WBC 2026

Exhibition games start today, the real games start on Wednesday and you can find all current roster info here

Pool A: San Juan

Canada
Colombia
Cuba
Panama
Puerto Rico

Pool B: Houston

Brazil
Great Britain
Italy
Mexico
USA

Pool C: Tokyo

Australia
Chinese Taipei
Czechia
Japan
Korea

Pool D: Miami

Dominican Republic
Israel
Netherlands
Nicaragua
Venezuela

Best starting outfield in the tournament is surely between the Dominican Republic (Soto, Jrod, Tatis Jr) and Venezuela (Acuña Jr, Churio, Abreu).

Selected pool play highlights:

Netherlands-Venezuela (Friday 6th March, 12pm EST/5pm GMT)

Japan-Korea (Saturday 7th March, 5am EST/10am GMT)

Mexico-USA (Monday 9th March, 8pm EST/1am GMT)

Venezuela-Dominican Republic (Wednesday 11th March, 8pm EST/1am GMT)

The exhibition games vs mlb teams today were interesting

Just a FB clip of Alejandro Kirk and Rowdy Tellez scoring on the same play.

"saw"

Watching GB-Mexico. GB’s pitcher’s dad, Jon Morosi says, used to play for Luton Town. He says Luton Town with the same regard you’d reserve for, like, Liverpool. “And then he moved to Florida and his son was born in Tampa…It’s a great story.”

I mean, it’s technically A story?

Mexico 1-0 GB so far, bottom of the 3rd with Trace Thompson up to bat.

i've been watching netherlands/venezuela, which is randomly streaming on tubi

I don’t have that streaming on the mlb app or tubi :(

MAGA moron Harry Ford hits a home run for GB and their dugout celebration is dressing him up as a Buckingham Palace guard, there’s no accounting for cringe

Australia undefeated get in big Trav Bazzana lfgooooooooooooooooooooooooo

nicaragua-netherlands incredible scenes

https://i.postimg.cc/YSysGvGw/IMG_0610.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/s20NQMQ3/IMG_0611.jpg

skubal lmao

Watching Italy-GB (SIGH). I wish it was DR-Netherlands but mlb app and none of our streaming apps are showing.

GB went up 2-0 in the top of the first. The second run scored when the pitch just squirted by the catcher behind the plate. The commentary was great.

Commentator 1: It’s a shame because there is no shortage of good defensive Italian catchers…Posada, Sal Fasano, Doug Mirabelli
Commentator 2: of course Kyle Teel was behind the plate yesterday, a very promising young catcher from the Chicago White Sox organisation

pause
Of course you have to play everybody on the roster

Team Italy just hit back to back home runs, their home run celebration is drinking a shot of espresso and receiving kisses on both cheeks lol

Watched the Canada/Panama game. Was a close one. weird combo of lousy plays and amazing ones.

Christ Smoltz makes me cringe

Also, I’ve said this before, but I fucking love the Mexico uniforms

whats going on with cal and randy

that was a weird one. everyone just assumed it was good natured fun-having or an inside joke; but now Arozarena sounds pretty fucking pissed.

Team USA has rancid vibes

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DVrhQMogYfx/

Meanwhile team PR is buying their hair bleach by the barrel!

The man’s name pitching for Canada right now: Dykxhoorn

Nickname: The Big Doctor

mamma mia

Ya! Unexpected. I can see Italy scoring those runs, but surprised they’ve totally shut down the US offence (thus far)

cmon Bryce Harper do it

From clemenza to the Italians: tu salut!

What a nail biter! Would be peak comedy if after derosa saying they were guaranteed advancement, they get elim’d tomorrow.

(The only way that happens is if Mexico wins with less than 5 runs)

(I think)

I need team USA eliminated. It would be so fucking funny.

just watched the jomboy explaining how we got here and ohmigod i need USA to be knocked out now

if I'm understanding properly you'd need Mexico to win by 4 or less?

