The World Baseball Classic Is Back!
A Primer on the Quirkiest Global Sporting Tournament
As I post this, we are about 30 Days away from what’s been described as “The World Cup of Professional Baseball,” the World Baseball Classic. Held every three years, the WBC is for everyone who ever made that lame joke about the ‘World Series’ only involving American teams. Next month 20 teams (including squads like USA, Japan, the Dominican Republic, among others) will duke it out over the span of two weeks.
And if you think 20 teams is a lot, there are a bunch of teams that didn’t qualify. Like seriously, I didn’t even realize places like South Africa and Germany even had baseball teams, and now I won’t even get the chance to see them.
If this is going to be your first WBC, allow me to provide you with some background on things to keep an eye on:
The Jerseys Dropped Today
For a lot of people, today was like Christmas. With the uniform designs being made available online, fans were ready to discuss what worked and what didn’t. It was also a chance to show the world your nation’s pride (I suppose). The jerseys themselves never tended to excitement, which made my feelings range from indifference to contempt. For an example of the latter, check out the design of Team USA’s jersey:
Just boring. So many ways to convey that not only the United States, but you continue to innovate the game. What we got was a design that hadn’t changed in decades. That “bacon strip” in the middle where the “S” is supposed to be is something I cannot unsee. Might as well make the “U” a pancake and the “A” a couple of eggs.
Great Britain jerseys got an upgrade, because their 2023 unis were a literal joke.
Straight up, the one on the left looks like what happens when you’re the late substitute to the company bowling team and you just grab what’s left in the bottom of the gear bag. Full gallery of uniforms for all of the teams here.
I can’t come after Great Britain too much. I was elated when they announced that both Jazz Chisholm Jr and Harry Ford were both named captains of this year’s squad. IYKYK
Can Japan Do It Again?
Japan returns to the proceedings as defending champions, and they are heavily favored to repeat (more on that later) They won the 2023 edition in one of the most dramatic ways possible. Shohei Ohtani, aka one of the best players on the planet, struck out USA’s Mike Trout in front of millions watching worldwide.
Japan takes its baseball very seriously. And even though on paper Japan has brought “stronger” sides to the tournament before, they have tremendous pressure to repeat. They would be the “Big Bad” team if they weren’t so likable.
Insurance Woes
The past two weeks may have turned every casual baseball fan into a sporting insurance expert, but the biggest storyline of the tournament is who’s NOT going to be there. The World Baseball Classic happens in March, which is Major League Baseball’s preseason. And while many players would love for the chance to play for their country (or at least a country they have passing ties to), they have to obtain extra insurance to play in the World Baseball Classic in order to play. Like if you go out there and tear an ACL, MCL, VCR, or YMCA, somebody’s got to be on the hook to pay your salary while you’re laid up at home. Some Major League Clubs covered that gap; some clubs DID NOT. And so, for various reasons, star players from Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, and Cuba are ineligible to play.
This actually hits team Puerto Rico the hardest, with their baseball federation threatening to withdraw the team wholesale.
They didn’t, though, and Puerto Rico could end up being a sentimental favorite. But not as sentimental as these guys:
Team Czechia is Going For All Your Heart Strings
If you’re approaching this World Baseball Classic unsure of who to root for, let me tell you how dope the Czech Republic’s National Team is. Remember when I said Team Japan player Shohei Ohtani is one of the greatest players alive? Well, it helps that his day job is literally “pro baseball player.” Most of the guys on the Czech Republic National Team are amateurs. They got regular ass jobs like teaching kids, plumbing things, and manly stuff or something. Then, when someone sounds the alarm, they just appear and find ways to win
That’s pretty cool, not going to lie.
Baseball in Asia Hits Different
I touched upon the atmosphere earlier, but baseball in Asia has a gameday experience all its own. The 2026 edition has some games emanating from the Tokyo Dome, and it gets rowdy (sound on):
that we love sports so much and we get a reputation for being loud people, but we’re ironically tame/subdued at sporting events. We don’t have stadium-wide chants, we don’t do synchronized dance… In America, we have the (checks notes) Kiss Cam…?
I mean, there’s someone who gets drunk and rowdy at these sorts of things. They are the exception that proves the rule. Not me, though. The average price for a beer at a sporting event is approaching $20 a draft, and I don’t have Elon money. Shout out to my rowdy ones out there, though.
Anyway, the 2026 edition of the World Baseball Classic kicks off with regional powerhouse The Dominican Republic taking on my dark horse pick to win its group in Nicaragua. And by “dark horse,” I’m talking about a team that has the second-worst odds in the entire tourney at 250:1. What can I say though? I like both Dusty Baker and Mark Vientos.
Find out how to watch the World Baseball Classic here.
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