World Baseball Classic Articles - Page 3

Detroit Tigers legend Miguel Cabrera ended his Hall of Fame career following the 2023 season, retiring after 21 years in the majors. But baseball lifers can sometimes find it difficult to put the game behind them. So it was no surprise that Cabrera was named to Team Venezuela for the 2026 World Baseball Classic as […]

Miami Marlins ace pitcher Sandy Alcantara is hoping to take his talent to the World Baseball Classic. Alcantara is hoping to pitch in the 2026 event for the Dominican Republic, per Fish on First. “I’m here. So if they want to call me, I’m ready,” Alcantara said. The hurler is reportedly hoping to return to […]

When Paul Skenes pitches for the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace will be accomplishing a long-held goal. “It’s special,” Skenes told reporters of the opportunity on Tuesday. “Growing up watching the World Baseball Classic as a kid, I never thought I would have the opportunity to play in […]

Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes intends to play for the United States in the 2026 World Baseball Classic, per MLB Network. Skenes made the announcement Tuesday. Paul Skenes announces on #MLBCentral that he intends to play for Team USA in the 2026 @WBCBaseball! 🇺🇸⭐️ pic.twitter.com/7mj94JsGxr — MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) May 13, 2025 Skenes has […]

Detroit Tigers legend Miguel Cabrera has been part of every World Baseball Classic since its inception, and 2026 will be no different. Cabrera will serve as Team Venezuela’s hitting coach after playing for his native country in the tournament’s first five iterations. The 42-year-old’s most recent WBC appearance came in 2023, just months after he […]

Two years after injury forced him to miss the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Minnesota Twins outfielder Harrison Bader has announced he will play for Team Israel in 2026. Bader made his announcement during an appearance on The Max Mannis Podcast, posted on Tuesday. Harrison Bader will play for Team Israel in the 2026 World Baseball […]

New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge was recently named captain of Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. He’s currently the only player on the roster, however, it sounds like former captain Mike Trout is planning on joining the team once again. The Los Angeles Angels outfielder claims he had a “great conversation” with […]

After troubles with injuries and a PED suspension earlier in his career, Fernando Tatis Jr. is once again one of the top young players in baseball, and he anticipates making his World Baseball Classic debut in 2026 with the Dominican Republic, even though it is not official at the moment. “They haven’t made it official, […]

While the New York Yankees are busy with the 2025 season, superstar outfielder Aaron Judge was recently named captain for Team USA for the World Baseball Classic taking place in March 2026. It’s a big moment for the 32-year-old slugger and the Team USA manager, Mark DeRosa is over the moon about it. In a […]

Aaron Judge was recently named a captain for the 2026 World Baseball Classic as he currently leads the New York Yankees to a potential playoff appearance in MLB. However, there are some concerns about how he’d approach the preseason next March. The star outfielder shut those concerns down on Monday. During a press conference at […]

New York Yankees captain Aaron Judge, a two-time American League MVP and the AL’s all-time home run king, earned another prestigious honor on Monday when he was named captain of Team USA for the 2026 World Baseball Classic. It will be Judge’s World Baseball Classic debut. The career Yankee is off to a scorching start […]

When Shohei Ohtani struck out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout to clinch the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship for Japan, everyone focused on the epic nature of the moment. A one-of-a-kind talent facing off against arguably the top player of his era with global bragging rights on the line. However, if one kept their […]

The World Baseball Classic is set to return in 2026. On Thursday, it was announced that Mark DeRosa will once again manage Team USA, per MLB Network. DeRosa, who has never managed at the MLB level, took the WBC head coaching job for the first time in 2023. He did an admirable job despite Team […]

Now teammates on the Los Angeles Dodgers, Shohei Ohtani and Mookie Betts are apart of arguably the scariest lineup in MLB. But before they were winning the World Series together, Betts and Ohtani were enemies on the diamond. In the 2023 World Baseball Classic, Team USA and Team Japan met in the championship game. Japan […]

The 2023 World Baseball Classic featured Team USA versus Team Japan in the championship game. Los Angeles Angels stars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani represented their teams and faced off in the final at-bat of the game in a legendary moment. Ohtani ended up striking out Trout to clinch the victory for Team Japan. Recently, […]

Trea Turner was incredible during the 2023 World Baseball Classic. He led Team USA to the championship game while coming up with no shortage of clutch hits. Turner, however, has struggled during the 2023 regular season with the Philadelphia Phillies. His impressive WBC stats over just six games put his difficult season with Philadelphia into […]

The World Baseball Classic drew plenty of attention from around the sports world. The Classic, however, also drew the attention of people in the entertainment industry, including one of the most famous musical artists in the world. Harry Styles recently congratulated Japan on their WBC victory during a concert, per Shawn Spradling. …Harry Styles just […]

Philadelphia Phillies superstar Trea Turner was one of the key reasons Team USA came within two runs of winning the 2023 World Baseball Classic, and he took to social media to express how much he enjoyed the tournament on Thursday. “The WBC was an electric factory!” Turner wrote on Instagram. “Wish we could’ve came out […]

Mexico’s Randy Arozarena was the biggest star of the World Baseball Classic. Even with a semi-final loss to the eventual champions Japan, Arozarena’s celebrity is continuing to grow after the tournament. His arms-crossed celebration is making waves across the sports world. Randy's celebration is taking over 💯🙌 (via @miafishel10)pic.twitter.com/BDt6gVgW1Q — FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) March […]

