pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka of Japan was awarded the tournament MVP for the second consecutive time, with a 3−0 record and 2.45 ERA.[26][27]
After the match the team was congratulated immediately for their victory by Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, and South Korean president Lee Myung-bak invited the South Korean team to come and encourage the team.
2013: Direct qualification and "Plátano Power"
[edit]
In 2013, the WBC was one of the two main senior baseball tournaments sanctioned by the WBSC, alongside the Premier12 but the Classic is the only one which grants to the winner the title of "World Champion".[7][8]
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. Italy was the biggest surprise in the early stages of the tournament, making it to the second round with wins over Canada and Mexico.
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.[28][29] 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.[28] In Puerto Rico, the final was the most watched sporting event for the past year with nearly 3⁄4 of all households tuning in.[30][31] 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.[28] Four Dominican relief pitchers combined for 4 scoreless innings.[32]
This was the third time in the tournament that the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico.[28] The Dominican Republic completed the tournament with an 8–0 record, becoming the first undefeated team to win the WBC.[31] 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.[31][33]
2017: American redemption
[edit]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 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".[34][35]
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.[36]
In the semi-final Japan reached the semifinals with wins in all six games played in the previous rounds.[37] Tanner Roark started for the United States in the semifinal game,[38] while Tomoyuki Sugano started for Japan.[39] Roark pitched four scoreless innings,[40] 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 U.S. 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.[41]
In the championship game, Seth Lugo started for Puerto Rico,[42] 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.[43] Stroman was named the tournament's MVP.[44]
2023: Third Japanese championship and "Baseball's already won"
[edit]
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.[45] However, on March 12, MLB announced that the 2021 tournament would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[46]
The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) from the 2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout planned for the next WBC to be held in 2023.[47][48] Qualification for the tournament concluded on October 5, 2022, with Nicaragua claiming the final berth in a victory against Brazil.[49] The competition took place from March 8 to March 21, 2023.[50][51]
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 the U.S. 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 ever.
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, led by Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Randy Arozarena.
After defeating Cuba in the semifinals by a wide margin, the United States faced Japan in the championship game. The final was incredibly popular in Japan, drawing over 54 million Japanese viewers. Shōta Imanaga started for Japan, while Merrill Kelly started for the U.S.. 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 finest 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 matchup, Fox Sports commentator Joe Davis reflected on the spectacle, saying, "As Benji Gil said last night, 'Baseball's already won.'"[52][53] The two battled to a full count. Ohtani lured Trout to swing and miss with a slider down and away, sealing the victory for Japan.[52]
After the match, Japan was congratulated for their victory by Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida. They became the second team to win the WBC without losing a single game the entire tournament, joining the Dominican Republic in 2013.[54]
2026: New heights and Venezuela first title
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Before the championship game of the 2023 tournament, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the next WBC would be held in 2026.[55] Sixteen teams qualified by making the top four of their four respective pools during the 2023 tournament. The other four participants, Nicaragua, Chinese Taipei, Colombia, and Brazil were determined through a qualifying tournament in March 2025.[56][57]
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.[58]
Venezuela had landslide victories over Japan and Italy in the quarterfinal and semifinal and won this year's World Baseball Classic tournament, beating the United States 3–2 in the championship game, with Eugenio Suarez hitting a go-ahead double in the top of the 9th to clinch their first title. It was the first major international sporting competition won by Venezuela since the 1945 Amateur World Series, and the second time in Latin America.[59] Maikel García of Venezuela was named the MVP of the tournament.[60]
The tournament has hit new high levels in attendance and US Television viewership: the 2023 attendance record was broken before the pool play was ended, and US viewership of the final hit 10 million viewers for the first time ever.[61][62]
Format
[edit]| Rank | Country (or possession) | # | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  United States |
1,081 | 73.5% |
| 2 |  Dominican Republic |
144 | 9.8% |
| 3 | Venezuela |
93 | 6.3% |
| 4 |  Cuba |
34 | 2.3% |
| 5 |  Puerto Rico |
27 | 1.8% |
| 6 |  Canada |
22 | 1.5% |
| 7 |  Mexico |
15 | 1% |
| 8 | Japan |
13 | 0.9% |
| 9 |  Colombia |
8 | 0.5% |
| 10 |  Panama |
6 | 0.4% |
| 11 |  South Korea |
5 | 0.3% |
| 11 |  Curaçao[b] |
4 | 0.3% |
| 13 |  Nicaragua |
3 | 0.2% |
| 14 |  Aruba[c] |
2 | 0.1% |
 Australia |
2 | 0.1% | |
 Germany |
2 | 0.1% | |
 Italy |
2 | 0.1% | |
 Chinese Taipei |
2 | 0.1% | |
| 19 |  Bahamas |
1 | 0.1% |
 Honduras |
1 | 0.1% | |
 Peru |
1 | 0.1% | |
 Portugal |
1 | 0.1% | |
 South Africa |
1 | 0.1% | |
 United Kingdom |
1 | 0.1% |
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 Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL).[65] Venues are located in either indoor baseball domes or at outdoor baseball stadiums which have mild or moderately warm temperatures during early spring.
