The World Baseball Classic (WBC) has made its return after a three-year hiatus, featuring the American classic that will be played at an entirely different level. Players will proudly compete for their home country, striving to bring a title back to their homeland.
There have only been five tournaments since its creation in 2006. This year, 20 teams will battle it out between March 5 and 17. There are four pools that divide the teams up, with two venues in the U.S., one venue in Puerto Rico and an additional venue in Japan.
Players are eligible to play for a team if they are a citizen or resident of the country, they have at least one parent who was born in the country or if they have previously been listed on the country’s roster. There are a few other ways they can be deemed eligible, which can be found on the Major League Baseball website.
Pool A consists of Canada, Colombia, Cuba, Panama and Puerto Rico. These games will be played in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at Hiram Bithorn Stadium, which will only host the first round of games.
Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros, will be a host city for the first time in the history of the WBC. Welcoming Pool B, Brazil, Great Britain, Italy, Mexico and the U.S. will play here. Daikin Park will also host a round of quarterfinals games, featuring teams who advance from Pools A and B.
The Tokyo Dome is no stranger to the tournament – the stadium has served as a venue in every WBC. Pool C will play here and feature Australia, Chinese Taipei, Czechia, Japan and Korea.
Pool D will play at LoanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins, and will return as a host venue after its first appearance in 2023. The teams playing here consist of the Dominican Republic, Israel, Netherlands, Nicaragua and Venezuela. This stadium will host the tournament’s quarterfinals between teams from Pools C and D, semifinals and final.
Japan has the most wins in history slated at three, with the most recent one being the reigning champs in the last WBC in 2023. The Dominican Republic was crowned champion in 2013, and USA brought home the trophy in 2017.
Baseball fanatics all over the world are looking forward to another exciting tournament as the last final between USA and Japan ended in a thriller. Shohei Ohtani struck out former teammate Mike Trout on a full count and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to seal the win and bring home Japan another championship.
USA, Japan and the Dominican Republic are particularly loaded with athletes from Major League Baseball.
Team USA has well-known stars Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Tarik Skubal, Clayton Kershaw and Paul Skenes.
While Ohtani is the face of team Japan, Dodger teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto is also set to play. The team mainly consists of players outside of MLB, and Hiromi Itoh and Teruaki Sato who play for Nippon Professional Baseball are additionally expected to bring the heat.
The Dominican Republic, on the other hand, has only one player who does not play for MLB. This team is stacked with strength, including Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jeremy Peña, Julio Rodriguez, Juan Soto, Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., just to name a few.
Roster construction has been rocky this year. For some countries, several MLB players aren’t allowed to play due to insurance issues.
Puerto Rico has struggled the most, with eight stars who had to pull out of the tournament, including Francisco Lindor and Carlos Correa. Venezuela is next in line with about five guys being denied insurance, including Jose Altuve.
Former MLB player and Hall of Famer, Ken Griffey Jr., was recently announced to be the tournament’s Global Ambassador. He will work with MLB Network and other platforms to showcase exclusive interviews featuring Griffey and other notable athletes playing in the classic in efforts to grow the game of baseball.
“There is so much anticipation around this tournament, so to get the chance to lock in and share how all of these different countries connect with our great game is an opportunity I’m truly excited about,” Griffey said.
