After a three-year gap between the first two installments of the tournament, plans were made for the WBC to be repeated every four years following the 2009 event. The 2021 event was delayed to 2023 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic; the 2026 event proceeded as originally scheduled. Venezuela is the current champion, defeating the United States at the 2026 WBC Final. Japan is the only team to win the tournament multiple times, with back-to-back wins in 2006 and 2009, and a third win at the 2023 tournament.
The 16-team field for the inaugural 2006 tournament was pre-selected, featuring the countries judged to be the "best baseball-playing nations" in the world; no qualifying competition was held. The tournament format featured round-robin group play in the first and second rounds, followed by single-elimination semifinals and finals. Japan then defeated Cuba 10–6 to be crowned the first champion of the World Baseball Classic.
The next iteration of the tournament, taking place in 2009, featured the same 16 teams from 2006. However, the controversial round-robin format from 2006 was replaced by a modified double-elimination format for the first two rounds (the semifinals and final game remained single-elimination). The eight teams advancing from the first round were the same as in 2006, except for a "Cinderella" performance by the Netherlands, which twice defeated the Dominican Republic to reach the second round.
Dodger Stadium hosting the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The top of a ten-story elevator shaft bears the World Baseball Classic logo.
Darvish made short work of South Korea, capping with a strikeout of Keun-woo Jeong to clinch Japan's successful defense of their 2006 championship. In fact, the final series in 2006 and 2009 rank among the highest-rated sporting events in Japanese television history.
The buildup to the 2013 tournament included a qualifying round for the first time, with the four lowest finishers from 2009 having to re-qualify against 12 additional teams. The round-robin format was revived for the tournament's first-round, while the second-round remained double-elimination. As a result, two new teams competed for the first time: (Brazil and Spain, respectively replacing Panama and South Africa).
Although Chinese Taipei lost its 2−0 lead in Korea's three-run eighth-inning rally, and then lost the game, they emerged as winners of the pool and of the second-round berth since Korea's margin of victory was only one run.
The tournament ended in an all-Caribbean championship game, with the Dominican Republic defeating Puerto Rico. In the final game, the Dominican Republic defeated Puerto Rico to become the first WBC champion from the Western Hemisphere, as well as the first team to complete the WBC with an undefeated record.
The Dominican Republic completed the tournament with an 8–0 record, becoming the first undefeated team to win the WBC. Robinson Canó was named the Most Valuable Player of the Classic after he batted 15-for-32 (.469), the most hits in tournament history.
35,703 fans attended the game at AT&T Park in San Francisco. An additional 50,000 Dominican fans watched the game at Estadio Quisqueya in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In Puerto Rico, the final was the most watched sporting event for the past year with nearly 3⁄4 of all households tuning in. After the match, the team was congratulated for their victory by Dominican president Danilo Medina.
The 2017 tournament returned to the format used in 2006, where both the first and second rounds were round-robin, though with the addition of tiebreaker games if needed. Colombia and Israel qualified for the first time, with Israel using a roster mostly of Jewish American players.
The United States won its first WBC championship, defeating Japan and Puerto Rico in the semifinals and finals, respectively.
Modern era (2023–present)
In January 2020, MLB announced that the 2021 WBC would be expanded to 20 teams. However, on March 12, MLB announced that the 2021 tournament would be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Qualification for the tournament concluded on October 5, 2022, with Nicaragua claiming the final berth in a victory against Brazil.
After defeating Cuba in the semifinals by a wide margin, the United States faced Japan in the championship game. The final was incredibly popular in Japan, drawing over 54 million Japanese viewers. With a 3–2 lead, two outs, and no runners on base in the bottom of the ninth inning, Japan's Shohei Ohtani, one of the finest pitchers in recent memory, stood on the mound as his Angels teammate Mike Trout, widely considered the greatest player of his generation, stepped up to the plate. After the first pitch of this matchup, Fox Sports commentator Joe Davis reflected on the spectacle, saying, "As Benji Gil said last night, 'Baseball's already won.'"
After the match, Japan was congratulated for their victory by Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida. They became the second team to win the WBC without losing a single game the entire tournament, joining the Dominican Republic in 2013.
The event proved to be quite popular, however, providing many memorable moments including a first-round game between Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
Venezuela had landslide victories over Japan and Italy in the quarterfinal and semifinal and won this year's World Baseball Classic tournament, beating the United States 3–2 in the championship game, with Eugenio Suarez hitting a go-ahead double in the top of the 9th to clinch their first title. It was the first major international sporting competition won by Venezuela since the 1945 Amateur World Series, and the second time in Latin America. Maikel García of Venezuela was named the MVP of the tournament.
The tournament has hit new high levels in attendance and US Television viewership: the 2023 attendance record was broken before the pool play was ended, and US viewership of the final hit 10 million viewers for the first time ever.
The 2009 tournament did not feature any debuting teams, as the 16 teams from the 2006 tournament were all invited to return. The 2026 tournament was the first tournament since 2009 in which every participating team had played in at least one previous Word Baseball Classic tournament. A total of 23 teams have participated in the World Baseball Classic as of the 2026 tournament.
↑The broadcasters in Venezuela were Televen and Venevisión. In Japan, streaming service Netflix has exclusive broadcasting rights. This marks the first time the tournament will not available on free television, despite games of the previous edition being the most watched programs of the year.
↑"VENUES ANNOUNCED FOR 2026 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC". MLBPA Players. 2024-05-23. Retrieved 2024-05-24. The World Baseball Classic is sanctioned by the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) as the sport's official National Team World Championship.
Venezuela (1st title) (2026)
Japan (3 titles)
