World Baseball Classic

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This article is about the current baseball world championship. For the tournament before 2013, see Baseball World Cup. For the most recent edition of the tournament, see 2023 World Baseball Classic.
World Baseball Classic
Upcoming season or competition:
Current sports event 2026 World Baseball Classic
Play Ball Ballpark (48262401092).jpg
Tiffany & Co. Trophy
SportBaseball
Founded2006; 17 years ago (2006)
Administrator
WBC inc. owned by:
No. of teams20 (finals)
ContinentInternational
Most recent
champion(s)		 Japan (3rd title)
(2023)
Most titles Japan (3 titles)
TV partner(s)
Streaming partner(s)Tubi (2023)
Official websitewww.mlb.com/world-baseball-classic
Tournaments

The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament contested by men's national teams of members of the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC). Since its founding in 2006, there have been five tournaments held. The tournament is one of the world's most viewed baseball events.[1][2][3]

It was proposed to the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) by Major League Baseball (MLB), the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), and other professional baseball leagues and their players associations around the world. It is the main senior baseball tournament sanctioned by the WBSC.

It previously coexisted with Olympic baseball (until 2008) and the Baseball World Cup (until 2011) as International Baseball Federation (IBAF) sanctioned tournaments.[4] The final men's Baseball World Cup was held in 2011. It was discontinued in 2013, after an MLB suggestion to reorganize the international baseball calendar. WBSC accepted the suggestion after an executive meeting, giving the "World Champion" title to the WBC winner on the condition that the Classic should have direct qualifications and follow international anti-doping rules.[5]

The tournament is the first of its kind to have the national teams of IBAF's member federations feature professional players from the major leagues around the world, including Major League Baseball. 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.

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 fifth and most recent Classic was scheduled for 2021, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After the pandemic-induced delay, the 2023 World Baseball Classic was held between March 8–21, with Japan defeating the United States 3–2 in the championship game.[6][7]

The sixth and next Classic is scheduled for 2026, with the scheduling frequency of future Classic editions being subject to the terms and conditions agreed at the next collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).[8]

History

Founding

Allan Huber "Bud" Selig

Modeled after the FIFA World Cup and organized in large part as a response to the International Olympic Committee's decision to remove baseball as an Olympic sport in 2005, the WBC has grown into a major sporting event worldwide. The final series in 2006 and 2009 rank among the highest-rated sporting events in Japanese television history.[9]

The World Baseball Classic is held during the month of March, coinciding with the spring training pre-season for most professional baseball leagues such as Major League Baseball (MLB), Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) or the KBO League.[10] 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,[11][12] the tournament continues to attract a star-studded field of elite baseball players, particularly among position players who are potent batters.[13]

2006

World Baseball Classic Trophy awarded to Japan in 2006

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.[14] 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 as the team with the higher winning percentage of games in the tournament were 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 through 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 through 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.

Cuban politician Fidel Castro encouraged Cuba national baseball team to return home after losing to Samurai Japan in the final

2009

Left: Ichiro Suzuki at the 2006 World Baseball Classic
Right: Korea national baseball team player Chang-Yong Lim

The 2009 tournament 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.[15]

Japan drew first blood, scoring on a 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.[16] 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.[16]

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.[17]

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.[17][18]

Japan's Daisuke Matsuzaka was awarded the tournament MVP for the second consecutive time, with a 3−0 record and 2.45 ERA.[19][20]

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

Juan Marichal was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983,[21] with Roseboro's support; he was the first Dominican player, and the first foreign-born pitcher, ever selected.
Roberto Clemente was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1973, becoming both the first Caribbean Puerto Rican and the first Latin-American player to be enshrined.

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. 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.[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 save 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 immediately for their victory by Dominican president Danilo Medina.[25][27]

2017

Team USA logo.
Left: 2017 World Baseball Classic Team USA pitcher Marcus Stroman.
Right: 2017 World Baseball Classic Team Rubio Batter Carlos Beltran.

