National team appearances in the World Baseball Classic

This article lists the performances of each of the 23 national teams which have made at least one appearance in the World Baseball Classic. The 2006 and 2009 tournaments, each had the same 16–team field, chosen by invitation. Beginning with the 2013 tournament, the four last-place teams from the previous tournament's first round each contested a qualifying round against three additional teams. The outcome of this process has been that 14 of the original 16 teams have continued to appear in every tournament. In 2013, Canada and Chinese Taipei re-qualified while Panama and South Africa were respectively replaced by Brazil and Spain. In 2017, Australia and Mexico re-qualified while Brazil and Spain were respectively replaced by Colombia and Israel.

The countries which have participated in the WBC and their highest standing in the tournament.

The three teams to have won the tournament are Japan (2006, 2009, 2023), the Dominican Republic (2013), and the United States (2017). Other teams to have reached the championship game are Cuba (2006), South Korea (2009), and Puerto Rico (2013, 2017). Other teams to have reached the semifinals are Venezuela (2009), the Netherlands (2013, 2017), and Mexico (2023). Other teams to have reached the quarterfinals (previously the second round) are Chinese Taipei (2013), Italy (2013, 2023), Israel (2017), and Australia (2023). Japan is the current World Baseball Classic champion, defeating the United States at the 2023 World Baseball Classic Final.

Performance of confederations

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The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) currently divides all countries into five confederations based on their region: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.[1] Currently, the two best confederations in international baseball are Americas and Asia, as both confederations add up to 18 of the 20 top four finishes (three titles for Asia and two titles for the Americas). While the appearances of the Americas region expands throughout, all appearances for Asia in the World Baseball Classic were by countries in East Asia in particular. Europe holds the other 2 of the 16 top four finishes, both coming from the Netherlands with the help of the Dutch Caribbean.[2] Italy's and Israel's top eight appearances in 2013 and 2017 respectively have led the region's growth in baseball in addition to the Netherlands' two top four finishes.[3][4] As for Africa and Oceania, both regions lack a baseball scene in general, although South Africa and Australia are indisputably the best two countries in baseball in their respective regions due to their strong leagues.[5][6] In addition, both countries make up all of the World Baseball Classic appearances for their respective regions, including a quarterfinals finish by Australia in 2023.

As decorated as the Americas region is, only six countries in the region have ever made the top four: Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, United States, and Venezuela. The Dominican Republic and United States are the only countries to earn first place, in 2013 and 2017 respectively. In addition to the aforementioned champions, Cuba and Puerto Rico are the only other countries to have made the top four more than once. As for Asia, the countries in East Asia dominate the baseball scene in that region, as Japan and South Korea are the only two countries in that region to appear more than once in the top four. On top of that, Japan is the only country in the world to appear in the top four in all iterations of the World Baseball Classic, with three first-place finishes earned. As such, all bids so far have been granted to those two regions.

Total times teams qualified by confederation
Confederation Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania Total
Teams 2 42 20 15 5 84
Top 8 0 25 8 6 1 40
Top 4 0 11 7 2 0 20
Top 2 0 6 4 0 0 10
1st 0 2 3 0 0 5
2nd 0 4 1 0 0 5
3rd 0 2 3 0 0 5
4th 0 3 0 2 0 5

Teams reaching the top four

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After the conclusion of each WBC championship game, players from the losing team receive silver medals, followed by the winners receiving gold medals. The third-place team receives bronze medals at a separate date.[citation needed] The WBC does not hold a third-place playoff, so the ranking of the third- and fourth-placed teams is determined by the WBSC.

Teams reaching the top four
Team Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place Total
  Japan 3 (2006, 2009, 2023) 2 (2013), (2017) 5
  United States 1 (2017) 1 (2023) 1 (2009) 3
  Dominican Republic 1 (2013) 1 (2006) 2
  Puerto Rico 2 (2013, 2017) 2
  South Korea 1 (2009) 1 (2006) 2
  Cuba 1 (2006) 1 (2023) 2
  Venezuela 1 (2009) 1
  Mexico 1 (2023) 1
  Netherlands 2 (2013), (2017) 2

Debut of national teams

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The 2009 tournament is the only World Baseball Classic in which every team had appeared in at least one of the previous tournament. Prior to all 16 teams that participated in the 2006 tournament were invited to the tournament that year. The total number of teams that have participated in the World Baseball Classic until the 2023 edition is 23.

