The World Baseball Classic began on March 8th, featuring the world’s best players representing their home countries facing head to head! And, don’t forget, there are quite a few Phillies in the World Baseball Classic that you can root for!
The United States are the defending champions in the fifth annual iteration of this tournament, they beat Puerto Rico 8-0 in 2017 to take home the last time the World Baseball Classic came together.

LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 22: Eric Hosmer #35 of team United States, who made the final out in the ninth inning, celebrates with teammates after their 8-0 win against previously undefeated Puerto Rico during Game 3 of the Championship Round of the 2017 World Baseball Classic at Dodger Stadium on March 22, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
The fifth World Baseball Classic was originally supposed to take place in 2021 but was cancelled well ahead of time (back in May of 2020) due to the Coronavirus Pandemic.
Now, this exciting tournament is back and better than ever with twenty different countries being represented. The teams are split up into four pools. Starting with “Pool A – Taichung,” you have Netherlands, Italy, Cuba, Panama and Chinese Taipei.

TAICHUNG, TAIWAN – MARCH 09: Xander Bogaerts and Roger Bernadina react during the World Baseball Classic Pool A game between Panama and Netherlands at Taichung Intercontinental Baseball Stadium on March 09, 2023 in Taichung, Taiwan. (Photo by Gene Wang/Getty Images)
Moving onto “Pool B – Tokyo,” we’ve got Australia, Czech Republic, Japan, Korea, and China. In “Pool C – Phoenix,” there’s Canada, Colombia, Great Britain, Mexico and USA.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA – MARCH 07: Pitchers David Bednar #53 and Daniel Bard #52 of Team USA practice ahead of the World Baseball Classic at Papago Park Sports Complex on March 07, 2023 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
Rounding out the final pool, in “Pool D – Miami,” the final four teams are Dominican Republic, Israel, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and Venezuela.
If you’re a baseball fan, you’ll love my list of the
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But more importantly, there are Phillies in the World Baseball Classic that you are going to want to be rooting for so let’s find out who it is!