World Baseball Classic

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

World Baseball Classic

Most recent season or competition: 2026 World Baseball Classic
Sport	Baseball
Founded	May 11, 2005 (2005-05-11)
First season	2006
Organising body	World Baseball Classic Inc. World Baseball Softball Confederation
No. of teams	20
Region	International
Most recent champion	Venezuela (1st title) (2026)
Most titles	Japan (3 titles)
Website	WorldBaseballClassic.com

Jumbotron ad for the 2009 WBC at Rogers Centre

The World Baseball Classic (WBC), also referred to as the World 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. 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". and award them the World Baseball Classic Championship Trophy.

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.

History

Victorino representing the United States national baseball team at the 2009 World Baseball Classic

The early era (2006-2009)

First attempt

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. 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.

2009: Repeat, and Ichiro's two-RBI Single

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.

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. 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.

Dodger Stadium hosting the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The top of a ten-story elevator shaft bears the World Baseball Classic logo.

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. 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.

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

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.

The modern era (2013–present)

Flags from countries participating in the 2013 World Baseball Classic are shown in a pre-game ceremony on the Championship Game at AT&T Park in San Francisco, CA, USA, on March 19, 2013.

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

2013: Direct qualification and "Plátano Power"

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".

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. 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. In Puerto Rico, the final was the most watched sporting event for the past year with nearly 3⁄4 of all households tuning in. 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. Four Dominican relief pitchers combined for 4 scoreless innings.

This was the third time in the tournament that the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico. The Dominican Republic completed the tournament with an 8–0 record, becoming the first undefeated team to win the WBC. 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.

2017: American redemption

Number of MLB 25-man players by country (or possession) (2017)

Rank	Country (or possession)	#	%
1	United States	609	70.2%
2	Dominican Republic	93	10.7%
3	Venezuela	76	8.8%
4	Cuba	23	2.6%
5	Puerto Rico	16	1.8%
6	Mexico	9	1%
7	Japan	8	0.9%
8	Canada	6	0.7%
9	South Korea	5	0.6%
10	Curaçao	4	0.5%
	Nicaragua	4	0.5%
12	Panama	3	0.3%
13	Australia	2	0.2%
	Brazil	2	0.2%
	Colombia	2	0.2%
16	Taiwan	1	0.1%
	Aruba	1	0.1%
	Germany	1	0.1%
	Netherlands	1	0.1%

The United States won its first WBC championship, defeating Japan and Puerto Rico in the semifinals and finals, respectively. Puerto Rico had been undefeated in the tournament before losing in the final.

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".

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. 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.

In the semi-final Japan reached the semifinals with wins in all six games played in the previous rounds. Tanner Roark started for the United States in the semifinal game, while Tomoyuki Sugano started for Japan. Roark pitched four scoreless innings, 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.

In the championship game, Seth Lugo started for Puerto Rico, 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. Stroman was named the tournament's MVP.

2023: Ohtani struck out Trout, Japan's third win in edition's 17-year history

See also: Japan national baseball team

The championship game was one of the most watched games in baseball history. The game was widely praised as an instant classic, with the ending duel between team captains Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani being considered as one of the greatest moments in the history of the sport.

American military in Japan watching the two countries in the 2023 World Baseball Classic final

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. However, on March 12, MLB announced that the 2021 tournament would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

For the 2023 classic, the MLB urged its stars to participate. Mike Trout announced his participation, and others followed, including Trea Turner, Paul Goldschmidt, Nolan Arenado, J.T. Realmuto, Mookie Betts. The Samurai Japan team assembled their own roster, including Shohei Ohtani, Roki Sasaki, Yu Darvish, Masataka Yoshida, Munetaka Murakami, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.

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.'"

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.

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.

2026: New heights and Venezuela first title

The event proved to be quite popular, however, providing many memorable moments including a first-round game between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.

Before the championship game of the 2023 tournament, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the next WBC would be held in 2026. 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. 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.

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. Maikel García of Venezuela was named the MVP of the tournament.

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.

Participating teams

Main article: National team appearances in the World Baseball Classic

Japan winning the inaugural World Baseball Classic

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.

Attendance

World Baseball Classic attendance:

Attendance figures

Year	Host(s)	Total attendance	Games	Avg attendance	% change in avg att.
2006	United States Japan Puerto Rico	737,112	39	18,900	—
2009	United States Japan Mexico Puerto Rico	801,408	39	20,549	+8.7%
2013	United States Japan Taiwan Puerto Rico	788,211	39	20,211	-1.6%
2017	United States Japan South Korea Mexico	973,699	40	24,342	+20.4%
2023	United States Japan Taiwan	1,306,414	47	27,796	+14.2%
2026	United States Japan Puerto Rico	1,619,839	47	34,465	+24.0%

World Baseball Classic qualifier attendance:

Qualification attendance figures

Year	Host(s)	Total attendance	Matches	Avg attendance	% change in avg att.
2013	Germany Panama Taiwan United States	103,774	24	4,324	—
2017	Australia Mexico Panama United States	111,795	24	4,658	+7.7%
2023	Germany Panama	26,080	18	1,449	-68.9%
2026	Taiwan United States	157,799	14	11,271	+677.8%

While comparable tournaments (like the Baseball 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.

