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World Baseball Classic Guide: How to Watch, Who’s Playing & Schedules

World Baseball Classic Guide: How to Watch, Who’s Playing & Schedules

Baseball season is here – can you smell the peanuts and cracker jacks? To make this year even more exciting, baseball fans have another event to rally around – The World Baseball Classic 2023. Much like the FIFA World Cup, the World Baseball Classic was supposed to take place every four years and features all star teams from the represented countries. But this year’s event will be the first in seven years, since the 2021 event was canceled due to COVID.

Did you know DIRECTV is going to have a presence at the World Baseball Classic? Learn more about this exciting sponsorship

Looking for some classic world baseball? Learn more about this event, find out the team rosters, explore the schedules and discover how to it all works in this World Baseball Classic guide.

When is the World Baseball Classic?

The World Baseball Classic 2023 takes place from March 8 through March 21 in various locations in the host countries of Japan, Taiwan and the U.S.

The U.S. locations align with the already in progress Spring Training season in Phoenix and Miami.

From Cactus League to the Grapefruit League, find out everything you need to know about Spring Training in our handy guide.

How Does the World Baseball Classic Work?

The 2023 World Baseball Classic is the first time there will be 20 teams competing (rather than 16 from prior years). The WBC goes down in three rounds: Pool play (four pools), quarterfinals and championship.

In pool play, each of the five teams in each pool (A, B, C, & D) play each opponent once. The two teams with the best records will advance to the quarterfinal round. In the case of a tie, there are some complicated rules to determine who will move on. The last place team from each pool won’t simply go home, instead, they will be relegated, and required to play in a qualifier tournament to secure their spot in the next WBC. In that same vein, the top four teams in each pool are automatically invited to the next WBC.

The quarterfinal and championship rounds are played in a single elimination bracket, with the last team standing taking the WBC trophy. Explore the full schedules of each of the three rounds below.

World Baseball Classic Schedule

WBC-Monday.jpg

World Baseball Classic Pool Play Schedule

POOL A

POOL B

POOL C

POOL D

March 7-13

March 9-13

March 11-15

March 11-15

Taichung, Taiwan

Tokyo, Japan

Phoenix, Arizona

Miami, Florida

Chinese Taipei

*Australia

Canada

Dominican Republic

*Cuba

China

Colombia

Israel

*Italy

*Japan

Mexico*

Puerto Rico*

Netherlands

Korea

USA*

Venezuela*

Panama

Czech Republic

Great Britain

Nicaragua

*=clinched quarterfinals position

WBC Quarterfinal Round Schedule

Quarterfinal 1

Tokyo

March 16

Australia vs. Cuba*

Watch Thur., March 16 @ 6 p.m. ET on FS2 – Watch Here

Quarterfinal 2

Tokyo

March 15

Italy vs. Japan*

Watch Wed., March 15 @ 6 p.m. ET on FS2 – Watch Here

Quarterfinal 3

Miami

March 17

Puerto Rico vs. Mexico*

Watch Fri., March 17 @ 7 p.m. ET on FS1 – Watch Here

Quarterfinal 4

Miami

March 18

USA* vs. Venezuela

Watch Sat., March 18 @ 7 p.m. ET on FOX – Watch Here

*= game winners that will move on

World Baseball Classic Championship Round Schedule

Semifinal 1

Miami

March 19

USA* vs. Cuba

Watch Sun., March 19 @ 7 p.m. ET on FS1

Semifinal 2

Miami

March 20

Mexico vs. Japan

Watch on Mon., March 20 @ 7 p.m. ET on FS1 – Watch Here

Championship Game

Miami

March 21

USA vs. Semifinal 2 winner

Watch on Tue., March 21 @ 7 p.m. ET on FS1 – Watch Here

How to Watch the World Baseball Classic

Watch many of the 47 games on FOX, FS1, FS2, and FOX Deportes.

Watch World Baseball Classic 2023 on DIRECTV

Explore the full list of broadcast events on FOX

Get DIRECTV to make sure you can watch the World Baseball Classic and MLB games all season long. 

