The 2026 World Baseball Classic features some of the best baseball players in the world representing their countries on one of the biggest stages, and it ended with Venezuela winning it all.
The World Baseball Classic is a tournament that happens every three years and began in 2006. The WBC is split into two phases: pool play and then a knockout round, similar to the World Cup in soccer.
There are 20 countries in the WBC, divided into four pools with five teams in each pool. Every team plays the other four teams in its pool. After the four games, the top two teams from each pool advance. In the event that two teams have the same record, there is a series of tiebreakers, but the primary one is run differential.
Going into the tournament, there were two heavy favorites to win it all: the Dominican Republic and the United States. On paper, these two rosters were far and away the best.
The Dominican Republic was loaded with MLB talent like Juan Soto, Fernando Tatis Jr, Manny Machado, Vladimir Guerrero Jr, Junior Caminero and many other MLB stars. The USA also had lots of big names like Aaron Judge, Cal Raleigh, Bryce Harper, Bobby Witt Jr. and 21-year-old sensation Roman Anthony.
Japan was looking to win its second-straight WBC title after winning it all in 2023. Mexico and Venezuela also had MLB talent on their roster and had high expectations. Another dark horse team was Italy, which also had notable MLB players.
The two teams that advanced from Pool A were Canada and Puerto Rico; no big surprises there. In Pool B, however, Italy ran the table, going 4-0 and taking down the goliath that was the USA by a score of 8-6.
The USA finished second in the pool with a 3-1 record and advanced to the knockout round over Mexico on a tiebreaker. In Pool C, Japan dominated as expected, and Korea came in second to advance. In Pool D, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela both dominated to go to the knockout round.
The United States and the Dominican Republic both won their quarterfinal matchup and were set up for a collision in the WBC semifinal in a game that many considered the unofficial championship.
In a pitchers’ duel with the game tied 1-1, Anthony blasted a solo home run to give the USA a 2-1 lead in the sixth inning. The USA held on to that lead the rest of the game and advanced to the championship after a controversial strike-three call ended the game.
In the championship game, Venezuela shut the Stars and Stripes down. Despite scoring two runs in the bottom of the eighth to tie it 2-2, the USA only had three hits in the game and gave up a run in the top of the ninth as Venezuela went on to win its first ever WBC.
Credit is due to Venezuela, they are a very talented team in their own right with players like Ronald Acuna Jr, Wilyer Abreu, Jackson Chourio and many other high-level MLB players. But it was the USA’s tournament to lose, especially after taking out the Dominican Republic.
USA manager Mark DeRosa faced heavy criticism for his decision-making throughout the tournament. A clip went viral of DeRosa talking about how their ticket was already punched to the next round before the Italy game. It was not, in fact, punched, and the USA went on to lose that game.
While Venezuela won the WBC, another team also won in a way. The Boston Red Sox had outstanding performances from many of their players who were in the tournament.
Venezuela, Japan and the USA all hit 10 home runs in the WBC tournament. Boston Red Sox outfielders combined for that number. The Red Sox also had strong performances from Bryan Bello, who pitched for the Dominican Republic, and Ranger Suarez, who pitched for Venezuela.
Overall, the WBC this year was a win. It had historic upsets, so many great games and electric moments, showcasing some of the game’s biggest stars on an international level. While it will be three years until the next WBC, the tournament continues to deliver and be something to get baseball fans excited before the beginning of the regular season.