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			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

See also: National team appearances in the World Baseball Classic

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

Championship Trophy

Honors

Most Valuable Player

See also: Baseball World Cup § Most Valuable Player

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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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

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.

Pos.	2006	2009	2013	2017	2023	2026
C	Tomoya Satozaki	Iván Rodríguez	Yadier Molina	Yadier Molina	Salvador Pérez	Austin Wells
1B	Seung-yuop Lee	Tae-kyun Kim	Edwin Encarnación	Eric Hosmer	Yu Chang	Luis Arráez
2B	Yulieski Gourriel	José López	Robinson Canó	Javier Báez	Javier Báez	Brice Turang
3B	Adrián Beltré	Bum-ho Lee	David Wright	Carlos Correa	Yoán Moncada	Maikel García
SS	Derek Jeter	Jimmy Rollins	José Reyes	Francisco Lindor	Trea Turner	Ezequiel Tovar
OF	Ken Griffey Jr.	Norichika Aoki	Nelson Cruz	Wladimir Balentien	Randy Arozarena	Roman Anthony
	Jong-beom Lee	Frederich Cepeda	Ángel Pagán	Gregory Polanco	Mike Trout	Fernando Tatís Jr.
	Ichiro Suzuki	Yoenis Céspedes	Michael Saunders	Christian Yelich	Masataka Yoshida	Dante Nori
DH	Yoandy Garlobo	Hyun-soo Kim	Hirokazu Ibata	Carlos Beltrán	Shohei Ohtani	Shohei Ohtani
P	Yadel Martí	Jung-keun Bong	Nelson Figueroa	Kodai Senga	Shohei Ohtani	Paul Skenes
	Daisuke Matsuzaka	Hisashi Iwakuma	Kenta Maeda	Marcus Stroman	Patrick Sandoval	Logan Webb
	Chan Ho Park	Daisuke Matsuzaka	Fernando Rodney	Josh Zeid	Miguel Romero	Aaron Nola

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

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

Batting

Statistic	Player	Total
Hits	Frederich Cepeda	32
Home runs	Alfredo Despaigne	7
Runs batted in	Frederich Cepeda	23
Runs scored	Frederich Cepeda	19
Doubles	Frederich Cepeda Justin Morneau	8
Triples	Yoenis Cespedes	3
Strikeouts	Carlos Beltrán	20
Stolen bases	5 tied with	5
Games played	Carlos Beltrán	28
At-bats	Carlos Beltrán	95

Pitching

Statistic	Player	Total
Wins	Daisuke Matsuzaka	6
Losses	Hung-wen Chen	3
Games	Fernando Rodney	15
Starts	Daisuke Matsuzaka Edinson Volquez	6
Saves	Fernando Rodney	8
Innings pitched	Diegomar Markwell	28.0
Hits allowed	Diegomar Markwell	30
Runs allowed	Barry Armitage	14
Earned runs allowed	Barry Armitage David Bergman	12
Walks	Edinson Volquez	11
Strikeouts	Daisuke Matsuzaka	23

Trophy

Main article: World Baseball Classic Trophy

Rules of play

Main article: World Baseball Classic Inc. § Rules

Coverage

In fact, the final series in 2006 and 2009 rank among the highest-rated sporting events in Japanese television history.

The WBC championship game was televised in the United States on Fox in English and on Fox Deportes in Spanish. Play-by-play announcer Joe Davis and color analyst John Smoltz called the English language broadcast of the games for Fox, and were joined by Ken Rosenthal and Tom Verducci as field reporters. The game averaged 10.8 million viewers on Fox and Fox Deportes combined, peaking at 12.1 million during the later stages of the game. The broadcasters in Venezuela were a pool of TV channels, that included: ESPN/Disney+, 1Baseball Network, Televen, IVC, ByM Sport and Venevisión.

In Japan, Netflix acquired the exclusive rights to the tournament for an estimated 15 billion yen. As another workaround, some karaoke parlors enabled the ability for patrons to sign into the Netflix app in their private booths, so that they could watch the tournament with their friends.

In Latin America, a first-round game between the United States and Mexico, was the third-most-watched game in the history of ESPN Dos, one of the three Spanish-language channels of ESPN in Latin America.

The Japan v. South Korea game averaged 62 million viewers in Japan. The Korean rating in that game was the second-most-watched WBC game in South Korea, after the 2009 Japan-South Korea final.

See also

• 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
• Major achievements in baseball and softball by nation

External links

• Official website