2023 World Baseball Classic
2023 World Baseball Classic logo.png
Tournament details
Host countriesJapan
Taiwan
United States
DatesMarch 8–21, 2023[1]
Teams20
← 2017

The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC), an international professional baseball tournament, is set to be the fifth iteration of the World Baseball Classic. It was originally scheduled to take place in 2021, four years after the previous event, but was canceled in May 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2] It was later announced that qualifications for the Classic would start in September 2022, as agreed by Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA).[3] The tournament is being expanded from 16 to 20 national teams, with all teams that participated in the 2017 edition automatically qualifying, plus four additional spots.[4]

Qualification

Main article: 2023 World Baseball Classic qualification

In January 2020, the WBC announced that the 16 national teams which participated at the 2017 World Baseball Classic would automatically qualify for the 2023 tournament.[5]

A qualifying tournament was scheduled for March 2020 in Tucson, Arizona, United States, to determine the last four teams.[5] Twelve teams were split into two pools, and the top two teams in each pool would qualify.[4] On March 12, 2020, Major League Baseball announced that the qualifying tournaments were being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[6]

The three debutantes—the Czech Republic, Great Britain, and Nicaragua—will make their very first appearance in the World Baseball Classic, while Panama will return after having missed out on two World Baseball Classic appearances.

Qualification status: .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{}  Qualified for the 2023 World Baseball Classic   Participated in the qualifier but failed to qualify
Qualification status:
  Qualified for the 2023 World Baseball Classic
  Participated in the qualifier but failed to qualify
Qualified teams
Region Team Qualification
method 		Prev.
apps 		Previous best result WBSC World
Rankings[7]
Americas  Canada Automatically qualified 4 Round 1 (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017) 14
 Colombia Automatically qualified 1 Round 1 (2017) 11
 Cuba Automatically qualified 4 Runners-up (2006) 8
 Dominican Republic Automatically qualified 4 Champions (2013) 9
 Mexico Automatically qualified 4 Round 2 (2006, 2009) 5
 Puerto Rico Automatically qualified 4 Runners-up (2013, 2017) 13
 United States Automatically qualified as hosts 4 Champions (2017) 3
 Venezuela Automatically qualified 4 Third place (2009) 6
 Panama Qualifier 2 Winners 2 Round 1 (2006, 2009) 12
 Nicaragua Qualifier 2 Runners-up 0 None (debut) 17
Asia  China Automatically qualified 4 Round 1 (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017) 30
 Chinese Taipei Automatically qualified as hosts 4 Round 2 (2013) 2
 Japan Automatically qualified as hosts 4 Champions (2006, 2009) 1
 South Korea Automatically qualified 4 Runners-up (2009) 4
Europe  Israel Automatically qualified 1 Round 2 (2017) 20
 Italy Automatically qualified 4 Round 2 (2013) 16
 Netherlands Automatically qualified 4 Fourth place (2013, 2017) 7
 Great Britain Qualifier 1 Winners 0 None (debut) 22
 Czech Republic Qualifier 1 Runners-up 0 None (debut) 15
Oceania  Australia Automatically qualified 4 Round 1 (2006, 2009, 2013, 2017) 10

Rosters

Main article: 2023 World Baseball Classic rosters

Venues

Four stadiums are planned to be used during the main tournament.[8][9]

Pool A Pool B & Quarterfinals Pool C Pool D, Quarterfinals, Semifinals & Championship
Taiwan Taichung, Taiwan Japan Tokyo, Japan United States Phoenix, United States United States Miami, United States
Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium Tokyo Dome Chase Field LoanDepot Park
Capacity: 20,000 Capacity: 45,600 Capacity: 48,686 Capacity: 36,742
台中洲際棒球場.JPG
Tokyo Dome 2007-1.jpg
Chase Field (16154688086).jpg
Marlins First Pitch at Marlins Park, April 4, 2012 (cropped).jpg

Pools composition

Note: Numbers in parentheses indicate positions in the WBSC World Rankings.[7]

Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D
 Chinese Taipei (2) (hosts)  Japan (1) (hosts)  United States (3) (hosts)  Puerto Rico (13)
 Netherlands (7)  South Korea (4)  Mexico (5)  Venezuela (6)
 Cuba (8)  Australia (10)  Colombia (11)  Dominican Republic (9)
 Italy (16)  China (30)  Canada (14)  Israel (20)
 Panama (12)  Czech Republic (15)  Great Britain (22)  Nicaragua (17)

First round

Scheduled locations and dates are as follows.[1][10]

Pool A

Pool A will be contested in Taichung during March 8–12.