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]

Team Israel's first round performance afforded it a spot in the second round, in Pool E in Japan, and ensured its participation in the 2021 World Baseball Classic tournament.[30] Ryan Lavarnway was named Pool A MVP.[31] In the first game of the second round, Team Israel beat Team Cuba (world # 5) by a score of 4−1.[32] Israel lost the next two games, to the Netherlands and world # 1 Japan, and came in third in Pool E. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tweeted congratulations to the team for its "amazing journey," and the Israel Defence Forces tweeted its support.[33][34] Following the World Baseball Classic, Josh Zeid was named to the All-WBC team.,[35] In 2018, after the tournament, Israel national baseball teams were the mainstay of the film Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel.

able to reach the second round in its WBC debut. Defending champion Dominican Republic extended its WBC winning streak to 11 games, dating to the 2013 tournament, before also 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 defeated the United States when they faced each other in Pool F.[36] In the championship game, Seth Lugo started for Puerto Rico,[37] 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.[38] Stroman was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.[39]

2023

American fans are holding the United States Flag on the 2009 World Baseball Classic Semifinal.
Japanese fans are holding the Hinomaru on the 2009 World Baseball Classic Semifinal.

In January 2020, MLB announced that the 2021 WBC was expanded to 20 teams. The additional four participants will be determined through qualifying tournaments, which were originally planned to take place in March 2020.[40] However, on March 12, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that the 2021 edition was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[41]

The collective bargaining agreement (CBA) from the 2021–22 Major League Baseball lockout indicated a World Baseball Classic being held in 2023.[42][7] Qualification for the tournament concluded on October 5, 2022, with Nicaragua claiming the final place in a victory against Brazil.[43] The competition took place from March 8, 2023, to March 21, 2023.[6][44]

The 2023 World Baseball Classic has changed, that is, four new teams will be added and a total of 20 national teams will participate in the competition. In the 2023 classic, the MLB urged stars to participate. Mike Trout, announced that his participation, which motivated a cascade of other stars including: Trea Turner, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, J.T. Realmuto, Mookie Betts amongst other big league's finest to join Team USA. This further stimulated participation of other important stars in countries around the world. Including the Samurai Japan team, which also assembled a star-studded roster, featuring Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, and Yu Darvish, Masataka Yoshida, Munetaka Murakami, Yoshinobu Yamamoto to form what for many is the most powerful Japanese team in history.

The United States beat Venezuela (a hostile nation in the eyes of the United States), to face Cuba in the semifinals, and Cuba is also another notorious opponent of the United States in world stage politics. Baseball is the most popular sport in Cuba, and is played at a very high level. Therefore, the stakes of said encounter were high.

Left: The Samurai Japan two-way player Shohei Ohtani
Right: The Team USA Hitter Mike Trout.

After beating Cuba in the semifinals by a wide margin, the United States faced another giant rival, Japan, in the final. The final was so popular that more than 54 million Japanese people watched it. At the end of the ninth inning, Mike Trout, the 21st century's top superstar hitter, faced two-way player Shohei Ohtani as a pitcher. MLB International caster commented on the production, calling it "The World Baseball won tonight." Eventually, Shohei Ohtani won the historic classic rival match by striking out Mike Trout.

After the match the team was congratulated immediately for their victory by Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida

For the 2026 tournament, 16 teams qualified by being within the top four of their four respective pools during the 2023 tournament. The other four remaining participants were determined through the qualifying tournament.[45]

Qualification

See also: World Baseball Classic qualification

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.

Results

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 Num.
teams
1st place, gold medalist(s) Champion Score 2nd place, silver medalist(s) Runner-up 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Third Fourth
1 2006  Japan
 Puerto Rico
 United States
Japan 		10–6
Petco Park, San Diego
Cuba
South Korea
Dominican Republic 		16
2 2009  Canada
 Japan
 Mexico
 Puerto Rico
 United States
Japan 		5–3
(F/10)
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
South Korea
Venezuela
United States 		16
3 2013  Japan
 Puerto Rico
 Taiwan
 United States
Dominican Republic 		3–0
AT&T Park, San Francisco
Puerto Rico
Japan
Netherlands 		16
4 2017  Japan
 Mexico
 South Korea
 United States
United States 		8–0
Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles
Puerto Rico
Japan
Netherlands 		16
5 2023  Japan
 Taiwan
 United States
Japan 		3–2
LoanDepot Park, Miami
United States
Mexico
Cuba 		20
6 2026 TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD

Teams reaching the top four

After the conclusion of each WBC championship game, players from the losing team receive silver medals, followed by the winners receiving gold medals. The third-place team receives bronze medals at a separate date. The WBC does not hold a third-place playoff, so the ranking of the third- and fourth-placed teams is determined by the WBSC.

