The World Baseball Classic, the largest international baseball tournament, kicked off on March 4 and will continue until March 17. It occurs every three years and features teams from around the world, divided into four pools of five teams.
The WBC consists of many MLB stars, all getting a chance to represent their home countries to show baseball’s global expansion. Teams first play the other four teams in their pool once, and the top two teams in each pool advance to the knockout stage, which consists of three more rounds.
Each of the four pools bring together nations from around the world, mixing teams with championship expectations and developing baseball nations.
Pool A consists of Puerto Rico, Cuba, Canada, Panama and Colombia. Puerto Rico emerged as the favorite, led by notable MLB stars Edwin Diaz and Nolan Arenado.
The two are shorthanded this year in the absence of their top star Francisco Lindor due to injury.
Cuba is Puerto Rico’s biggest challenger, as they have historically been successful in other international tournaments, though they have not won the WBC. Canada, Panama and Colombia are underdogs but could make a push in a pool filled with uncertainty.
Pool B consists of Mexico, the U.S., Italy, the United Kingdom and Brazil. The U.S. headlined this pool, coming off a loss in the WBC Final in 2023. Having ramped up their team this year with reigning American League MVP Aaron Judge, they’re looking to re-establish themselves as baseball’s top nation.
However, Mexico is also a strong team. Despite their loss in the semifinals in the last tournament, they look to get over the hump and match themselves up with the U.S. It is likely that these two juggernauts in this pool will run through the other three.
Pool C consists of Australia, Japan, South Korea, Chinese Taipei and Czechia. This is a unique pool including all teams from the Asia-Pacific region.
Australia is not seen as a major draw for baseball, but they have been rising in recent years, coming off their best finish in tournament history in 2023. South Korea is known for its passionate baseball culture and strong international history, but it’s currently trailing in this pool after losing to its rival, Japan.
Japan is looking to win back-to-back tournaments and solidify itself as baseball’s top nation, with three-time MLB MVP Shohei Ohtani leading the way.
Lastly, Pool D consists of Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Israel, the Netherlands and Nicaragua. The Dominican Republic is known as one of the strongest baseball nations in the world, winning the 2013 WBC and containing top MLB stars Juan Soto and Fernando Tatís Jr.
Venezuela, led by MLB superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., is the biggest challenger to the Dominican Republic. Coming off a close loss to the U.S. in the quarterfinal of the last tournament, Venezuela is aiming to bounce back and make a deeper run this year. The Netherlands is the strongest European baseball program and had success in 2013 and 2017, but they have struggled recently.
Israel and Nicaragua are developing programs and look to gain more experience on the international stage. With the WBC ongoing, viewers will get to see which nations will rise to the top of baseball and which will continue to grow the sport globally. A few questions remain, specifically: if the U.S. will take back the lead as the top baseball nation, if Japan can maintain its lead and whether a Latin American team can regain the throne.