Mexico to win and score 4 runs or less (differential won't matter)

Cuba is a defensive disaster today.

lol, and then ANOTHER error

I feel bad for them, having so many (all?) major leaguers disallowed from playing.
Anyways FUCKING PUMPED Canada is moving onto the quarters for the first time in 6 WBCs!!!!

Congrats Canada, now let's go (but just barely) Mexico

Didn't realize that Ernie Whitt was still managing Team Canada. One of my favourite Jays ever.

Now collusion is obviously bad, it tarnishes the integrity of the game and I would never openly support it

Holy fuck this Italy team is steamrolling everyone!

must be a helluva k-cup espresso

https://i.imgur.com/HGjV6Rk.gif

DR Venezuela might have been the best game of the tournament

Current pitcher for Canada nickname: Tugboat. Aaaaand he just got 3 up 3 down!

This Italy team is wild!

oh man what a scene

https://bsky.app/profile/caseydrottar.bsky.social/post/3mh2y4gb5fk2z

Not sure how much of this I'll watch, but great throw from Judge there.

They def should not have run there, as judge has thrown someone out on a similar play like two games ago

Suddenly he's Devon White out there--another great play.

This is a very fun game!

in ye olden days the thought was 2 strikes, 2 outs in bottom of ninth you swing at anything close ("protect the plate") never mind an elimination game. the pitch was pretty obviously marginal but not egregiously so and not a perfect freeze pitch like poor Beltran's strikeout vs Cardinals (rip Morbs). I feel like in that situation you gotta swing/foul off/not rely on the kindness of the umps but i'm old.

This fucking sucks

it was a poor ending for sure

gotta say, not a big fan of the DR 3rd base coach

Carlos Febles! He has previous with horrific sends!

An absolute classic of the genre

Post by a love song for connor wong (gyac) from To What Extent Does Your Life Revolve Around Alejandro Kirk? (The 2023 Blue Jays Thread) on ILX - To What Extent Does Your Life Revolve Around Alejandro Kirk? (The 2023 Blue Jays Thread)

The strike zone had been low all game and I’m surprised pitchers weren’t pounding the lower zone more. I agree you have to be more aggressive when you’re down to your last strike - that last one was especially low and would have been a ball an innings earlier

haha xp

thought tatis being thrown out at 3rd early on led them to being very conservative in sends later. austin wells totally could have scored

I thought the opposite! when I saw he was just rounding 3rd when the ball had already been scooped, figured he’d be dead at home (were the throw online)

we're all rooting for the USA, right!?

The US will play Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic final on Tuesday, a meeting that comes after recent tensions between the two countries.

In January, Donald Trump ordered a military operation that captured Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro. Since then, the US has launched a war against Iran, during which the American players have paid tribute to their country’s military. Players have saluted each other after victories and the team invited Robert J O’Neill, a former Navy Seal who claims he killed Osama bin Laden, to give a locker room speech. Two of the team’s pitchers, Paul Skenes and Griffin Jax, played at the Air Force Academy and have spoken of the importance of honoring the military.

The choice of O’Neill to motivate the team received pushback as he called men who voted for Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election as “my concubines” and been criticized by some for talking about secret military operations in public.

“You never want it to get lost why you’re doing this, whatever that why is,” USA manager Mark DeRosa said. “And a lot of people – like Paul Skenes said to me when he signed up for this, ‘I want to do this for every serviceman and woman who protects our freedom,’ and that’s why we wear USA across our chest.”

After Sunday’s semi-final win over the Dominican Republic, Skenes said the military helped shape his philosophy. “You know, this is what we do in America,” he said. “We fight and we win. And that’s our responsibility.”

The Americans’ approach has been contrasted with the light-hearted spirit of teams such as Italy and the Dominican Republic and Venezuela. The Italians took shots of espresso and kissed each other on the cheeks after home runs, while the Dominicans became known for pumping each other up, their passionate fans and their exuberant celebrations. Meanwhile, USA catcher Cal Raleigh refused to give a fist bump to Mexico’s Randy Arozarena during a game. The two are teammates for the Seattle Mariners and Arozarena said Raleigh can “go fuck himself” after the incident.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/mar/17/world-baseball-classic-venezuela-usa-final

Skenes is such a fucking loser my God. But then he was watching a college football game with Trump recently.

him and Jarren Duran should go volunteer

All ready to go here. Go, Venezuela. I want to be able to one day say that I watched a game where Luis Arraez batted third.