Teams reaching the top four
Team Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Total
 Japan 3 (2006, 2009, 2023) – 2 (2013, 2017) – 5
 United States 1 (2017) 1 (2023) – 1 (2009) 3
 Dominican Republic 1 (2013) – – 1 (2006) 2
 Puerto Rico – 2 (2013, 2017) – – 2
 South Korea – 1 (2009) 1 (2006) – 2
 Cuba – 1 (2006) – 1 (2023) 2
 Venezuela – – 1 (2009) – 1
 Mexico – – 1 (2023) – 1
 Netherlands – – – 2 (2013, 2017) 2

Performance of nations

Main article: National team appearances in the World Baseball Classic
The countries which have participated in the WBC and their highest standing in the tournament

A total of 23 nations have competed in the WBC proper, with 14 appearing in all five editions. Japan has been the most successful, as the only nation with multiple WBC titles (2006, 2009, 2023), the nation with the most wins in WBC play (30), and as the only nation to reach the championship round in all five WBCs. Japan owns the best overall winning percentage in WBC games at .789 (30–8 record), bolstered by its 7–0 mark en route to the 2023 title.

Along with Japan, three other nations have advanced to at least the second round in all five WBCs: Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States. The US posted a 10–10 overall record through the first three WBCs, with only one appearance in the semifinals. The Americans broke through in 2017, going 6–2 on their way to their first WBC title, then returned to the finals in 2023. Cuba lived up to its history of strong international play by reaching the finals of the inaugural WBC in 2006 before losing to Japan. However, subsequent Cuban teams failed to make a significant mark on the tournament, making three straight second-round exits from 2009 to 2017. Cuba did make it back to the semifinals in 2023, only to suffer a blowout loss to Team USA in the countries' first-ever WBC meeting. Meanwhile, Caribbean rival Puerto Rico made consecutive appearances in the WBC finals in 2013 and 2017, albeit losing both, and stood second to Japan for the most all-time WBC wins (23) after the 2023 tournament.

Of the seven teams to have earned their way into the WBC through the qualification round, only Israel has gone on to reach the second round of the main tournament, doing so in its debut in 2017. Conversely, of the 14 teams to appear in all five tournaments, two have never advanced past the first round: Canada and China. Australia, having also appeared in all four previous tournaments, made it to the second round for the first time in 2023.

Performance of confederations

See also: World Baseball Classic results by confederation
Fans of host Taiwan supporting the country in the 2013 World Baseball Classic

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) currently divides all countries into five confederations based on their region: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.[46] Currently, the two best confederations in international baseball are Americas and Asia, as both confederations add up to 18 of the 20 top four finishes (three titles for Asia and two titles for the Americas). While the appearances of the Americas region expands throughout, all appearances for Asia in the World Baseball Classic were by countries in East Asia in particular. Europe holds the other 2 of the 16 top four finishes, both coming from the Netherlands with the help of the Dutch Caribbean.[47] Italy's and Israel's top eight appearances in 2013 and 2017 respectively have led the region's growth in baseball in addition to the Netherlands' two top four finishes.[48][49] As for Africa and Oceania, both regions lack a baseball scene in general, although South Africa and Australia are indisputably the best two countries in baseball in their respective regions due to their strong leagues.[50][51] In addition, both countries make up all of the World Baseball Classic appearances for their respective regions, including a quarterfinals finish by Australia in 2023.

As decorated as the Americas region is, only six countries in the region have ever made the top four: Cuba, Dominican Republic,Mexico Puerto Rico, United States, and Venezuela. The Dominican Republic and United States are the only countries to earn first place, in 2013 and 2017 respectively. In addition to the aforementioned champions, Cuba and Puerto Rico are the only other countries to have made the top four more than once. As for Asia, the countries in East Asia dominate the baseball scene in that region, as Japan and South Korea are the only two countries in that region to appear more than once in the top four. On top of that, Japan is the only country in the world to appear in the top four in all iterations of the World Baseball Classic, with three first-place finishes earned. As such, all bids so far have been granted to those two regions.

