There is only one stage where Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani can meet with national pride and baseball fans around the world watching, from the United States to Japan and beyond. It’s the World Baseball Classic.
Not even the World Series is capable of producing such a moment. The possibility exists exclusively in the Classic, where baseball’s biggest stars transcend their allegiance to Major League teams to dress up for 20 different teams in what is a true display of international talent.
El Clásico offers a unique baseball experience. For this reason, it is one of the most important global events of Major League Baseball.
“What it does for MLB is stamp baseball as a brand and a global sport,” said Jim Small, MLB senior vice president of international and president of the World Baseball Classic. “El Clásico has been a great way to promote the sport, because it is a World Cup competition. And we just didn’t have that before the World Baseball Classic.”
Small was part of the group of executives that developed the original business plan for the World Baseball Classic, before the first edition of the international tournament led the contest to what it is today.
With the four previous editions of the tournament, the Clásico has been developing up to this point. The expansion of MLB’s global reach goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of the World Baseball Classic, from 2006 to 2009 to 2013 to 2017 to 2023.
“We’ve been at this for 17 years, right?” Small pointed out. “Pete Alonso and Shohei Ohtani were 11 years old when we held the first World Baseball Classic. Therefore, they have been raised with this.
“For those of us who were present for the first one, when everything was new, there were many doubts. Now we have a generation that has grown up with this tournament. El Clásico is an established brand, an established tournament, which renowned players have grown up watching and saying, ‘Come on, it would be nice to play there one day.’ Well, now they can.”
There are more international stars than ever in MLB, and now there are more world-class talent in the World Classic than ever before – starting with the all-star selection created by the United States, the event’s reigning champions.
Leading that selection is Trout. He was the first player called by the ninth’s general manager, Tony Reagins, who is also MLB’s top baseball development executive. Trout’s memories of watching the United States capture the gold medal, with iconic moments like Adam Jones’ home run stealing from Manny Machado in the USA’s win over the Dominican Republic, motivated him to participate in the 2023.
“Noticeable [lo distinto que es el Clásico] watching it on TV,” Trout said. “When they were out there making those plays and winning, I think that’s what I regretted. I should have been there.”
After Trout was named captain of the US national team, a stream of top MLB players followed in his footsteps.
“I think that’s when we turned around in this tournament. The high-profile superstar has embraced it,” Reagins said. “That bodes well for the tournament and for baseball domestically and internationally.”
Today, the World Baseball Classic is armed to the teeth, from the previous champions – the United States, Japan and the Dominican Republic – to South Korea, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, the Netherlands, Mexico and Cuba. Even the teams of Israel and Italy have outstanding major leaguers.
“That will be the focus of our business staff, highlighting the players who are participating – not just with the United States national team, but with all the clubs represented in the tournament,” Reagins said. “Getting these talented players known around the world is something we felt was important. The promotion of all the teams”.
There have always been great figures in the Clásico. The United States team for the 2006 tournament featured names like Ken Griffey Jr., Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Alex Rodriguez and Chase Utley, but the depth and balance of tournament stars is different today.
Rosters around the world are filled with current, past and future Major League Baseball stars, and when MLB stars are representing so many different countries, fans follow them.
Those fans see their favorite MLB players alongside elite stars from the world’s best leagues: Japan’s NPB, Korea’s KBO and others from Asia, Europe and Latin America.
“Speaking of Shohei about [Japón], he tried to tell me that he doesn’t think he’s the best player on that team,” an incredulous Trout said. “There’s no way there’s anyone better than Shohei.”
But that is precisely the issue. Japan doesn’t just have Ohtani. He has Munetaka Murakami–the new Sadaharu Oh–who hit 56 home runs in NPB last season, while Aaron Judge put on his own historic display of MLB power. They have phenom Roki Sasaki, author of a perfect game in which he struck out 19 batters. And in his ranks is pitcher Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who has won back-to-back pitching Triple Crowns.
