World Baseball Classic begins this week

Published 9:20 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026

No moment in baseball history had ever felt quite as scripted as Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout to win the 2023 World Baseball Classic. The two biggest stars in the sport matched up with two outs in the ninth inning of a one-run game, and they happened to be major-league teammates. Perfection, even though it was a little too unrealistic for Hollywood.

A moment that perfect won’t happen again, but the fact that we’re still talking about the WBC from three years ago is proof that something is going right. The tournament was introduced in 2006 and championed by then-commissioner Bud Selig as a way to grow the game internationally. You don’t “have to hand it to him,” but … well, dang it, you kind of have to hand it to him.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2026 tournament.

What are the dates of the 2026 World Baseball Classic?

The games begin on Wednesday, March 4, with Australia hosting Chinese Taipei in the Tokyo Dome. More games follow on March 5, with two more games at the Tokyo Dome: Czechia at Korea, and Australia at Czechia.

The full slate of first-round action begins the following day, with eight games scheduled between Tokyo, Houston, Miami, and San Juan.

Once the first round is decided, eight teams will advance to the quarterfinals on March 13 and 14 and will be split between loanDepot Park in Miami and Daikin Park in Houston.

From there, four teams will move to the semifinals in Miami, held on March 15 and March 16 at loanDepot Park.

The final will be on March 17 at 5 p.m.

Exact first-pitch times vary by host city and broadcast window.

Which teams are playing?

The 2026 World Baseball Classic again features 20 teams, divided into four pools of five. The field includes automatic qualifiers from the 2023 event, along with teams that advanced through the 2025 WBC Qualifiers.

Pool A (San Juan)

Canada

Colombia

Cuba

Panama

Puerto Rico

Pool B (Houston)

Brazil

Great Britain

Italy

Mexico

United States

Pool C (Tokyo)

Australia

Chinese Taipei

Czechia

Japan

Korea

Pool D (Miami)

Dominican Republic

Israel

Netherlands

Nicaragua

Venezuela

Where are the games taking place?

The 2026 tournament will use four stadiums for group play:

Hiram Bithorn Stadium, San Juan, Puerto Rico (Pool A); Daikin Park, Houston (Pool B); Tokyo Dome (Pool C); loanDepot park, Miami (Pool D)

How can I watch?

In the United States, games are broadcast across FOX networks and related apps. The first-round games will be aired on FS1, FS2, Tubi, the FOX Sports app and FOX.

The quarterfinals will air on FS1, FS2 and FOX. The semifinals will be on FS1, and the championship game will be on FOX.

Internationally, local broadcast partners carry games in participating countries, including Japanese-language games on Netflix. You can find the full broadcast schedule here.

What is the tournament format?

The first round (pool play) features four groups of five teams, each team plays the others once. The best winning percentages advance, with head-to-head results deciding any tiebreakers. There are more tiebreakers after that, all the way down to “the drawing of lots,” but it probably won’t come to that. Probably.

After that, it’s single-elimination time. And that’s when the baseball gets goofy in the best possible way.

Quarterfinals: The top two teams from each pool (by winning percentage, with tiebreakers if necessary) advance to single-elimination quarterfinals.

Semifinals and Final: Single elimination.

It’s win-or-go-home from the quarterfinals on.

Who’s playing? Any names I’ll recognize?

Shohei Ohtani has a claim to being the best baseball player who has ever lived, and he’s playing for Samurai Japan again, although he’ll be restricted to hitting only. The U.S. roster features the Cy Young winners from both leagues, and that’s just the start of an all-time rotation. It’s also possible that the Dominican Republic team can have anywhere between two and eight Hall of Famers in the lineup, depending on how you count. These teams are loaded.

Every team has players to watch, though. Cuba will have former White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramírez at first base, even though he’s 44 and hasn’t played in the majors in a decade. Colombian second baseman Michael Arroyo is one of the Mariners’ best prospects. Team Brazil will feature Joseph Contreras, the son of former big leaguer and Cuban legend José Contreras. There’s a lot happening here.

What are the rules?

Ah. Well, for the first time, there will be a pitch clock, so that should be a major difference. There will not be an Automatic Ball-Strike System in place, however.

There will be pitch limits for the pitchers, and they’re not suggestions. It’s a hard cap. Pitchers can throw no more than 65 pitches in the first round, 80 pitches in the quarterfinals and semifinals and 95 pitches in the final. Any pitcher who throws more than 50 pitches will need a minimum of four days’ rest, and more than 30 pitches will require an automatic day of rest in the following game. Pitchers who make back-to-back appearances out of the bullpen will also get a guaranteed day off the next game.

There are also mercy rules for the first two rounds, with a game ending if a team is leading by 10 runs or more after the seventh inning, or 15 runs or more after the fifth.

Otherwise, the official rules for on-field play in international tournaments hew closely to Major League Baseball’s official rules, and you can find those here.

What’s the deal with WBC insurance?

Any Major League Baseball player who wants to play needs approval from an insurance company, and it’s more complicated than insuring your Civic.

The insurance will pay a player’s MLB club if he is hurt during the tournament. Position players are covered up to two years and pitchers for four, at 100 percent salary. The cost is paid by the tournament. Who pays for the tournament? The league and the players’ union have equal contributions, while some other international baseball federations hold smaller stakes.

And the insurance alone is very expensive. Injuries to stars Jose Altuve and Edwin Díaz during the last WBC not only hiked the price, but also led the insurance company to be more stringent with which players it approves. Some players might seem healthy based on how many games they played last season, but if their medical review showed a red flag, the insurance company could say no.

Why is [player] playing for [country]?

A player can represent a country if:

• They are a citizen or permanent legal resident

• They were born there

• A parent was born there (or is a citizen)

• They are eligible for citizenship

• They previously appeared on that nation’s WBC roster

How long has the World Baseball Classic been around?

This is the sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic, which began in 2006.

Who are the past World Baseball Classic winners?

2006: Japan

2009: Japan

2013: Dominican Republic

2017: United States

2023: Japan

Japan has the most championships, but the Dominican Republic’s undefeated 2013 World Baseball Classic run was the best single overall performance in the tournament’s history.