2023 World Baseball Classic

The 2023 World Baseball Classic, the sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic, is scheduled to take place from March 8-21, 2023, with games played in three countries: the United States, Japan and Taiwan. Qualifiers for the tournament took place a year earlier, in September 2022. The event will be the first Classic in six years after the 2021 World Baseball Classic was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The semi-finals and finals will take place at LoanDepot Park in Miami, FL.

The 2023 edition of the tournament expanded to 20 participants, from 16 in the previous four editions, spread among four first-round pools. This guaranteed each team one extra game. All 16 teams from the 2017 tournament received an automatic entry, with the four extra teams emerging from the qualifiers -  United Kingdom,  Czech Republic,  Nicaragua and  Panama - of these four countries, only Panama had participated in the past, most recently in 2009. In late December 2022, MLB reached an agreement with Cuban officials opening the door for Cuban refugees to play for the Cuban national team without being repatriated, a first. That allowed Cuba to potentially bring in players like Yoan Moncada and Luis Robert, who had never represented Cuba in a senior-level tournament. The event again featured many of MLB's biggest names, like Mike Trout, Ronald Acuña Jr., Shohei Ohtani and Juan Soto, though Clayton Kershaw was a late withdrawal. Miguel Cabrera and Oliver Pérez were the only players to make all five Classics; for Pérez, it would be his swan song as he announced he would retire at the end of the tournament.

See also

• 2023 World Baseball Classic (Rosters)

Schedule

Pool A at Taichung Intercontinental Stadium

• March 7:  Cuba vs.  Netherlands,  Panama vs.  Chinese Taipei
• March 8:  Panama vs.  Netherlands,  Italy vs.  Cuba
• March 9:  Cuba vs.  Panama,  Italy vs.  Chinese Taipei
• March 10:  Panama vs.  Italy,  Netherlands vs.  Chinese Taipei
• March 11:  Chinese Taipei vs.  Cuba,  Netherlands vs.  Italy

Pool B at Tokyo Dome

• March 8:  Australia vs.  South Korea,  Japan vs.  People's Republic of China
• March 9:  Czech Republic vs.  People's Republic of China,  South Korea vs.  Japan
• March 10:  Australia vs.  People's Republic of China,  Japan vs.  Czech Republic
• March 11:  South Korea vs.  Czech Republic,  Japan vs.  Australia
• March 12:  Australia vs.  Czech Republic,  South Korea vs.  People's Republic of China

Pool C at Chase Field

• March 11:  Colombia vs.  Mexico,  United States vs.  United Kingdom
• March 12:  Canada vs.  United Kingdom,  United States vs.  Mexico
• March 13:  Colombia vs.  United Kingdom,  United States vs.  Canada
• March 14:  Colombia vs.  Canada,  Mexico vs.  United Kingdom
• March 15:  Canada vs.  Mexico,  United States vs.  Colombia

Pool D at loanDepot Park

• March 11:  Nicaragua vs.  Puerto Rico,  Dominican Republic vs.  Venezuela
• March 12:  Nicaragua vs.  Israel,  Puerto Rico vs.  Venezuela
• March 13:  Nicaragua vs.  Dominican Republic,  Puerto Rico vs.  Israel
• March 14:  Nicaragua vs.  Venezuela,  Dominican Republic vs.  Israel
• March 15:  Venezuela vs.  Israel,  Dominican Republic vs.  Puerto Rico

Further Reading

• David Adler: "World Baseball Classic 2023 venues, pools announced", mlb.com, July 7, 2022. [1]
• Anthony Castrovince: "World Baseball Classic FAQ: Here's everything to know", mlb.com, February 9, 2023. [2]
• Michael Clair and Thomas Harrigan: "World’s stars align as Classic rosters announced", mlb.com, February 9, 2023. [3]
• Jon Paul Morosi: "10 reasons why this World Baseball Classic will be an instant thriller", mlb.com, February 9, 2023. [4]