Guide to the World Baseball Classic

[Brock Beauchamp]

The WBC is around the corner. Our friends at Fish On First put together this outstanding guide to the Classic.

The ultimate fan guide to the World Baseball Classic - Miami Marlins Guides & Resources - Fish On First

FISHONFIRST.COM

---

Here is everything you need to know heading into the sixth edition of baseball's biggest international tournament.

 

[Kimmi]

On 3/3/2026 at 12:34 PM, Brock Beauchamp said:

The WBC is around the corner. Our friends at Fish On First put together this outstanding guide to the Classic.

The ultimate fan guide to the World Baseball Classic - Miami Marlins Guides & Resources - Fish On First

FISHONFIRST.COM

---

Here is everything you need to know heading into the sixth edition of baseball's biggest international tournament.

 

Thanks for posting this.  I'm looking forward to watching as much of the WBC as I can.  I think it's a really exciting tournament for the players to participate in.  I just hope all players get through it injury free.

I was particularly interested in the eligibility rules, as I've often wondered how certain players can play for certain teams.  It seems the eligibility rules are rather broad, indeed.

[Brock Beauchamp]

17 hours ago, Kimmi said:

Thanks for posting this.  I'm looking forward to watching as much of the WBC as I can.  I think it's a really exciting tournament for the players to participate in.  I just hope all players get through it injury free.

I was particularly interested in the eligibility rules, as I've often wondered how certain players can play for certain teams.  It seems the eligibility rules are rather broad, indeed.

They're very broad. I suspect that will tighten up over time as more countries grow interested. Teams like Great Britain have improved drastically over just a few WBCs.

[mvp 78]

 

[drewski6]

20 hours ago, Kimmi said:

Thanks for posting this.  I'm looking forward to watching as much of the WBC as I can.  I think it's a really exciting tournament for the players to participate in.  I just hope all players get through it injury free.

I was particularly interested in the eligibility rules, as I've often wondered how certain players can play for certain teams.  It seems the eligibility rules are rather broad, indeed.

I sincerely hope, Kimmi, that you are "particularly interested" in eligibility due to wanting to celebrate diversity and not coming from a place of wanting more scrutiny of who gets to call themselves what or what countries/ethnicities people are allowed to claim/represent.   Unfortunately, the way you phrased this, Im getting the gist that you are more interested in critiquing the nuances of the "rules" or maybe even the enforcement of them.  Thats a pretty dark path and your comment made me uncomfortable.  

It seems like if one of your parents was born in a country (or one of their territories), you can play.    Netherlands is getting good players out of Curacao and Aruba, 2 Dutch territories that are kind of independent but kind of still part of the Netherlands.  It does not bother me.  In fact, I think the diversity on the Netherlands team is cool.

Like Jazz on Britain, another example.  Bahamas isnt part of Britain today, but it was when Jazz Sr was born there.  And Jazz's grandma was a Bahamian softball star for 30 years, and for most of that span the Bahamas was British territory.  The fact that Jazz gets to play for Britain and add diversity to that team is cool.

The rule is simply this, and it need not change: To represent a country/team in the WBC, you have to be invited to represent that country/team. If that invitation is made and the player accepts - you are on the team.  Good enough for me.

[mvp 78]

19 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I sincerely hope, Kimmi...

No, her obvious point is more about players like Aaron Nola playing for Italy because his great-grandparents emigrated to LA from Sicily. 

[drewski6]

24 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

No, her obvious point is more about players like Aaron Nola playing for Italy because his great-grandparents emigrated to LA from Sicily. 

Scrutinizing who gets to call themselves what or what country they get to represent never ends well.  Have you ever been on the receiving end of that? I have.

[Kimmi]

On 3/5/2026 at 12:39 PM, drewski6 said:

I sincerely hope, Kimmi, that you are "particularly interested" in eligibility due to wanting to celebrate diversity and not coming from a place of wanting more scrutiny of who gets to call themselves what or what countries/ethnicities people are allowed to claim/represent.   Unfortunately, the way you phrased this, Im getting the gist that you are more interested in critiquing the nuances of the "rules" or maybe even the enforcement of them.  Thats a pretty dark path and your comment made me uncomfortable.  