World Baseball Classic Teams and Rosters

Australia

Pitchers

Tim Atherton

Matt Beattie

Liam Doolan

Kyle Glogoski

Josh Guyer

Sam Holland

Jon Kennedy

Tim Kennelly

Steven Kent

Daniel McGrath

Mitch Neunborn

Jack O’Loughlin

Chris Oxspring

Warwick Saupold

Will Sherriff

Josh Tols

Blake Townsend

Todd Van Steensel

Luke Wilkins

Coen Wynne

Catchers

Ryan Battaglia

Alex Hall

Jordan McArdle

Robbie Perkins

Infielders

Jake Bowey

Jarryd Dale

Darryl George

Robbie Glendinning

Liam Spence

Logan Wade

Rixon Wingrove

Outfielders

Ulrich Bojarski

Andrew Campbell

Aaron Whitefield

Canada

Pitchers

Andrew Albers

Phillippe Aumont

John Axford

Matt Brash

Mitch Bratt

Trevor Brigden

Indigo Diaz

R.J. Freure

Adam Loewen

Scott Mathieson

Nick Pivetta

Cal Quantrill

Evan Rutckyj

Noah Skirrow

Cade Smith

Curtis Taylor

Rob Zastryzny

Catchers

Kellin Deglan

Bo Naylor

Andy Yerzy

Infielders

Freddie Freeman

Edouard Julien

Otto Lopez

Damiano Palmegiani

Abraham Toro

Jared Young

Outfielders

Owen Caissie

Denzel Clarke

Tyler O’Neill

Jacob Robson

China

Pitchers

Alan Carter

Hai-Cheng Gong

Kwon Ju

Qiang Lin

Xin Qi

Changlong Su

Hailong Sun

Weiyi Wang

Xiang Wang

Yuchen Wang

Jian Yi

Hao Zhang

Fuyang Zhao

Chaoqun Zheng

Catchers

Chen Chen

Ning Li

Yifan Li

Yun Lu

Infielders

Jie Cao

Ray Chang

Chen Chen

YongKang Kou

Chenchen Luan

Jin Yang

Outfielders

Xiao Han

Pei Liang

Rongji Liang

Jinjun Luo

Yuheng Lyu

Yusuke Masago

Chinese Tai Pei

Pitchers

Kuan-Wei Chen

Kuan-Yu Chen

Shih-Peng Chen

Yu-Hsun Chen

Shao-Ching Chiang

Chih-Wei Hu

Tzu-Peng Huang

C.C. Lee

Yen-Ching Lu

Chia-Hao Sung

Kai-Wei Teng

Jen-Ho Tseng

Jyun-Yue Tseng

Wei-Chung Wang

Catchers

Kungkuan Giljegiljaw

Yu-Chieh Kao

Dai-An Lin

Infielders

Yu Chang

Tsung-Che Cheng

Kun-Yu Chiang

Kuo-Chen Fan

Li Lin

Tzu-Wei Lin

Wei-Chen Wang

Nien-Ting Wu

Outfielders

Chen-Wei Chen

Chieh-Hsien Chen

Chin Cheng

Tien-Hsin Kuo

Po-Jung Wang

Colombia

Pitchers

Elkin Alcala

Adrian Almeida

Danis Correa

Nabil Crismatt

William Cuevas

Luis De Avila

Santiago Florez

Ruben Galindo

Pedro Garcia

Rio Gomez

Yapson Gomez

Tayron Guerrero

Jasier Herrera

Jeffry Nino

Carlos Ocampo

José Quintana

Jhon Romero

Reiver Sanmartin

Julio Teheran

José Torres

Ezequiel Zabaleta

Guillermo Zuniga

Catchers

Jorge Alfaro

Gustavo Campero

Elias Díaz

Meibrys Viloria

Infielders

Jordan Diaz

Dayan Frias

Evan Mendoza

Fabian Pertuz

Adrián Sanchez

Donovan Solano

Gio Urshela

Outfielders

Oscar Mercado

Tito Polo

Harold Ramírez

Cuba

Pitchers

Frank Alvarez

Ronald Bolaños

Naykel Cruz

Roenis Elías

Onelki Garcia

Elian Leyva

Raidel Martinez

Livan Moinelo

Yeudis Reyes

Jose Rodriguez

Yariel Rodriguez

Miguel Romero

Carlos Viera

Yoennis Yera

Catchers

Ariel Martinez

Andrys Perez

Lorenzo Quintana

Infielders

Erisbel Arruebarrena

Dayan Garcia

Yurisbel Gracial

Andy Ibáñez

Luis Mateo

Yoán Moncada

Yadil Mujica

Outfielders

Yoenis Cespedes

Alfredo Despaigne

Yadir Drake

Yoelkis Guibert

Luis Robert Jr.