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,[66][67] the tournament continues to attract a star-studded field of elite baseball players, particularly among position players who are potent batters.[68]
In 2006, many high caliber players from both MLB and in leagues around the world participated in the WBC. 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 future 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,[69] before later agreeing to take part after reaching a compromise in September 2012 with tournament organizers on sharing sponsorship and licensing revenue.[70] Nevertheless, many key players from the 2009 Japanese team such as Yu Darvish, Ichiro, and Hisashi Iwakuma did not participate. However, other prominent MLB players played, 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 returned 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 Jose Altuve and Miguel Cabrera.
In 2023, former All-Stars on the U.S. included Mike Trout, Nolan Arenado, Pete Alonso, Adam Wainwright, Mookie Betts, Tim Anderson, Jeff McNeil, J. T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Trea Turner, Kyle Tucker, Ryan Pressly, Lance Lynn, Miles Mikolas, and Paul Goldschmidt.[71] St Louis Cardinals teammates Lars Nootbaar and Tommy Edman participated as part of Japan and South Korea, respectively, in honor of their mothers' heritages.[72][73] Similarly, Los Angeles Dodgers star Freddie Freeman played for Canada, in honor of his late mother.[74] Marcus Stroman, the MVP of the 2017 WBC with the U.S., chose to play for Puerto Rico in 2023.[75] Randy Arrozarena, who was born in Cuba, opted to play for Mexico, since 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 citizen of Mexico.[76]
Rules of play
[edit]In addition to the standard rules of baseball, the World Baseball Classic employs the following additional rules:
Eligibility
[edit]A player is eligible to participate on a WBC team if any one of the following criteria is met:[77]
- The player is a citizen of the nation the team represents.
- The player is qualified for citizenship or to hold a passport under the laws of a nation represented by a team, but has not been granted citizenship or been issued a passport; in this case, the player may be made eligible by World Baseball Classic Inc.[clarification needed] upon petition by the player or team.
- The player is a permanent legal resident of the nation or territory the team represents.
- The player was born in the nation or territory the team represents.
- The player has one parent who is or, if deceased, was a citizen of the nation the team represents.
- The player has one parent who was born in the nation or territory the team represents.[78]
Pitching
[edit]A pitcher cannot pitch more than:
- 85 pitches per game in the Qualifying Round (all tournaments since 2013, when this round was introduced)
- 65 pitches per game in the First Round (all tournaments except 2009, in which the limit was 70)
- 80 pitches per game in the Second Round (all tournaments except 2009, in which the limit was 85)
- 95 pitches per game in the Championship Round (all tournaments except 2009, in which the limit was 100)
A pitcher can finish a batter's plate appearance even if the pitch limit is reached, but must come out after completing the plate appearance.