It seems like if one of your parents was born in a country (or one of their territories), you can play.    Netherlands is getting good players out of Curacao and Aruba, 2 Dutch territories that are kind of independent but kind of still part of the Netherlands.  It does not bother me.  In fact, I think the diversity on the Netherlands team is cool.

Like Jazz on Britain, another example.  Bahamas isnt part of Britain today, but it was when Jazz Sr was born there.  And Jazz's grandma was a Bahamian softball star for 30 years, and for most of that span the Bahamas was British territory.  The fact that Jazz gets to play for Britain and add diversity to that team is cool.

The rule is simply this, and it need not change: To represent a country/team in the WBC, you have to be invited to represent that country/team. If that invitation is made and the player accepts - you are on the team.  Good enough for me.

Wow.  

Shame on you for this post, and shame on jad for liking it.

[Kimmi]

On 3/5/2026 at 9:09 AM, Brock Beauchamp said:

They're very broad. I suspect that will tighten up over time as more countries grow interested. Teams like Great Britain have improved drastically over just a few WBCs.

I've been enjoying the play so far.  That said, Shohei is really starting to get on my nerves.

[jad]

1 hour ago, Kimmi said:

Wow.  

Shame on you for this post, and shame on jad for liking it.

I am not ashamed of liking a post that says:   if you are invited by a national team to play for them and you accept, you should be allowed to play.    In fact, that seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to propose, and I am baffled that anyone would object.

[jad]

1 hour ago, Kimmi said:

I've been enjoying the play so far.  That said, Shohei is really starting to get on my nerves.

Yeah, Shohei is the worst thing ever to happen to MLB and the Dodgers are ruining the game.

[jad]

On 3/5/2026 at 1:03 PM, mvp 78 said:

No, her obvious point is more about players like Aaron Nola playing for Italy because his great-grandparents emigrated to LA from Sicily. 

So what?  Italy wants him to play for them and so does he.    As Drewski points out, having anyone step in and prevent this is not going to accomplish anything.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, jad said:

So what?  Italy wants him to play for them and so does he.    As Drewski points out, having anyone step in and prevent this is not going to accomplish anything.

TY Jad, the number of times in my life I've heard "you're not white, you f'ing Jew" rose from 1 to 4 in recent months.  In my experience, trying to police who gets to call themselves what is so rarely coming from a good place. My post was sincere.  I only meant to express my hope that Kimmi's expressed interest in the backstories were to celebrate them, not police their eligibility.  But I guess that went too far.

Unfortunately, this isnt the first time Ive run into this particular brand of ugliness on this website.

[jad]

Yoshi, despite not being DFA'd by Japan (who clearly know nothing about baseball,) goes yard .   (Then breaks it open with a bases loaded hit in the 7th).

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

1 hour ago, jad said:

Yoshi, despite not being DFA'd by Japan (who clearly know nothing about baseball,) goes yard .   (Then breaks it open with a bases loaded hit in the 7th).

It's clear Masa's jawbone is finally healed after being on the IL for so long -- WBC cameras keep showing him constantly smiling.

And for those who can't fathom how Yoshida can possibly fit on the Red Sox powerhouse offense if he's not in the starting line-up on a particular day, do you think for a second that Cora won't use him if a game's on the line? 

This is a manager that won a game in September when he pinch-hit Sogard, a Quadruple A guy, for the team's WAR-leading position player. Yoshi's career average vs. big league southpaws isn't great, but it's better than that of Duran, Abreu and Rafaela... and that includes half his time in Boston trying to hit with an injured shoulder.

Now Mass Attacker is healthy.