Year Debutants Total CT
2006   Australia,   Canada,   China,   Chinese Taipei,   Cuba,   Dominican Republic,   Italy,   Japan,   Mexico,   Netherlands,   Panama,   Puerto Rico,   South Korea,   South Africa,   United States,   Venezuela 16 16
2009 None 0 16
2013   Brazil,   Spain 2 18
2017   Colombia,   Israel 2 20
2023   Great Britain,   Czech Republic,   Nicaragua 3 23
2026 TBD

Number of appearances

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Team Apps Record
streak
Active
streak
Debut Most
recent
Best result
  Australia 5 5 5 2006 2023 Quarterfinals (2023)
  Canada 5 5 5 2006 2023 Pool stage
  China 5 5 5 2006 2023 Pool stage
  Chinese Taipei 5 5 5 2006 2023 Quarterfinals (2013)
  Cuba 5 5 5 2006 2023 Runners-up (2006)
  Dominican Republic 5 5 5 2006 2023 Champions (2013)
  Italy 5 5 5 2006 2023 Quarterfinals (2013, 2023)
  Japan 5 5 5 2006 2023 Champions (2006, 2009, 2023)
  Mexico 5 5 5 2006 2023 Third place (2023)
  Netherlands 5 5 5 2006 2023 Fourth place (2013, 2017)
  Puerto Rico 5 5 5 2006 2023 Runners-up (2013, 2017)
  South Korea 5 5 5 2006 2023 Runners-up (2009)
  United States 5 5 5 2006 2023 Champions (2017)
  Venezuela 5 5 5 2006 2023 Third place (2009)
  Panama 3 2 1 2006 2023 Pool stage
  South Africa 2 2 0 2006 2009 Pool stage
  Colombia 2 2 2 2017 2023 Pool stage
  Israel 2 2 2 2017 2023 Quarterfinals (2017)
  Brazil 1 1 0 2013 2013 Pool stage
  Spain 1 1 0 2013 2013 Pool stage
  Great Britain 1 1 1 2023 2023 Pool stage
  Czech Republic 1 1 1 2023 2023 Pool stage
  Nicaragua 1 1 1 2023 2023 Pool stage

Comprehensive team results by tournament

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Legend
  • 1st – Champions
  • 2nd – Runners-up
  • 3rd – Third place
  • 4th – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarterfinals (2023–present)
  • R2 – Round 2 (2006–2017: second round)
  • R1 – Round 1 (2006–2017: first round, 2023–present: pool stage)
  •      – Relegated to qualification tournament
  • Q – Qualified
  •  •  – Did not qualify
  •  ×  – Did not enter

A total of 23 nations have competed in the WBC proper, with 14 appearing in all five editions. Japan has been the most successful, as the only nation with multiple WBC titles (2006, 2009, 2023), the nation with the most wins in WBC play (30), and as the only nation to reach the championship round in all five WBCs. Japan owns the best overall winning percentage in WBC games at .789 (30–8 record), bolstered by its 7–0 mark en route to the 2023 title.

Along with Japan, three other nations have advanced to at least the second round in all five WBCs: Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the United States. The US posted a 10–10 overall record through the first three WBCs, with only one appearance in the semifinals. The Americans broke through in 2017, going 6–2 on their way to their first WBC title, then returned to the finals in 2023. Cuba lived up to its history of strong international play by reaching the finals of the inaugural WBC in 2006 before losing to Japan. However, subsequent Cuban teams failed to make a significant mark on the tournament, making three straight second-round exits from 2009 to 2017. Cuba did make it back to the semifinals in 2023, only to suffer a blowout loss to Team USA in the countries' first-ever WBC meeting. Meanwhile, Caribbean rival Puerto Rico made consecutive appearances in the WBC finals in 2013 and 2017, albeit losing both, and stood second to Japan for the most all-time WBC wins (23) after the 2023 tournament.

Of the seven teams to have earned their way into the WBC through the qualification round, only Israel has gone on to reach the second round of the main tournament, doing so in its debut in 2017. Conversely, of the 14 teams to appear in all five tournaments, two have never advanced past the first round: Canada and China. Australia, having also appeared in all four previous tournaments, made it to the second round for the first time in 2023.

Team 2006
(16)
2009
(16)
2013
(16)
2017
(16)
2023
(20)
Total
  Australia R1
13th
R1
12th
R1
16th
R1
9th
QF
7th
5
  Brazil × × R1
14th
1
  Canada R1
9th
R1
13th
R1
12th
R1
15th
R1
12th
5
  China R1
15th
R1
11th
R1
13th
R1
16th
R1
20th
5
  Chinese Taipei R1
12th
R1
14th
R2
8th
R1
14th
R1
17th
5
  Colombia × × R1
11th
R1
18th
2
  Cuba 2nd R2
6th
R2
5th
R2
7th
4th 5
  Czech Republic × × R1
14th
1
  Dominican Republic 4th R1
9th
1st R2
5th
R1
10th
5
  Great Britain × × R1
15th
1
  Israel × × R2
6th
R1
16th
2
  Italy R1
10th
R1
10th
R2
7th
R1
12th
QF
8th
5
  Japan 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 1st 5
  Mexico R2
6th
R2
8th
R1
11th
R1
13th
3rd 5
  Netherlands R1
11th
R2
7th
4th 4th R1
11th
5
  Nicaragua × × R1
19th
1
  Panama R1
14th
R1
15th
R1
13th
3
  Puerto Rico R2
5th
R2
5th
2nd 2nd QF
6th
5
  South Africa R1
16th
R1
16th
2
  South Korea 3rd 2nd R1
9th
R1
10th
R1
9th
5
  Spain × × R1
15th
1
  United States R2
8th
4th R2
6th
1st 2nd 5
  Venezuela R2
7th
3rd R1
10th
R2
8th
QF
5th
5
Team 2006
(16)
2009
(16)
2013
(16)
2017
(16)
2023
(20)
Total

Overall team records

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Updated after 2023 World Baseball Classic. Teams in bold were part of the 2023 World Baseball Classic.