In addition, these "rest" requirements are in place after a pitcher is used in a game:
- If a pitcher throws 50 or more pitches, at least four days must pass until he pitches again
- If a pitcher throws 30 or more pitches, at least one day must pass until he pitches again
- If a pitcher pitches on consecutive days, at least one day must pass until he pitches again
A pitcher can finish a batter's plate appearance once each threshold is reached and not have to sit out the required amount of days if he is removed after this plate appearance.[79]
Mercy rules
[edit]To prevent one-sided contests, games are ended early if one team is ahead by a certain amount. These mercy rules do not apply during the semi-finals or final.[80]
- A game will end if either team is leading by at least 15 runs after the completion of an inning, beginning with the fifth inning.
- A game will end if either team is leading by at least 10 runs after the completion of an inning, beginning with the seventh inning.[79]
Designated hitter
[edit]The designated hitter rule applies for all games.[81]
Extra innings
[edit]From 2009 through 2017, starting with the 11th inning, teams automatically start with runners on first and second base.[82] The baserunners are the players in the two batting order positions previous to the leadoff batter for the inning (or substitutes called in to pinch-run for those players). Organizers put this rule in place starting with the 2009 tournament, although originally, it did not come into effect until the 13th inning.[83] The intention behind the rule is to help ensure extra-inning games end in as timely a manner as possible, reducing the chance of seeing marathon extra-inning games that place undue strain on players, particularly pitchers.[84] As no extra-inning games in either the 2009 or 2013 WBCs reached the point where the rule came into play, it took until the 2017 WBC for it to affect a game's outcome. There were three such games in 2017, and all three were decided in the 11th inning.
In 2023, the rule was changed to bring the WBC in line with MLB extra-innings rules.[85]
Video replay review
[edit]Beginning in the 2023 WBC, video review is available for all situations as it would be during a MLB regular season game.[85]
Pitch clock
[edit]Beginning with the 2026 edition, the WBC will use a pitch clock for all games, following MLB rules. A pitcher will have 15 seconds to begin his pitching motion with no baserunners or 18 seconds if there is at least one baserunner, with an automatic ball called if the pitch clock reaches zero before a pitch is thrown.[79]
Run differential
[edit]Unlike regular season play, where the number of runs by which a team wins a game is not relevant, the number of runs by which a WBC team wins may be relevant if a tie later develops in the standings. In such cases, teams are ranked by their Team Quality Balance, which rewards them for scoring by as many runs as possible, and for winning with as few of their batters as possible making outs when batting in the bottom of the inning.[86] This caused problems during the 2013 WBC, where one game led to a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and Mexico: Canadian hitter Chris Robinson had bunted for a base hit after Canada had already taken a large lead, causing Mexican pitcher Arnold León to throw three consecutive pitches at the next hitter, Rene Tosoni.[87]
These tiebreakers were changed starting in the 2017 WBC to be "fewest runs allowed per inning of defense in head-to-head games", which places an emphasis on scoring as many runs as possible, while also allowing the fewest runs possible.
Participation
[edit]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 main tournament. 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]Broadcasting and promotion
[edit]The tournament is one of the world's most viewed baseball events.[12][88][89] The 2023 tournament was broadcast in 163 territories through 63 media partners, and it was broadcast in 13 languages globally.[90] MLB said the tournament had revenues of $90–100 million.[91][92] In Japan, nearly 100 million people watched the WBC in 2023,[93] and at least 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 and Central and South America, particularly in Venezuela and part of northern Colombia, and is called the "Clásico Mundial".[94][95][96] 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.[97]
Attendance
[edit]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 |
| 2026 | 1,355,266 | 47 | 28,835 |
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 |
| 2026 | 157,799 | 14 | 11,271 |
Venues
[edit] | This article needs to be updated. (February 2026) |
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While comparable tournaments (like the FIFA World Cup) 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.
