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How the World Baseball Classic Became Cool

The WBC has evolved from a curiosity to a marquee event for baseball

Pablo Figueroa
Misc 3/3/2026

Just under three years ago, the World Baseball Classic gave us this moment, equal parts surreal and special.

In many ways, it may have been the pinnacle of the event, with the top two baseball nations facing off and all coming down to two former superstar teammates in a one-run game. As Mike Trout whiffed on that tight, nasty Shohei Ohtani slider, the end of the game not only signaled Japan as the world champion, it also solidified the WBC as a premier event with wide-ranging reach. With the tournament set to stage its sixth iteration in just a few days, it is important to understand how we got here.

When MLB recognized the need to have a true world tournament involving top talent, the idea for the WBC was born, right around the time American sports started to showcase the best they had on multiple international stages. Much like the best basketball players filled out Olympic and FIBA rosters and the NHL stars started to make Olympic hockey a must-see event, baseball needed to catch up with that current.

The initial WBC was not without its challenges, though, as several team owners and managers pushed back at the idea of lending some of their best players right in the middle of Spring Training. The initial US roster featured plenty of recognizable names and future Hall of Famers on offense, including Alex Rodriguez, Chipper Jones, Derek Jeter, and Ken Griffey, Jr., but it also failed to secure a comparable pitching staff to back it up. With an aging Roger Clemens as the team’s de-facto ace, the Americans failed to even make the semifinal round, even as MLB managed to produce an impressive hype commercial that aired during the Super Bowl.

With Japan taking home the first WBC championship, the event was considered a massive success, albeit mostly with international audiences. It may be inconceivable now, but the opening tourney included games aired on tape delay, while most of the impact was felt in Asia and Latin America. The learning curve continued just three years later, as the format was updated to improve pool play and try to attract a larger talent pool.

The end result from the second iteration of the WBC was similar in many ways, including a less-than-ideal pitching staff for the US. While stars like Jeter and Chipper were flanked by young phenoms like Dustin Pedroia, David Wright, and Evan Longoria, the lack of quality hurlers led to Team USA allowing more than five runs per game, including a 10-6 drubbing at the hands of Venezuela and a 9-4 defeat against Japan in the semifinals, as the Samurais would go on to defend their title. With the Americans failing to secure a spot in the finals, it again led to questions about the tournament’s true value, but it was still a massive success in the international market.

Things would start to turn as the WBC entered its second decade, as the organization would again be updated to include more countries invited to qualification rounds and a more standardized four-year waiting period was instituted. Even as the US again failed to make much of a dent in the final standings, a Latin American wave of loaded teams became all the rage, and the Netherlands shocked the world by making it all the way to the semifinals with a rag-tag team that included plenty of American and Curacao-born players with enough ties to the motherland to be considered.

The Dutch became one of the first teams to showcase top-100 prospects in their national team, with the likes of Andrelton Simmons, Jonathan Schoop and Jurickson Profar then going on to have long MLB careers. The 2013 championship was ultimately won by the pitching powerhouse Dominican Republic, as they pitched a shutout to defeat Puerto Rico in a classic final. The tournament also featured one of its first true notable moments when Mexico and Canada produced an all-timer brawl during pool play, signaling that the WBC was slowly becoming a true matter of rivalries and national pride.

Team USA would enter the 2017 WBC with a renewed sense of purpose, albeit with some of the same constraints among its power arms. However, a slew of past and future MVPs was enough to overcome them, with Buster Posey, Ryan Braun, Paul Goldschmidt, Andrew McCutchen, and Christian Yelich providing plenty of firepower. The US’s progression through the tournament produced some of the most indelible moments seen to that point, including consecutive elimination games against the defending champs and Japan. A 25-year-old Marcus Stroman would become the team’s revelation and earn the MVP award, while Adam Jones made an iconic catch that is still played continuously in WBC highlight montages.

The first American championship added a new layer of international pride and competition as the next version was slated for 2021, but the COVID pandemic moved the proceedings to 2023. With MLB experimenting with new rules and an expanded qualification pool, the WBC became a ratings juggernaut like never before, as the two-year waiting period provided a great sense of anticipation. Japan fielded its best team ever with a prime Shohei Ohtani wreaking havoc with the bat and with his arm.

The 2023 tournament also set the stage for what the tournament can be going forward, adding lore from notable players like Randy Arozarena and Trea Turner, while a part-time player from Czechia became a folk hero after striking out Ohtani with three slow pitches. The American title defense fell just short despite yet another thin pitching corps that needed Merrill Kelly to start the championship game. No offense to Kelly, but his presence may have finally forced the US to strongarm their clubs into lending true ace-like pitchers for the WBC.

The hype for the upcoming tourney has provided a slow but constant build-up that featured early commitments from the likes of Aaron Judge and Paul Skenes. Their enthusiasm and eagerness to create the best roster ever for the US has led to Team USA becoming the betting favorite to win it all, even as Japan, Venezuela, and the DR look as loaded as usual. Even as the 2026 WBC has featured plenty of controversy (including Team Puerto Rico failing to secure insurance for some its top players and the Cuban delegation being decimated by visa denials), the goodwill built by the memories of 2023 promises to produce an all-time spectacle.

Over 13 days, three countries, and four cities, the expanded pool of 20 teams will aim to honor the tournament’s early days and lead it into the future. Coming off a memorable Winter Olympics and a few months before the soccer World Cup hits North America, the WBC is bound to produce a nice transition as we prepare for MLB Opening Day.

Baseball is having a moment, with a spectacular World Series in 2025, the pitch clock becoming a success, solid ratings and fan attendance, and plenty of exciting young players that will grow the game over the next decade or so. The WBC has the power to become the cherry on top the current love affair we have with baseball. Make sure to catch as many games as you can.

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Pablo Figueroa

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Pablo Figueroa is a Baseball Writer here at Pitcher List, with experience as a writer since 2013. He lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico - proud home of Los Rieleros. When he´s not thinking about baseball , he's a husband, owns two dogs, watches random episodes of The Sopranos , plays padel, and works on his day job to pay the bills.

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