Team Part Pld W L PCT
  Japan 5 38 30 8 .789
  Dominican Republic 5 28 20 8 .714
  Puerto Rico 5 34 23 11 .676
  South Korea 5 26 17 9 .654
  United States 5 35 21 14 .600
  Cuba 5 32 18 14 .563
  Venezuela 5 29 16 13 .552
  Israel 2 10 5 5 .500
  Netherlands 5 28 13 15 .464
  Mexico 5 24 11 13 .458
  Italy 5 20 7 13 .350
  Canada 5 15 5 10 .333
  Australia 5 17 5 12 .294
  Chinese Taipei 5 17 5 12 .294
  Colombia 2 7 2 5 .286
  Czech Republic 1 4 1 3 .250
  Great Britain 1 4 1 3 .250
  Panama 3 9 2 7 .222
  China 5 16 2 14 .125
  Brazil 1 3 0 3 .000
  Spain 1 3 0 3 .000
  Nicaragua 1 4 0 4 .000
  South Africa 2 5 0 5 .000

Medal table

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RankNationGoldSilverBronzeTotal
1  Japan3025
2  United States1102
3  Dominican Republic1001
4  Puerto Rico0202
5  South Korea0112
6  Cuba0101
7  Mexico0011
  Venezuela0011
Totals (8 entries)55515

Performance of host nations

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Since the WBC's format allows multiple nations to host different rounds of the event, seven different nations have hosted at least one round through the first five iterations of the tournament. Records of each nation when playing on its home soil are listed below.

Team Pld W L PCT
  Japan 23 20 3 .870
  Puerto Rico 12 9 3 .750
  United States 32 19 13 .594
  Chinese Taipei 7 4 3 .571
  Mexico 7 3 4 .429
  South Korea 3 1 2 .333
  Canada 2 0 2 .000

The following table lists the teams who've earned the most wins against host countries.

Rk Team Wins
1   Cuba 4
  Puerto Rico 4
  South Korea 4
4   Dominican Republic 3
  Mexico 3
6   Italy 2
  Japan 2
  Venezuela 2
9 6 others 1

Performance of defending finalists

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Japan is the only nation to successfully defend the World Baseball Classic as defending champions in 2009. Puerto Rico achieved runners-up in the World Baseball Classic as defending runners-up in 2017. The worst performance of defending champions was by the Dominican Republic in 2017, eliminating in the second round (now the quarterfinals).

Year Defending champions Finish Defending runners-up Finish
2009   Japan Champions   Cuba Second round
2013   Japan Third place   South Korea First round
2017   Dominican Republic Second round   Puerto Rico Runners-up
2023   United States Runners-up   Puerto Rico Quarterfinals
2026   Japan TBD   United States TBD

Performance by confederation

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This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.

Confederation 2006
(16)
2009
(16)
2013
(16)
2017
(16)
2023
(20)
WBSC Africa R1 R1
WBSC Americas 2nd 3rd 1st 1st 2nd
WBSC Asia 1st 1st 3rd 3rd 1st
WBSC Europe R1 R2 4th 4th QF
WBSC Oceania R1 R1 R1 R1 QF

Number of teams by confederation

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This is a summary of the total number of participating teams by confederation in each tournament.

Confederation 2006
(16)
2009
(16)
2013
(16)
2017
(16)
2023
(20)
WBSC Africa 1 1 0 0 0
WBSC Americas 8 8 8 8 10
WBSC Asia 4 4 4 4 4
WBSC Europe 2 2 3 3 5
WBSC Oceania 1 1 1 1 1

References

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  1. ^ "Members of the WBSC". World Baseball Softball Confederation. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  2. ^ "With the talent from Aruba and Curaçao, the Netherlands is a World Baseball Classic favorite". Repeating Islands. March 8, 2017. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  3. ^ "World Baseball Classic: Promoting the International Growth of the Game". The Bleacher Report. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  4. ^ "Heading Home". Menemsha Films. Retrieved June 22, 2021.
  5. ^ "WBSC Men's Baseball Rankings – Africas". World Baseball Softball Confederation. May 6, 2020.
  6. ^ "WBSC Men's Baseball Rankings – Americas". World Baseball Softball Confederation. May 6, 2020.
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