That did strike me as a choice.
I’m at the Dock Ellis (a baseball/sports bar near me) and there is an ingesting mix of people here; but everyone does seem to be here for the game and not St Patrick’s

Between the WS and the two gold-medal hockey games, fatalism has crept in. I feel like I know how this ends.

Shush

^^^

Would love to see Gimenez get a big hit.

I apologize for my earlier shush

Wow

there it is

:(

Tight strike zone all night

Looks safe

Beautiful!

Good at bat

That was the perfect situation for Gimenez to do what he does best, move the runner over...hope that's nothing more than a footnote..

Easy 3 outs, no doubt

Oh no

Shit

What an amazing game.

Love it to death. Very moving.

No doubt!!!

What a great game, congrats Venezuela

Can confirm this little pub in Toronto exploded with joy at that last strike.

I've got to believe any Canadian paying attention would have been, by proxy, rooting for Venezuela. The middle-finger we kept getting close to but couldn't close out.

good game, happy for Venezuela. Suarez is a vampire from What We Do in the Shadows.

Apparently he’s actually Lord Farquaad

I've got to believe any Canadian paying attention would have been, by proxy, rooting for Venezuela. The middle-finger we kept getting close to but couldn't close out.

Especially with Team USA turning up in the USA hockey team’s jerseys. Wonder which one of them got Kash Patel’s. Really rancid vibes, glad Venezuela could beat them.

I would have to think DeRosa is done as their manager?

They should let him lose a third time

how do these elite players all "lose their swing" over winter break like a student forgetting the code to his locker?

lol gyac!

how do these elite players all "lose their swing"

i was thinking on that last night. i think there's probably two thing at play here: 1 – baseball is pretty random. the best players can go on dry spells and nobodies can catch fire out of nowhere. 2 – this might be me projecting, but that locker room seemed like it must have been lousy as hell. military cosplaying while all the other teams are out there having a blast. it's much easier to win when you're having fun.

Great piece from a Yankees fansite about this btw

https://www.pinstripealley.com/yankees-editorials-opinions/179573/world-baseball-classic-team-usa-image-military-italy-venezuela-army-judge-bednar

"it's much easier to win when you're having fun"

Subject of Posnasnski's post today:

I think that touches on what made the WBC such a delight: Every team was different. They played differently. They celebrated differently. They danced differently. They reflected their nation’s pride. Winning mattered, sure, but winning wasn’t everything. Playing was everything. Enjoying the moment was everything. This was baseball bursting with color, life, energy. Each hit was a party. Each run was a carnival.

And all the while, you had the loaded and glum U.S. team as a contrast, as if they were determined to represent the dreariest possible way to play baseball. The MLB way. Nobody ever seemed to even smile. Cal Raleigh wouldn’t shake hands with Randy Arozarena. A lot has been written about the militaristic vibe this team disseminated (undoubtedly WITH the express written consent of Major League Baseball), but one thing that really struck me was how wrong they got it.

this stuff would be pathetic and in bad taste any other year but doing this right as we kicked off a disastrous and unpopular war based on the whims of a pedophile that *opened* with us bombing a school and murdering over a hundred children...honestly this might be the most unlikeable national team ever assembled. I was actively rooting for them to lose the entire way.

As WBC champions, I think Venezuela should be able to kidnap the political figurehead (and family) of their WBC finals opponent and hold them in exile de facto.

THIS TIME IT COUNTS

All 12 thumbnail photos in the top left-hand corner of B-Ref's landing page today are players from the Venezuela WBC team: https://www.baseball-reference.com/

https://i.postimg.cc/HLLRZkHR/almostaf.webp