Pos Team Pld W L RF RA RD PCT GB Qualification
1  Chinese Taipei (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — Advance to second round
2  Netherlands 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
3  Cuba 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
4  Italy 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
5  Panama 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
First match(es) will be played on March 8, 2023. Source: MLB
(H) Host
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 8, 2023 12:00 Cuba  –  Netherlands   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 8, 2023 19:00 Panama  –  Chinese Taipei   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2023 12:00 Panama  –  Netherlands   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2023 19:00 Italy  –  Cuba   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2023 12:30 Cuba  –  Panama   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2023 19:00 Italy  –  Chinese Taipei   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 12:00 Panama  –  Italy   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 19:00 Netherlands  –  Chinese Taipei   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 12:00 Chinese Taipei  –  Cuba   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 19:00 Netherlands  –  Italy   Taichung Stadium     Boxscore

Pool B

Pool B will be contested in Tokyo during March 9–13.

Pos Team Pld W L RF RA RD PCT GB Qualification
1  Japan (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — Advance to second round
2  South Korea 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
3  Australia 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
4  China 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
5  Czech Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
First match(es) will be played on March 9, 2023. Source: MLB
(H) Host
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 9, 2023 12:00 Australia  –  South Korea   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 9, 2023 19:00 China  –  Japan   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2023 12:00 Czech Republic  –  China   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 10, 2023 19:00 South Korea  –  Japan   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 12:00 China  –  Australia   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 19:00 Czech Republic  –  Japan   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 12:00 Czech Republic  –  South Korea   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 19:00 Japan  –  Australia   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 13, 2023 12:00 Australia  –  Czech Republic   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 13, 2023 19:00 South Korea  –  China   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore

Pool C

Pool C will be contested in Phoenix during March 11–15.

Pos Team Pld W L RF RA RD PCT GB Qualification
1  United States (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — Advance to second round
2  Mexico 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
3  Colombia 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
4  Canada 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
5  Great Britain 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
First match(es) will be played on March 11, 2023. Source: MLB
(H) Host
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 12:30 Colombia  –  Mexico   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 19:00 Great Britain  –  United States   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 12:00 Great Britain  –  Canada   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 19:00 Mexico  –  United States   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 13, 2023 12:00 Colombia  –  Great Britain   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 13, 2023 19:00 Canada  –  United States   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 14, 2023 12:00 Canada  –  Colombia   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 14, 2023 19:00 Great Britain  –  Mexico   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 15, 2023 12:00 Mexico  –  Canada   Chase Field     Boxscore
Mar 15, 2023 19:00 United States  –  Colombia   Chase Field     Boxscore

Pool D

Pool D will be contested in Miami during March 11–15.

Pos Team Pld W L RF RA RD PCT GB Qualification
1  Puerto Rico 0 0 0 0 0 0 — — Advance to second round
2  Venezuela 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
3  Dominican Republic 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
4  Israel 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
5  Nicaragua 0 0 0 0 0 0 — —
First match(es) will be played on March 11, 2023. Source: MLB
Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 12:00 Nicaragua  –  Puerto Rico   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 11, 2023 19:00 Dominican Republic  –  Venezuela   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 12:00 Nicaragua  –  Israel   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 12, 2023 19:00 Venezuela  –  Puerto Rico   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 13, 2023 12:00 Dominican Republic  –  Nicaragua   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 13, 2023 19:00 Israel  –  Puerto Rico   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 14, 2023 12:00 Nicaragua  –  Venezuela   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 14, 2023 19:00 Israel  –  Dominican Republic   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 15, 2023 12:00 Venezuela  –  Israel   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 15, 2023 19:00 Puerto Rico  –  Dominican Republic   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Second round