The World Baseball Classic may be the first opportunity for fans to see players who would be in the majors in the near future in action. Kodai Senga dominated for Japan against the United States in the 2017 Classic; he is now a member of the Mets. The Kiwoom Heroes of the South Korean circuit have agreed to post Jung Hoo Lee — who is just 24 years old and the reigning KBO MVP — after his 2023 season. Murakami, 23, may follow him, due to which is projected to enter the MLB post system after 2025.
“The wonderful thing about the WBC is that it brings more attention to players outside of the United States,” Small said. “It raised the profiles of these players and international leagues with fans in the US region. That’s a good thing for our game — for MLB and the brand.”
But the tournament’s reach also extends to countries that are in the early stages of baseball’s development.
By the time the 2023 Clasico champion is crowned — between its qualifiers and the main competition — it will have been played in the United States, Japan, Taiwan, Germany and Panama. The latest venues included South Korea, Mexico, Canada, Australia and Puerto Rico.
“Baseball in Germany is in a better position now than it was before the WBC,” Small said. “We had the qualifying rounds there and the Bavarian government invested several million dollars to improve the facilities. That makes a lasting impact. The same in Panama; they renovated the land there.”
And there is also an impact beyond the host countries. As an example is Pakistan, which put together a team of cricketers to participate in the last two qualifiers of the Classic. There’s the Czech Republic, whose berth to the 2023 tournament was the biggest moment in that nation’s baseball history. Also Nicaragua–where baseball is the national sport–will finally participate in its first World Classic.
“The obvious success of the World Classic has been seen in places like Japan, South Korea, the United States. Everyone stands out for that,” Small said. “But what fills me with optimism the most is seeing what the tournament has done with the little ones compared to the big ones.”
Big and small — the Classic creates unforgettable moments for every participating country and territory.
“I will always remember when Yadier Molina said that [uno de los mejores momentos] of his career was the semifinal [del 2017] that Puerto Rico won to go to the final,” said starter Adam Wainwright, who was also Molina’s teammate for a long time in the Cardinals. “That will always be with me.”
Wainwright has seen how much the World Baseball Classic has evolved. One of the major league players who has been in action since the days of the first tournament, the right-hander saw his teammates from St. Louis leave their mark in different countries over the years: Molina for Puerto Rico, Albert Pujols for the Dominican Republic, even Jason Marquis for Israel. Now the right-hander wears the uniform of the US national team alongside Paul Goldschmidt and Nolan Arenado, while other members of the Cardinals represent 10 other territories in 2023.
Figures that watched the previous Clásicos will now play in the tournament. Stars who previously participated in the contest are now working to keep it growing. Molina is the manager of the Puerto Rican squad, while Nelson Cruz is the general manager of the Dominican team.
Every World Baseball Classic has taken a step forward. The 2017 tournament set attendance and audience records, especially the final between the United States and Puerto Rico. And that of 2023 will be a kind of “prelude” to another milestone: The 20th anniversary of the Classic in 2026.
“We think the level of baseball we’ll see this year will be spectacular, and that will help us keep up the pace so that the 2026 tournament is much bigger,” Small explained. “More people in the stands. More attention from viewers. All for the style.”
MLB has set a trident as an international strategy to generate a long-term fan base, anywhere in the world. 1) Create the opportunity to participate in baseball. 2) Deliver the ideal content, in the ideal medium, at the ideal time. 3) Organize attention-grabbing live events. The World Baseball Classic, similar to MLB events like the London Series, fall into the latter category.
“We can’t take 100,000 people from London to see the Yankees. But we took the Yankees from New York to London, and they saw the spectacle of baseball in person,” Small said. “El Clásico gives us a very similar opportunity.
“It’s that opportunity to experience a game in person, possibly like you’ve never experienced before, in Tokyo, Taichung, Phoenix or Miami. That is special and helps to involve the international fans. Help Major League Baseball, also NPB, KBO, CPBL and other leagues around the world.”
