The World Baseball Classic is the premier international tournament in professional baseball. The tournament features MLB players and pro players from other leagues around the world representing their country in a quest to be crowned World Champions of baseball.
The World Baseball Classic has essentially become the Olympics or the World Cup of baseball. It features 20 countries competing in a two-week baseball tournament.
The baseball tournaments’ sixth edition will be held this March, as the reigning champion Samurai Japan will look to win back-to-back titles for the second time in the Classic’s young history. This year, games will take place in Tokyo, Japan, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Houston, Texas and Miami, Florida.
Fans can catch all of the action on Fox Sports, Fox Sports 1, and Fox Sports 2 starting on March 5.
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How to Watch the 2026 World Baseball Classic
You can watch the 2026 World Baseball Classic on the FOX family of channels, including:
- FOX
- FS1 – Ch. 219
- FS2 – Ch. 618
- FOX Deportes – Ch. 465
2026 World Baseball Classic Tournament Field
The tournament features national teams from 20 countries and the first round is played in a pool play format, similar to the World Cup. Each pool features five teams, and after each team plays each other at least once, the top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarterfinals of the knockout stage.
World Baseball Classic Pool Play Venues
Pool play will be hosted in three countries at four venues:
United States:
- Daikin Park in Houston, Texas – Pool B & Quarterfinal Round
- LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida – Pool D & Quarterfinal Round, Semifinal Round, Championship Round
Japan:
- Tokyo Dome – Pool C
Puerto Rico:
- Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan – Pool A
The quarterfinal round, semifinal round and championship round will all be played at LoanDepot Park in Miami, Florida.
2026 World Baseball Classic Pools
| Pot | Pool A
San Juan, PR |
Pool B
Houston, TX |
Pool C
Tokyo, Japan |
Pool D
Miami, FL |
| Pot 1 | Puerto Rico | United States | Japan | Venezuela |
| Pot 2 | Panama | Mexico | South Korea | Netherlands |
| Pot 3 | Cuba | Italy | Australia | Dominican Republic |
| Pot 4 | Canada | Great Britain | Czechia | Israel |
| Pot 5 | Colombia | Brazil | Chinese Taipei | Nicaragua |
Teams to Watch Entering the 2026 World Baseball Classic
Japan (Reigning Champions)
The last time we saw the World Baseball Classic, Shohei Ohtani struck out his Angels teammate Mike Trout on a 3-2 count with the game on the line. It’s tough to repeat as champions, it’s even tougher to repeat them in such cinematic fashion.
Samurai Japan is once again led by Ohtani in 2026. The four-time MVP will not pitch in the WBC, but he’ll have plenty of impact regardless. He’ll be joined by his Dodger teammate Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who is fresh off a World Series MVP.
Chinese Taipei
Chieh-Hsien Chen will captain the 2026 Chinese Taipei squad. The outfielder is one of the best players in the Chinese Professional Baseball League.
Team USA (Runners-Up in 2023)
The runners-up in 2023, Team USA made notable upgrades to their roster., including three-time MVP Aaron Judge who will serve as the team’s captain. They also added a pair of star pitchers in Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal as they look to climb back atop the baseball world.
Korea
Jung Hoo Lee will lead Korea’s quest for a World Championship. The outfielder posted a breakout season with the Giants last year in his first full season as a starter.
Won Tae-in will lead the pitching staff. Won is an ace pitcher for the Samsung Lions of the Korean Baseball Organization.
One of the most exciting players for Korea is 18-yr-old Jeong Woo-joo. The pitcher was the second pick in the KBO draft and recorded 82 strikeouts in 53 2/3 innings.
Venezuela
Venezuela features some of Major League Baseball’s brightest young stars. Wilyer Abreu, Jackson Churrio and Ronald Acuña Jr. form an All-Star outfield.
Pablo López is coming off an injury shortened season in the MLB where he had posted a 2.74 ERA in the 14 games he started.
Mexico (3rd Place – 2023)
Team Mexico finished third in 2023. Randy Arozarena had a dominant tournament with Joey Meneses and Isaac Paredes providing offensive pop throughout the Classic.
In 2026, Arozarena is back and he’ll be joined in the outfield by Jaren Durran who has led the American League in triples in two straight season.
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has long been a source of some of the top baseball players in the MLB, and as such, this roster is loaded with talent. After missing out on the quarterfinals in the last Classic, the DR has put All Stars at every position. Vladimir Guerrero, Jr., Juan Soto, Freddy Peralta, José Ramírez and Julio Rodriguez headline the squad.
History of the World Baseball Classic
The World Baseball Classic was developed back in 2005. Bud Selig, the then-Commissioner of Major League Baseball, announced that Major League Baseball would be allowing players to compete in the international competition after baseball had been sparingly played in the Summer Olympics.
The tournament started with 16 teams and has since expanded to 20. There have been just three champions in the history of the World Baseball Classic. The United States and the Dominican Republic have each won once, and Japan has won three times, including the first two in 2006 and 2009 and the last WBC in 2023.
Special Rules
The games operate a little bit differently than you might be used to if you watch Major League Baseball, particularly when it comes to pitching.
Pitch Count Limits
To help mitigate any potential injuries to Major League Baseball players outside of the confines of the regular season, there are strict pitch limits for pitchers throughout the tournament.
- Qualifying Round: 85 pitches in a game max
- First Round: 65 pitches per game max
- Second Round: 80 pitches per game max
- Championship Round: 95 pitches per game max
Other Rule Differences
The WBC employs a mercy rule which stops the game if a team is ahead by 15 after five inning or 10 runs after seven innings.
In 2023, the World Baseball Classic adopted the Major League Baseball extra innings rules with a runner placed on second base in the top of the 10th inning and every subsequent evening.
Run differential plays a key part in pool play, which can help break ties for any team with the same record.
Watch the World Baseball Classic on DIRECTV
You can catch all the action on the diamonds of the 2026 World Baseball Classic — and watch MLB baseball games every day of the 2026 season — on DIRECTV. Get started today!
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the World Baseball Classic work?
The World Baseball Classic is a two-week tournament of 20 nations competing to be crowned baseball's World Champion. The 20 teams are broken up into four pools of five teams. The top two teams from each pool advance to the knockout rounds.
Who won the the 2026 World Baseball Classic?
Samurai Japan defeated Team USA 3-2 in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Who runs the World Baseball Classic?
The World Baseball Classic is run by the World Baseball Softball Confederation in partnership with Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association.
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