The top two teams from each first-round pool will advance to the second round, also known as the quarterfinals. These games will be contested in Tokyo and Miami during March 15–18. The eight teams will play in a single-elimination game.[1][10]

Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 15, 2023 19:00 Pool B runner-up – Pool A winner   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 16, 2023 19:00 Pool A runner-up – Pool B winner   Tokyo Dome     Boxscore
Mar 17, 2023 19:00 Pool C runner-up – Pool D winner   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 18, 2023 19:00 Pool D runner-up – Pool C winner   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Championship round

The championship round will be contested in Miami during March 19–21. The winners from each second-round game will advance to the championship round. The four teams will be placed into a single-elimination tournament.[1][10]

 
SemifinalsChampionship
 
      
 
 March 19
 
 
Quarterfinals 1 winner  
 
 March 21
 
Quarterfinals 3 winner  
 
 Semifinals 1 winner  
 
 March 20
 
Semifinals 2 winner  
 
Quarterfinals 2 winner  
 
 
Quarterfinals 4 winner  
 

Semifinals

Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 19, 2023 19:00 Quarterfinal 1 winner – Quarterfinal 3 winner   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore
Mar 20, 2023 19:00 Quarterfinal 2 winner – Quarterfinal 4 winner   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Final

Date Local Time Road Team Score Home Team Inn. Venue Game Time Attendance Boxscore
Mar 21, 2023 19:00 Semifinal 1 winner – Semifinal 2 winner   LoanDepot Park     Boxscore

Television

In the United States, Fox Sports, through the Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Fox Deportes, MLB Network, Tubi and the Fox Sports App, holds the exclusive rights to the tournament.[11]

In Taiwan, Eastern Broadcasting Company (for Cable TV) and ELTA (for both ELTA OTT & Chunghwa Telecom MOD/Hami Video) has respectively holds the exclusive rights to the tournament.[12][13]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d Adler, David (7 July 2022). "World Baseball Classic 2023 venues, pools announced". MLB.com. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
  2. ^ "2021 World Baseball Classic canceled; event may not return until 2023, report says". CBS Sports. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Hall of Famer Mike Piazza to manage Italy when World Baseball Classic returns in 2023".
  4. ^ a b "Qualifiers set for expanded 2021 World Baseball Classic". Agence France-Presse. 28 January 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2020.
  5. ^ a b Nelson, Adam (30 January 2020). "World Baseball Classic to expand to 20 teams for 2021 edition". Sportbusiness.com.
  6. ^ "Major League Baseball to delay 2020 Opening Day by at least two weeks". MLB.com Press Release. March 12, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "WBSC Rankings - Men's baseball on 28/06/21". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  8. ^ "2021 World Baseball Classic venues revealed". MLB.com. Retrieved 2021-03-10.
  9. ^ @WBCBaseball (July 7, 2022). "Taichung, Tokyo, Phoenix, and Miami are ready! Here is the official tournament format for the #WorldBaseballClassic 2023" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  10. ^ a b c "World Baseball Classic 2023 schedule announced for Miami, Phoenix". MLB.com. 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2022-09-22.
  11. ^ "FOX SPORTS BECOMES EXCLUSIVE U.S. HOME TO 2023 WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC". FoxSports.com. Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC. 21 October 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
  12. ^ "有線電視獨家！東森電視轉播WBC經典賽 最強播報陣容曝光". EBC News (in Chinese (Taiwan)). December 28, 2022.
  13. ^ ELTA Technology (December 27, 2022). "2023 WBC世界棒球經典賽 MOD、Hami Video、愛爾達新媒體獨家全場次轉播". Yahoo! Taiwan (Press release) (in Chinese (Taiwan)).

External links

2023 World Baseball Classic
2023 World Baseball Classic Stadiums
World Baseball Classic
World championships in 2023
Categories