2023 World Baseball Classic: Here's What You Need to Know

The World Baseball Classic is baseball's answer to FIFA's soccer World Cup and FIBA's Basketball World Cup. The 2023 World Baseball Classic returned this week, with the United States, Japan, and Taiwan hosting baseball's most prestigious game.

The tournament started in 2006, with Japan, Puerto Rico, and the United States co-hosting. That year, the final was played at Petco Park in San Diego.

It is organized by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) in partnership with Major League Baseball (MLB).

The tournament is back for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. It was supposed to be held in 2021 but was moved this year because of the global pandemic.

Like FIFA and FIBA's global tournaments, there are also qualifying matches in order to be able to play in the World Baseball Classic, with the hosts and reigning regional champions automatically qualifying.

Japan has the most titles so far, winning the first two tournaments in 2006 and 2009, with the Dominican Republic and the United States having one title each.

This year, the United States is the defending champion, with Japan, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic also being named favorites.

United States Sent a 'Dream Team' of Perennial MLB All-Stars to Defend World Championship

After failing to win in the first three World Baseball Classic tournaments, the United States finally became World Champions for the first time in 2017.

In this first defense of the title, the Americans sent a team of perennial MLB all-stars, with some of the biggest names in baseball representing the country. Should the Americans win, they would tie Japan with the most WBC championships.

To make this happen, Los Angeles Angels star Mike Trout, ten-time MLB All-Star, three-time American League Most Valuable Player, and a nine-time winner of the Silver Slugger Award is leading the charge.

According to the New York Times, Trout was active in recruiting other American MLB stars to join Team USA.

He was one of the first people to join this "dream team," and his presence had some other big names like Cedric Mullins, Kyle Schwarber, and Kyle Tucker signing up for the Red, White, and Blue.

Schwarber is one of three Philadelphia Phillies on the team, with J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner.

Tucker is still hot off his big World Series win with the Houston Astros. The New York Times reported that the roster reads like an all-star team, with names like New York Mets' Jeff McNeil, White Sox' Lance Lynn, and St. Louis' Miles Mikolas all being part of the stacked roster.

Other Favorites in the World Baseball Classic

Two-time World Champion Japan will challenge the heavily-favored Team USA again this year. They are coming off a big 13-4 victory over South Korea Friday night for its second straight win, according to USA Today.

Japan is being led by the man many consider the best player in the world now, Shohei Ohtani. Other MLB talents like Yu Darvish and non-MLB stars like reigning NPB MVP Munetaka Murakami, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, and Masataka Yoshida will join him.

On the other hand, former champs Dominican Republic are also bringing their A-Game to the tournament as they hope to win back the world title from the Americans. Their stars include Robinson Cano, Bryan Abreu, as well as Jeremy Peña, who recently won the World Series with the Astros.

Puerto Rico may not have won the tournament yet, but they are also fielding a world-class team with significant star power, led by Francisco Lindor and Javier Báez. However, one name missing is Carlos Correa, who opted not to participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic tournament.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

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