Total times teams qualified by confederation
Confederation Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Total
Teams 2 42 20 15 5 84
Top 8 0 25 8 6 1 40
Top 4 0 11 7 2 0 20
Top 2 0 6 4 0 0 10
1st 0 2 3 0 0 5
2nd 0 4 1 0 0 5
3rd 0 2 3 0 0 5
4th 0 3 0 2 0 5

Honors

Most Valuable Player

The most significant award for individual performance during the tournament is the Most Valuable Player Award. Whichever player wins it receives a trophy after the final. 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.[52] 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.[53] 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.[54] 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.[55]

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

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.

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

All-time WBC individual leaders in various statistical categories through the end of the 2023 tournament, excluding qualifier games.[56]

Trophy

The winning team of each World Baseball Classic is rewarded a large silver trophy as its primary recognition. The two trophies earned by Japan during the inaugural and second classics have been on display at the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame.[57]

Rules of play

In addition to the standard rules of baseball, the World Baseball Classic employs the following additional rules:

Pitch counts

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 still finish a batter's plate appearance even if the limit is reached, but must come out after completing the plate appearance.

A pitcher cannot pitch until:

  • a minimum of four days have passed since he last pitched, if he threw 50 or more pitches when he last pitched
  • a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched
  • a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched

Mercy rules

To prevent one-sided contests, games are ended early if one team is ahead by:

  • 10 or more runs after any complete inning, beginning with the completion of the seventh inning, or;
  • 15 or more runs after any complete inning, beginning with the completion of the fifth inning[58]

These mercy rules do not apply during the knockout stage.[59]

Designated hitter

The designated hitter rule applies for all games.[60]

Extra innings

From 2009 through 2017, starting with the 11th inning, teams automatically start with runners on first and second base.[61] 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.[62] 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.[63] 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 Major League Baseball. The 2023 World Baseball Classic rules and regulations reads: "For any inning beginning with the 10th inning, the Federation Team at bat shall begin the inning with a runner on second base. The batter who leads off an inning shall continue to be the batter who would lead off the inning in the absence of this extra-innings rule. The runner on second base shall be the player (or a substitute for such player) in the batting order immediately preceding the batter who leads off the inning."[64]

Video replay review

Beginning in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, video review is available for all situations as it would be during a Major League Baseball regular season game.[64]

Run differential

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 getting out as possible when batting in the bottom of the inning.[65] This caused problems during the 2013 WBC, where one game spawned a bench-clearing brawl between the Canadian and Mexican teams (Canadian hitter Chris Robinson had bunted for a base hit after Canada had already taken a large lead, causing Mexican pitcher Arnold Leon to throw three consecutive pitches at the next hitter, Rene Tosoni).

These tiebreakers were changed starting in the 2017 WBC to be "fewest runs allowed per inning of defense in head-to-head games", which still places an emphasis on scoring as many runs as possible (and allowing fewest runs as possible).

Eligibility and participation

Eligibility

A player is eligible to participate on a World Baseball Classic team if any one of the following criteria is met:[66]

  • 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 WBCI[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.[67]

Player participation

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, many high-profile players decided not to participate, including key players from the 2009 Japanese team such as Yu Darvish, Ichiro, and Hisashi Iwakuma. However, other prominent players came, 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.[68]

Involvement of professional leagues

The tournament was announced in May 2005 by Commissioner of Baseball Bud Selig.[69] Major League Baseball had been attempting to create such a tournament for at least two years; negotiations with the players' union (MLBPA) and with the team owners had held the plan back. 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 professional 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 current MLB standards in place. 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. In September 2012, after having threatened to boycott the event despite its domestic popularity,[70] Japanese players agreed to take part after reaching a compromise with tournament organizers on sharing sponsorship and licensing revenue.[71]

Tournament growth

Tokyo Dome, the 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool B host
Chase Field, the 2023 World Baseball Classic Pool C host

The World Baseball Classic is one of the most watched baseball games in the world and is the third most attended international tournament in the world after the 2022 FIFA World Cup(3.4 M) and the 2019 Rugby World Cup(1.7 M).