The following table lists nations who've hosted any WBC rounds in the first six iterations of the event, not including qualifiers, and without regard to whether a nation hosted multiple rounds in the same year.
| Country | Bids | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Japan
|
6 | 2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023, 2026 |
| United States
|
6 | 2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023, 2026 |
| Puerto Rico
|
4 | 2006, 2009, 2013, 2026 |
| Mexico
|
2 | 2009, 2017 |
 Republic of China
|
2 | 2013, 2023 |
| Canada
|
1 | 2009 |
| South Korea
|
1 | 2017 |
| Round | 2006 | 2009 | 2013 | 2017 | 2023 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qualification | Regensburg Panama City New Taipei City Jupiter |
Sydney Panama City Mexicali New York City |
Regensburg Panama City |
Taipei Tucson
| ||
| Pool stage[d] | Tokyo San Juan Orlando Phoenix Scottsdale |
Toronto Tokyo Mexico City San Juan |
Fukuoka San Juan Taichung Phoenix Scottsdale |
Tokyo Zapopan Seoul Miami |
Tokyo Taichung Miami Phoenix |
Tokyo San Juan Miami Houston
|
| Knockout stage[e] | San Juan Anaheim |
San Diego Miami |
Tokyo Miami |
Tokyo San Diego |
Tokyo Miami |
Houston Miami
|
| Championship[f] | San Diego |
Los Angeles |
San Francisco |
Los Angeles |
Miami |
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 | Semifinalists | Teams | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Champion |
Score |  Runner-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 |
Venezuela |
United States |
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
|
Venezuela |
3–2 LoanDepot Park, Miami |
United States |
Dominican Republic |
Italy |
20 |
Medal table
[edit]| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 2 | United States | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| 3 | Dominican Republic | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Venezuela | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | |
| 5 | Puerto Rico | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 6 | South Korea | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 7 | Cuba | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Mexico | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (8 entries) | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | |
Honors
[edit]Most Valuable Player
[edit]The inaugural winner of the Most Valuable Player 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 multi-million dollar contract to join the Boston Red Sox of MLB.[98] Again in the 2009 WBC, 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 in the tournament.[99] Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Marcus Stroman won the award in 2017 for the U.S. 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.[100] 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 U.S. in the final.[54] The 2026 MVP was Kansas City Royals third baseman Maikel García, who registered 10 hits and 7 RBI, including a key home run in Venezuela's upset quarterfinal win over Japan and an RBI in the championship game.[101]
| Year | Player | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Daisuke Matsuzaka | Starting pitcher | Japan
|
| 2009 | Daisuke Matsuzaka (2) | Starting pitcher | Japan
|
| 2013 | Robinson Canó | Second baseman | Dominican Republic
|
| 2017 | Marcus Stroman | Starting pitcher | United States
|
| 2023 | Shohei Ohtani | Starting pitcher Designated hitter |
Japan
|
| 2026 | Maikel García | Third baseman | Venezuela
|
All-WBC teams
[edit]At the end of each tournament, 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.
Overall, players representing 13 countries have been named to an All-WBC team, with Japan and the United States leading the way with 13 representatives each.
| Rank | 2006 | 2009 | 2013 | 2017 | 2023 | 2026 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan
|
3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 13 |
 United States
|
2 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 13 |
| Puerto Rico
|
0 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 |
| Dominican Republic
|
1 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 9 |
| South Korea
|
3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Cuba
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 |
| Venezuela
|
0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| Mexico
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Italy
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Canada
|
0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Israel
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Netherlands
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Chinese Taipei
|
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Statistical leaders
[edit]All-time WBC individual leaders in various counting statistical categories through the end of the 2023 tournament, excluding qualifier games.[102]
|
Batting
|
Pitching
|
See also
[edit]
- MLB International
- Kodak World Baseball Classic, a 1972 minor league tournament with the same name
- Baseball United Arab Classic, an Arab international baseball tournament using WBC rules.
- Baseball awards § World
Notes
[edit]- ^ From 2013 onward
- ^ Curaçao is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
- ^ Aruba is represented by the Netherlands in certain international competitions.
- ^ First round (2006–2017)
- ^ Second round (2006–2017)
- ^ Championship round (2006–2017)
References
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In my current job, I am President of the World Baseball Classic… the official world championship of baseball.
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- ^
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But the Classic rarely rewards offense alone
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External links
[edit]
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