[UtahSox]

18 hours ago, drewski6 said:

TY Jad, the number of times in my life I've heard "you're not white, you f'ing Jew" rose from 1 to 4 in recent months.  In my experience, trying to police who gets to call themselves what is so rarely coming from a good place. My post was sincere.  I only meant to express my hope that Kimmi's expressed interest in the backstories were to celebrate them, not police their eligibility.  But I guess that went too far.

Unfortunately, this isnt the first time Ive run into this particular brand of ugliness on this website.

Drewski you know you’re my I’m guy on here…… Ugly times out there for sure, I’m sorry you’re dealing with antisemitism, and I know this stuff is real, and can be triggering. 

I’m not sure Kimmi was coming from where you said, or even worse “assumed” she was. Not to get too political, but I think the WBC could really help engage, and educate/ remind us on the value of immigration, and celebrating your past. We are (almost) all immigrants here.

My family on my dads side comes from Norway, and I am weirdly connected to those people because of that. It was funny watching the Olympics with my kids this year, as I watched my kids create a connection to their past, regardless of how loosely they are connected. It was simply asking a few times who I wanted to win, and because of my connection to Norway, I was able to have a conversation about where our great great grandparents came from, and for the rest of the Olympics, they cheered for Norway when the United States wasn’t in competition. 
I lived for two years in Nicaragua, back in the day and while I have no heritage tying myself to that place. I watched the game last night, with a Nicaragua shirt on thinking how proud I would be to represent those people. 
 

Especially in this time, it’s great to celebrate. Let’s not assume asking questions defines her position.

[notin]

On 3/4/2026 at 2:27 PM, Kimmi said:

Thanks for posting this.  I'm looking forward to watching as much of the WBC as I can.  I think it's a really exciting tournament for the players to participate in.  I just hope all players get through it injury free.

I was particularly interested in the eligibility rules, as I've often wondered how certain players can play for certain teams.  It seems the eligibility rules are rather broad, indeed.

This was getting to be more of a story in the Olympics than it needed to be, as well, largely because of Eileen Gu choosing to ski for China rather than the USA, and some people clearly taking that decision that had no effect on their lives far too personally.

But really, isn’t all sports above high school really a bunch of people playing for a city/state/country not their own?  It’s not like the Red Sox players have to be from Boston, or Massachusetts, or even the USA. And while the Seahawks made Seattle the Best Football City in America, it’s not like anyone on that team is from Seattle.  (Ok, Cooper Kupp is from Yakima, WA.  I can count it.)

I have reached the point in my fandom where I really don’t care who plays for Team USA or Team Netherlands or Team Upper Volta, I’m just glad baseball is back.

Although maybe they could cut back on the Shohei praise a little.  Like maybe limit it to games he is actually playing in…

[jad]

Shohei is the best player I've ever seen; but  he was that when he played for the Angels and no one seemed to care--it just took the Dodgers to market him properly.  Under the old ownership, you didn't need tix to Chavez Ravine.  You just showed up, and it's the only stadium I've ever been in where fans entering pass those who are leaving--once a routine sight in the 5th inning.  Even when LAD was winning, the phrase "It's only the Dodgers ..." is one I heard all the time.    Now they're averaging nearly 50,000 a game, or about the same number as the Angels did in an entire season (well, I exaggerate slightly).   I imagine there was someone in the LAD brain-trust arguing:  pay that guy the highest amount you can without bankrupting us, as the higher the number is, the more fans will come out to watch him.  

[notin]

7 minutes ago, jad said:

Shohei is the best player I've ever seen; but  he was that when he played for the Angels and no one seemed to care--it just took the Dodgers to market him properly.  Under the old ownership, you didn't need tix to Chavez Ravine.  You just showed up, and it's the only stadium I've ever been in where fans entering pass those who are leaving--once a routine sight in the 5th inning.  Even when LAD was winning, the phrase "It's only the Dodgers ..." is one I heard all the time.    Now they're averaging nearly 50,000 a game, or about the same number as the Angels did in an entire season (well, I exaggerate slightly).   I imagine there was someone in the LAD brain-trust arguing:  pay that guy the highest amount you can without bankrupting us, as the higher the number is, the more fans will come out to watch him.  

