It's official, the World Baseball Classic is the best thing to happen to baseball in a long time.
Despite what some trolls might say, whatever attention they seek by dogging the WBC is far outweighed by the actual enjoyment fans are getting from this year's tournament. Where it felt the WBC flew a little under the radar in year's past, things have exploded this year with instant-classic showdowns and a countless number of memorable moments.
After a month of games, everything comes down to the World Baseball Classic Final between USA and Japan.
Unfortunately there aren’t any Minnesota Twins players left in the World Baseball Classic, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t watch. In fact, the opposite is true as the WBC has proven that baseball is bigger than MLB and it has set the tone for the season in ways few could have predicted.
What has made the World Baseball Classic so much fun has been the raw passion from fans rooting for their national teams and the pride that has bubbled over into not only the reaction to plays but onto the field and the players in the game.
The the Mexico vs. Japan semifinal game, where we had two absolutely bonkers moments that reminded us all why baseball is such an awesome sport.
Randy Arozarena stealing a home run and his reaction was a peak moment of the tournament, which was topped a few innings later when Munetaka Murakami walked off Mexico in the ninth inning and powered Japan to the WBC Final.
As if ripped from a Ken Burns documentary romanticizing baseball, there’s always a new reason to fall in love with the game. The World Baseball Classic has been the perfect excuse, and teh WBC Final between USA and Japan is sure to send things off in style.
List of World Baseball Classic Champions
Baseball has existed in some official form since 1846, but the World Baseball Classic is less than two decades old. The tournament was started back in 2006, but is the only global baseball tournament left after the Baseball World Cup ended in 2011 and the IOC dropped baseball from the Olympics in 2008.
It’s created a hunger that has been satisfied — or intensified — by this year’s tournament, rejuvenating the sport and proving that the game is bigger than the biggest league that plays it.
Since the tournament is still young, there have only been four winners in its short history. Japan is the winningest country to have participated, and is going for a third championship this year. USA is looking to become the only other team outside of Japan to have won multiple WBC titles, and enter tonight’s game as defending champions.
Year | Champion | Runner-Up | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
2006 | Japan | Cuba | 10-6 |
2009 | Japan | South Korea | 5-3 (F/10) |
2013 | Dominican Republic | Puerto Rico | 3-0 |
2017 | United States | Puerto Rico | 8-0 |
2023 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Where can I watch the World Baseball Classic?
It doesn’t really matter at which point in the tournament someone caught on, as it seems everyone has arrived as the conclusion of the World Baseball Classic riding the same high. From the aforementioned moments in the Japan-Mexico semifinal, to Trea Turner reintroducing himself to baseball fans as an American hero, every awesome moment we’ve witnessed so far has led to this.
And to think that we thought March Madness would be referring to the NCAA Tournament.
Here’s everything you need to know to catch the World Baseball Classic Final between USA and Japan.
- Start Time: 7:00 pm ET
- TV Channel: FS1
- Live Stream: FuboTV | Fox Sports Go
- Radio: Sirius XM | TuneIn | MLB App
- Announcers: Joe Davis, John Smoltz