Roel Santos

Czech Republic

Pitchers

Jeff Barto

Filip Capka

Tomas Duffek

Lukas Ercoli

Lukas Hlouch

Michal Kovala

David Mergans

Marek Minarik

Jan Novak

Daniel Padysak

Ondrej Satoria

Martin Schneider

Jan Tomek

Boris Vecerka

Catchers

Martin Cervenka

Daniel Vavrusa

Infielders

William Escala

Jakub Hajtmar

Jakub Kubica

Vojtech Mensik

Milan Prokop

Filip Smola

Eric Sogard

Petr Zyma

Outfielders

Marek Chlup

Arnost Dubovy

Jakub Grepl

Marek Krejcirik

Matej Mensik

Martin Muzik

Dominican Republic

Pitchers

Bryan Abreu

Sandy Alcantara

Ronel Blanco

Génesis Cabrera

Diego Castillo

Roansy Contreras

Johnny Cueto

Enyel De Los Santos

Camilo Doval

Carlos Estévez

Jarlín García

Luis García

Yimi Garcia

Cristian Javier

José Leclerc

Rafael Montero

Héctor Neris

Joel Payamps

Gregory Soto

César Valdez

Catchers

Francisco Mejía

Gary Sanchez

Infielders

Willy Adames

Robinson Canó

Nelson Cruz

Rafael Devers

Wander Franco

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.

Manny Machado

Ketel Marte

Jeremy Peña

Jean Segura

Outfielders

Teoscar Hernández

Eloy Jiménez

Julio Rodríguez

Juan Soto

Great Britain

Pitchers

Donovan Benoit

Malik Binns

Richard Brereton

Daniel Cooper

Jake Esch

Chavez Fernander

Ian Gibaut

Gunnar Groen

Joseph King

Ryan Long

McKenzie Mills

Akeel Morris

Branden Noriega

Cam Opp

Michael Petersen

Michael Roth

Andre Scrubb

Jack Seppings

Matteo Sollecito

Graham Spraker

Tahnaj Thomas

Tyler Viza

Alex Webb

Vance Worley

Catchers

Ural Forbes

Harry Ford

Infielders

Lucius Fox

BJ Murray Jr.

Nick Ward

Justin Wylie

Outfielders

Alex Crosby

D’Shawn Knowles

Matt Koperniak

Anfernee Seymour

Darnell Sweeney

Trayce Thompson

Chavez Young

Israel

Pitchers

Jake Bird

Richard Bleier

Daniel Federman

Jake Fishman

Brandon Gold

Colton Gordon

Andrew Gross

Jake Kalish

Rob Kaminsky

Alex Katz

Adam Kolarek

Evan Kravetz

Dean Kremer

Shlomo Lipetz

Jake Miednik

Kyle Molnar

Bubby Rossman

Jacob Steinmetz

Robert Stock

Joey Wagman

Zack Weiss

Josh Wolf

Catchers

Jakob Goldfarb

Ryan Lavarnway

Garrett Stubbs

Infielders

Zack Gelof

Spencer Horwitz

Ty Kelly

Assaf Lowengart

Noah Mendlinger

Matt Mervis

Danny Valencia

Michael Wielansky

Outfielders

Alex Dickerson

Joc Pederson

Italy

Pitchers

Vincenzo Aiello

Glenn Albanese Jr.

Alex Bassani

Joe Biagini

Matteo Bocchi

Ryan Castellani

Tiago Da Silva

Alessandro Ercolani

Nick Fanti

Matt Festa

Sam Gaviglio

Matt Harvey

Joe LaSorsa

Braxton Lorenzini

Joey Marciano

Brian Marconi

Vinny Nittoli

Andre Pallante

Jeffrey Passantino

Nicolo Pinazzi

Claudio Scotti

Mitchell Stumpo

Vin Timpanelli

Michele Vassalotti

Stephen Woods Jr.

