Following the global success that came with the 2023 tournament, the World Baseball Classic is back once again. Baseball’s World Cup-style tournament is held every 3 or so years, with the previous tournament being potentially the most memorable edition yet. 2023 saw a finals matchup between Team USA and Japan, who ultimately took down the Americans for their third championship. To top it all off, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani struck out his then Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to clinch the title for the Japanese. With the momentum from the last tournament expected to carry over, this year should not disappoint.
When it comes to a tournament such as the WBC, there is never a clear favorite to win. One of this year’s most promising teams is the Dominican Republic, which, to the shock of many, failed to advance past pool play last time around. Team DR is loaded with many of the sport’s most electrifying players, such as Juan Soto, Julio Rodriguez, and Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who will look to push the Dominican team to glory. A clear weakness, however, for the Dominican Republic is pitching, which, while stacked with many of the game’s best, lacks some of the big names that other countries have.
A country that should have no problem with pitching is the United States, which boasts the likes of Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, both of whom are defending Cy Young Award winners in their respective leagues as the top pitchers in the sport. Team USA’s offense is flooded with power hitters, including players such as Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, and Kyle Schwarber. Also on the team are young players who look to be the future of the sport, including but not limited to Gunnar Henderson, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Roman Anthony. Team USA will be a force to be reckoned with over the next few weeks.
When Venezuela takes the field this March, they will be a team that many may sleep on, despite their strong baseball background. Their team is made up of well-accomplished veterans, as well as many young players looking to cement their legacy. Their strongest areas are in the outfield, where the likes of Ronald Acuña Jr. and Jackson Chourio will be making their presence felt, and behind the plate, where future Hall of Famer Salvador Perez will team up with one of the league’s best catchers in William Contreras. With that being said, their clear weak point is their pitching staff, which lacks the presence of established talents of the game.
Finally, we have Japan. The defending champions are the biggest outlier of the several title favorites, as many of their players play in Japan’s Nippon League, rather than in MLB. Many of the players in the Nippon League, which is widely considered the second-best in the world, are Japanese themselves, creating a system where the best players from the league are facing small groups of North America’s best. In Japan, baseball is the sport that matters most. An estimated 62 million viewers, nearly half of Japan’s population, tuned in for the 2023 finals matchup, which started at 8 a.m. on a Wednesday locally. Fast forward to 2026, Samurai Japan is again loaded with some of MLB’s best as well as the Nippon League’s strongest. Shohei Ohtani is back once again, along with Kazuma Okamoto, Munetaka Murakami, and Yoshinobu Yamamoto.
The next few weeks should not disappoint, with this year’s installment of the World Baseball Classic shaping up to be the most exhilarating tournament yet.