The 2023 World Baseball Classic between Samurai Japan and Team Korea recorded nearly 65 million viewers, higher than the 1980 World Series, making it one of the most viewed baseball event in the world ever.[1][2][3][better source needed] In Japan, 100 million people watched the WBC,[72] and 61 million people around the world watched Shohei Ohtani strike out Mike Trout.[72][73][74]

In the United States, the World Baseball Classic is as popular as MLB postseason in the United States. The 2023 Team USA and Samurai Japan finals were watched by up to 5.2 million people, more than the number of viewers at the MLB postseason Wild Card Series and NLDS[75][better source needed]

In Puerto Rico, 61% of the country watched the rival match between Team Rubio and the Dominican Republic[76]

In addition, the competition has gained national popularity in Taiwan, Venezuela, Mexico, Dutch Caribbean, Cuba, Nicaragua, followed by good ratings in Colombia, Canada, Panama, Czech Republic

The tournament is currently being broadcast in China and is growing in popularity. The 2023 World Baseball Classic will be broadcast on China's largest websites, including Sina Weibo, TikTok, and Bilibili, Kuaishou[77]

Media coverage

WorldWide

Tournament Worldwide TV viewing
record
(since 2022–23)1		 Founder Number of teams
World Baseball Classic 65 m[78][79][80] MLB
WBSC		 20
World Series 13 m[81] MLB 12
Little League World Series 2.5 m[82] Little League Baseball 20
College World Series 1.0 m[83] NCAA 8

Though the first two Classic finals were shown on ESPN in the United States, the entire 2013 tournament was shown exclusively on MLB Network domestically.[84] MLB Network also had the television rights for the 2017 Classic. Also at the moment, ESPN Deportes provides Spanish-language coverage and ESPN Radio has audio rights for the Classic.[85] Sportsnet is the current broadcaster in Canada while ESPN America covers the tournament for the United Kingdom, Ireland and other parts of Europe.

The first qualifier round of the 2017 Classic aired in the United States and Puerto Rico on the MLB Network; and in Australia, New Zealand, and selected surrounding islands on ESPN.[86]

Japanese archipelago

World Baseball Classic television ratings in Japan showing network(s) broadcast on and average viewership, 2023
Classic Date
Network(s) Avg. viewers (Millions) Rating Share
Quarterfinals Mar 16,
2023 		TBS
TV Asahi 		62.6[79] 48.0[87] Un­known
Game 2 Mar 10,
2023 		62.3[88] 44.4[89] Un­known
Game 4 Mar 12,
2023 		60.9[90] 43.2[91] Un­known
Game 3 Mar 11,
2023 		59.1[90] 43.1[91] Un­known
Semifinals Mar 20,
2023 		Un­known 42.5[92] Un­known
Finals Mar 22,
2023 		Un­known 42.4[93] Un­known
Game 1 Mar 9,
2023 		60.2[94] 41.9[95] Un­known

United States

Most watched baseball game series in United States in 2022-23:

Round Date Game Away team Score Home team Network Viewers (millions)
World Series October 28 Game 5 Phillies (10) Astros Fox 13.0
American League Championship Series October 20 Game 2 Yankees 2–3 Astros TBS 5.9
National League Championship Series October 22 Game 4 Padres 6–10 Phillies Fox 5.7
American League Division Series October 11 Game 1 Guardians 1–4 Yankees TBS 5.4
World Baseball Classic March 22 Final Team USA 2-3 Samurai Japan FS1 5.2
National League Division Series October 14 Game 3 Dodgers 1-2 Padres FS1 4.1
MLB Wild Card Series October 9 Game 3 Padres 6-0 Mets ESPN 4.0
MLB Regular Season TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 3.2
Little League World Series TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 2.5
College World Series TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD 1.0

Attendance

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

While comparable tournaments (like the FIFA World Cup and FIBA Basketball 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 five iterations of the event, not including qualifiers, and without regard to whether a nation hosted multiple rounds in the same year.

Host nations by tournaments
Country Bids Years
 Japan 5 2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023
 United States 5 2006, 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023
 Puerto Rico 3 2006, 2009, 2013
 Mexico 2 2009, 2017
Taiwan Taiwan 2 2013, 2023
 Canada 1 2009
 South Korea 1 2017
Host nations by round
Round 2006 2009 2013 2017 2023
First  Japan
 Puerto Rico
 United States		  Canada
 Japan
 Mexico
 Puerto Rico		  Japan
 Puerto Rico
Taiwan Taiwan
 United States		  Japan
 Mexico
 South Korea
 United States		  Japan
Taiwan Taiwan
 United States
Second  Puerto Rico
 United States		  United States  Japan
 United States		  Japan
 United States		  Japan
 United States
Championship  United States  United States  United States  United States  United States

See also

References

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