Catchers

Vito Friscia

Alberto Mineo

Dominic Miroglio

Brett Sullivan

Infielders

David Fletcher

Robel García

Nicky Lopez

Miles Mastrobuoni

Vinnie Pasquantino

John Valente

Outfielders

Ben DeLuzio

Dominic Fletcher

Sal Frelick

Japan

Pitchers

Yu Darvish

Shota Imanaga

Hiromi Itoh

Ryoji Kuribayashi

Yuki Matsui

Hiroya Miyagi

Taisei Ota

Roki Sasaki

Hiroto Takahashi

Keiji Takahashi

Shosei Togo

Yuki Udagawa

Yoshinobu Yamamoto

Atsuki Yuasa

Two Way Players

Shohei Ohtani

Catchers

Takuya Kai

Yuhei Nakamura

Takumi Ohshiro

Infielders

Sosuke Genda

Shugo Maki

Munetaka Murakami

Takumu Nakano

Kazuma Okamoto

Ukyo Shuto

Tetsuto Yamada

Hotaka Yamakawa

Outfielders

Kensuke Kondoh

Lars Nootbaar

Seiya Suzuki

Masataka Yoshida

Kingdom of the Netherlands

Pitchers

Mike Bolsenbroek

Dennis Burgersdijk

Jiorgeny Casimiri

Jaydenn Estanista

Dylan Farley

Wendell Floranus

Arij Fransen

Lars Huijer

Ryan Huntington

Kenley Jansen

Jair Jurrjens

Antwone Kelly

Kevin Kelly

Shairon Martis

Eric Mendez

Scott Prins

Pedro Strop

Juan Carlos Sulbaran

Franklin Van Gurp

Derek West

Tom de Blok

Aaron de Groot

Catchers

Sicnarf Loopstok

Dashenko Ricardo

Chadwick Tromp

Infielders

Xander Bogaerts

Didi Gregorius

Dwayne Kemp

Richie Palacios

Juremi Profar

Jonathan Schoop

Sharlon Schoop

Andrelton Simmons

Zander Wiel

Outfielders

Wladimir Balentien

Roger Bernadina

Ray-Patrick Didder

Josh Palacios

Korea

Pitchers

Woo Suk Go

Been Gwak

Cheol Wong Jeong

Wooyoung Jung

Kwang Hyun Kim

Won Jung Kim

Yun Sik Kim

Young Pyo Ko

Chang Mo Koo

Eui Lee Lee

Yongchan Lee

Se Woong Park

Hyeong Jun So

Tae-in Won

Hyeon-Jong Yang

Catchers

Ji Young Lee

Euiji Yang

Infielders

Jeong Choi

Tommy Edman

Baekho Kang

Ha-Seong Kim

Hyseong Kim

Ji Hwan Oh

ByungHo Park

Outfielders

Ji Hoon Choi

Hyun Soo Kim

Jung Hoo Lee

Sung Bum Na

Hae-Min Park

Kunwoo Park

Mexico

Pitchers

Erubiel Armenta

Javier Assad

Manny Barreda

Victor Castaneda

Luis Cessa

Jesus Cruz

Giovanny Gallegos

Felipe Gonzalez

Adrián Martínez

Oliver Pérez

Roel Ramírez

Alan Rangel

Gerardo Reyes

Wilmer Rios

JoJo Romero

Jake Sanchez

Patrick Sandoval

Julio Urías

José Urquidy

César Vargas

Taijuan Walker

Samuel Zazueta

Catchers

Austin Barnes

Alejandro Kirk

Infielders

Jonathan Aranda

Joey Meneses

Isaac Paredes

Rowdy Tellez

Alan Trejo

Luis Urías

Roberto Valenzuela

Outfielders

Randy Arozarena

Jose Cardona

Jarren Duran

Alek Thomas

Alex Verdugo

Nicaragua

Pitchers

Joaquin Acuna

Leo Crawford

Fidencio Flores

Kevin Gadea

Osman Gutierrez

Duque Hebbert

Jonathan Loáisiga

Ronald Medrano

Erasmo Ramírez

JC Ramírez

Roniel Raudes

Carlos Rodriguez

Carlos Teller

Junior Tellez

Rodney Theophile

Catchers

Rodolfo Bone

Melvin Novoa

Infielders

Benjamin Alegria

Alex Blandino

Cheslor Cuthbert

Steven Leyton

Ivan Marin

Elian Miranda

Juan Montes

Milkar Perez

Wuillians Vasquez

Outfielders

Isaac Benard

Sandy Bermudez

Dwight Britton

Norlando Valle

Panama

Pitchers

Harold Arauz

Alberto Baldonado

Jaime Barría

Miguel Cienfuegos

Randall Delgado

Paolo Espino

Steven Fuentes

James Gonzalez

Severino González

Javy Guerra

Alberto Guerrero

Matt Hardy

Justin Lawrence

Carlos Luna

Humberto Mejía

Andy Otero

Wilfredo Pereira