Stephen A. Smith is known for offering some head-scratching takes on ESPN First Take. However, Smith actually made good points on Wednesday, saying that the World Baseball Classic was a “must watch” event. Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, who’s supposed to be the most knowledgeable baseball person on the show, is the one who made a […]

The World Baseball Classic drew plenty of attention from the sports world. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith even went as far as to call the WBC “must watch.” Smith believes that the Mike Trout versus Shohei Ohtani final at-bat was especially good for baseball, per Smith’s Twitter. The World Baseball Classic was MUST WATCH, Doggie!! Ohtani […]

Mike Trout and Team USA may have come up short in the 2023 World Baseball Classic championship versus Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan, but the Los Angeles Angels superstar still enjoyed his time at the WBC. Trout thanked fans on Wednesday for helping to make the energy around the WBC “electric,” per Trout’s Twitter. It’s hard […]

Los Angeles Angels stars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani lit the baseball world on fire after they faced off in the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic Finals. Trout ended up striking out to his Angels teammate on a full count in the top of the ninth inning to seal the WBC championship […]

The Boston Red Sox will be kicking off their 2023 campaign next Thursday on March 30th, but it doesn’t seem like many folks care. In fairness, the Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins are on absolute fire, and the New England Patriots are in the middle of beefing up their roster this offseason. As for the […]

Before the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday, Shohei Ohtani went viral because of his epic pregame speech for his Japanese teammates. It was undoubtedly effective, as Japan went on to beat Team USA in an instant 3-2 classic. Of course Ohtani was asked about his speech following their victory, and he didn’t hide the […]

People are running out of words to describe how incredible a baseball player Shohei Ohtani is. After closing out Japan’s 3-2 win in the finals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic against Mike Trout and the United States, everyone just wants to talk about the greatness of the Los Angeles Angels baseball unicorn. At this […]

All eyes Tuesday night were on the titanic matchup between Team USA and Team Japan in the finals of the 2023 World Baseball Classic. What made that game even more interesting — and unique — was the fact that each team is being led by a Los Angeles Angels star. For the United States, they […]

Team USA’s worst nightmare could soon be coming to fruition in the WBC Championship Tuesday night. Japan has a 3-1 lead in the seventh inning with Shohei Ohtani and Yu Darvish already having headed to the bullpen, per MLB Network’s Jon Morosi. Ohtani is expected to be the man Japan will trust to close out […]

Trea Turner has done it again. Turner wasted no time in getting Team USA on the board in the World Baseball Classic final against Japan, belting a home run- his fifth of the tournament- in the second inning. The Philadelphia Phillies star’s home run didn’t just get the scoring started for USA, though. It tied […]

Shohei Ohtani has one clear message for Japan ahead of the World Baseball Classic final against Team USA: aim for the win. Of course that isn’t surprising and to be fair, Ohtani shouldn’t have felt the need to say that to his Japan teammates. However, the Los Angeles Angels star knows very well how difficult […]

Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan will take on Mike Trout and Team USA on Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic championship. It is difficult to deny the fact that Ohtani and Trout getting to shine on the big stage is good for baseball, a narrative that Los Angeles Dodgers’ star Clayton Kershaw agrees with. However, […]

With Los Angeles Angeles star Shohei Ohtani making himself available to pitch for Japan in the World Baseball Classic final, the focus of the whole baseball world now turns to Yu Darvish and whether he’ll also make an appearance in the contest. For those unaware, many expected Darvish to start against Team USA, but the […]

Team Japan will take on Team USA in the World Baseball Classic championship game, and Shohei Ohtani is available to pitch one inning out of the bullpen for Team Japan, according to Rhett Bollinger of MLB.com. Angels manager Phil Kevin said he would be available, and that it will not impact his availability to start […]

Los Angeles Dodgers’ SP Julio Urias will make his first post-World Baseball Classic start on Friday versus the Milwaukee Brewers, per Kirsten Watson. Urias helped lead Team Mexico to the semifinals before they were defeated by Team Japan on Monday. The left-hander endured his share of ups and downs in the tournament, but was able to […]

It is the finals of the World Baseball Classic! The United States goes for their second straight crown after winning in 2017, led by Trea Turner and Nolan Arenado. Japan is looking for their third crown, but first since 2009. We continue our World Baseball Classic odds series with a USA-Japan prediction, pick, and how-to-watch. […]

Team USA and Team Japan will go head-to-head on Tuesday in the World Baseball Classic championship. Merrill Kelly and Shota Imanaga are the scheduled starting pitchers, but the primary storyline is Shohei Ohtani versus Mike Trout. The Los Angeles Angels superstars have combined for one total MLB playoff series. As talented as both players are, […]

Team Puerto Rico’s performance in the World Baseball Classic was clouded by a tragic leg injury to Edwin Diaz, one of the squad’s most notable stars and best pitchers. The New York Mets’ star closer suffered an injury celebrating a win over the Dominican Republic team and could miss the entire 2023 season, though it […]

Shohei Ohtani and Team Japan completed an incredible walkoff semifinal win on Monday, scoring two runs in the ninth inning to defeat Mexico 6-5 and set up a mouthwatering matchup against Team USA in the final of the World Baseball Classic on Tuesday night. Japan has been “coy” with Ohtani’s pitching status, neither confirming nor denying […]

The stage is set for the World Baseball Classic championship game after Shohei Ohtani and Japan pulled off a miraculous comeback 6-5 victory Monday night against Randy Arozarena and Mexico in the semifinals. As Japan erupts in jubilation over the win, one could only imagine the pain Mexico is feeling after coming so close to […]