How does any of that make him a relevant discussion topic during a game between Team USA and Team Brazil?

[jad]

Did you not note the fact that you were the one who brought Shohei up?  And he was playing in a game as you were posting?  I was responding to what you said, and the fact that he was playing at the time.

In the future, please clarify what parts of your posts can be commented on, and what parts cannot.  And which games of the WBC can be commented on, and which cannot.

[notin]

6 hours ago, jad said:

Did you not note the fact that you were the one who brought Shohei up?  And he was playing in a game as you were posting?  I was responding to what you said, and the fact that he was playing at the time.

In the future, please clarify what parts of your posts can be commented on, and what parts cannot.  And which games of the WBC can be commented on, and which cannot.

I was commenting about the fact that I was watching Team USA play Team Brazil in a game in which 17 year old Joe Contreras (son of José) was pitching fairly well against an MLB All Star team (not an AL All Star or an NL All Star team - but an MLB one) and I had to listen to some annoying announcer blather on about Shohei Ohtani and how he homered against the Chinese Taipei team, while the story right in front of him was this high schooler who faced Aaron Judge with the bases loaded and induced an inning ending double play.

I guess I’m just not as impressed that 3 time MLB MVP can hit a home run off a 28 year old pitcher from the CPBL as I should be…

[jad]

I love WBC, as long as the games are minimally competitive, which alas many are not.  Japan/Korea rocked.   Trying Panama/PR now-- what's cool about this one is the number of guys (including our once own C. Vasquez) who look like they just stepped off a beer-league field.  "Being in shape" apparently has a different meaning in different parts of the globe.  

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

10 hours ago, jad said:

I love WBC, as long as the games are minimally competitive, which alas many are not.  Japan/Korea rocked.   Trying Panama/PR now-- what's cool about this one is the number of guys (including our once own C. Vasquez) who look like they just stepped off a beer-league field.  "Being in shape" apparently has a different meaning in different parts of the globe.  

Puerto Rican starter Eduardo Rivera, 22, looked good and was pumped to be in the spotlight.

He's a guy I didn't know about as a future option for Boston, but MLB.com lists him as the Red Sox #26 prospect. Finished last season in Portland, but at 6'7, 237, could move up fast.

Rivera's pitching line last night: 4.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K... granted, it came against mostly minor leaguers, but delivering on the big stage has to help his confidence.

This is what I love about young players experiencing the WBC.

[jad]

Allowing yourself to be picked off second, with two outs, bases loaded, 0-0, and Ohtani sitting on a 3-1 count?--that's as bad as it gets.

[jad]

Yoshi goes yard ... AGAIN.

[Duran Is The Man]

2 hours ago, jad said:

Yoshi goes yard ... AGAIN.

whaaaat, no way! i think that he has grounded out to second literally every time i've ever seen him bat. every time.

[5GoldGlovesOF,75]

3 hours ago, jad said:

Yoshi goes yard ... AGAIN.

The game just slows down on him in the WBC... phlegmatically.

[notin]

28 minutes ago, 5GoldGlovesOF,75 said:

The game just slows down on him in the WBC... phlegmatically.

As I have been saying for years, the man really is a good hitter.  And in an era where having legitimate MLB starting talent on the bench is financially impossible for most (all?) teams, the Sox have the rare opportunity to accomplish this on a roster on which he effectively covers 4 players.

Maybe there’s a different reason there’s been no trade chatter on him all off-season…

[jad]

Yeah, he was also playing through injury last year.  I wonder too, given the FO notoriously bad communication skills, if there might have been some confusion about what his role would be.   Pretty sure players with established track records (like Devers or Yoshida) do not like feeling that they're being treated like scrubs (not that they were, but rather that the FO could not convince them otherwise).

[jad]

1 hour ago, Duran Is The Man said:

whaaaat, no way! i think that he has grounded out to second literally every time i've ever seen him bat. every time.

The only thing he's hit in the direction of second in the WBC have been long fly balls landing 400 feet away.