Davis Romero

Catchers

Erasmo Caballero

Iván Herrera

Infielders

Jonathan Araúz

Christian Bethancourt

Jose Caballero

Gerald Chin

Allen Córdoba

Edgar Munoz

Rubén Tejada

Joshwan Wright

Outfielders

Luis Castillo

L.J. Jones

Rodrigo Orozco

Jose Ramos

Jahdiel Santamaria

Jhonny Santos

Puerto Rico

Pitchers

Jonathan Bermudez

José Berríos

Alex Claudio

Fernando Cruz

José De León

Alexis Díaz

Edwin Díaz

Jose Espada

Dominic Hamel

Jorge López

Anthony Maldonado

Jovani Moran

Nicholas Padilla

Emilio Pagán

Luis Quinones

Yacksel Ríos

Dereck Rodríguez

Héctor Santiago

Marcus Stroman

Duane Underwood Jr.

Catchers

Martín Maldonado

MJ Melendez

Christian Vázquez

Infielders

Javier Báez

Edwin Díaz

Enrique Hernández

Francisco Lindor

Vimael Machín

Jose Miranda

Emmanuel Rivera

Neftali Soto

Outfielders

Henry Ramos

Eddie Rosario

Nelson Velázquez

United States

Pitchers

Jason Adam

Daniel Bard

David Bednar

Kyle Freeland

Kendall Graveman

Merrill Kelly

Lance Lynn

Nick Martinez

Miles Mikolas

Adam Ottavino

Ryan Pressly

Brooks Raley

Brady Singer

Adam Wainwright

Devin Williams

Catchers

Kyle Higashioka

J.T. Realmuto

Will Smith

Infielders

Pete Alonso

Tim Anderson

Nolan Arenado

Paul Goldschmidt

Trea Turner

Bobby Witt Jr.

Outfielders

Mookie Betts

Jeff McNeil

Cedric Mullins

Kyle Schwarber

Mike Trout

Kyle Tucker

Venezuela

Pitchers

José Alvarado

Silvino Bracho

Endrys Briceno

Max Castillo

Jhoulys Chacín

Enmanuel De Jesus

Jhonathan Diaz

Edwin Escobar

Luis Garcia

Norwith Gudino

Carlos Hernández

Darwinzon Hernandez

Elieser Hernandez

Pablo López

Jesús Luzardo

Andres Mchado

Germán Márquez

Martín Pérez

José Quijada

Eduardo Rodriguez

José Ruiz

Ranger Suárez

Anthony Vizcaya

Catchers

Robinson Chirinos

Omar Narváez

Salvador Perez

Infielders

Jose Altuve

Luis Arraez

Eduardo Escobar

Andrés Giménez

Luis Rengifo

Miguel Rojas

Eugenio Suárez

Gleyber Torres

Outfielders

Ronald Acuña Jr.

David Peralta

Anthony Santander

Designated Hitter

Miguel Cabrera

Past Winners of the World Baseball Classic

2006 – Japan

2009 – Japan

2013 – Dominican Republic

2017 – United States

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Top World Baseball Classic Questions

When is the next World Baseball Classic?

After the 2023 event, the next World Baseball Classic should take place in 2027.

When does the World Baseball Classic start?

World Baseball Classic 2023 starts on March 8 and runs through March 2, 2023.

Who won the last World Baseball Classic?

The U.S. won the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Where is the World Baseball Classic 2023?

The venues hosting World Baseball Classic 2023 are:

  • Intercontinental Baseball Stadium (Taichung, Taiwan)
  • Tokyo Dome (Tokyo, Japan)
  • Chase Field (Phoenix, AZ, USA)
  • loanDepot Park (Miami, FL, USA)

How often is the World Baseball Classic?

The event is supposed to take place every four years – like the Olympics or World Cup – but the 2021 event was cancelled, so there was seven years between the last event (2017) and this year’s event (2023).

Looking for more baseball content? Check our MLB Season Guide to keep up with schedules, teams, mascots and more. 

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