MLB Analyst predicts 2023 World Baseball Classic will be one for the ages: "This is going to be the best international baseball tournament ever"
The World Baseball Classic returns this March, following a two-year delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be a star studded tournament with loads of MLB talent. Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Juan Soto are among the big names participating.
Baseball fans will be in for a treat. MLB Network reporter Jon Morosi is among those that are excited about the tournament.
"This is going to be the best international baseball tournament ever," Morosi said on MLB Network Thursday. "There has never been this amount of talent in the baseball world. We've never had this quantity of the best players all playing in the World Baseball Classic."
"This is going to be the best international baseball tournament ever."
@jonmorosi previews @USABaseball in the upcoming @WBCBaseball with Mike Trout set to make his WBC debut 🇺🇸 https://t.co/bxCXGk8DHa
This is going to be the best international baseball tournament ever. - MLB Analyst Jon Morosi on the upcoming 2023 World Baseball Classic
This will be the fifth edition of the WBC. The tournament began in 2006, and regularly takes place every four years prior to the Major League Baseball season. The 2023 tournament was originally scheduled to be played in 2021.
The 2023 World Baseball Classic will begin on March 8. The championship will be decided on March 21.
Twenty countries qualified for this year's WBC. Japan won the first two tournaments in 2006 and 2009. The Dominican Republic won in 2013 and finished as the runner-up to the United States in 2017.
Rosters are made up of top-level players from around the world. This includes the professional leagues in Japan, Korea, and both the American continents.
World Baseball Classic delayed two years due to COVID
Two different teams are making their WBC debuts: Great Britain and the Czech Republic. They never qualified for the tournament prior to 2023.
The tournament will start off with four groups, each consisting of five teams. Pool A will take place in Taichung, Taiwan. Pool B in Tokyo, Japan. Pool C in Phoenix, Arizona, and Pool D in Miami, Florida.
Teams that advance out of the round robin will advance to the quarterfinals. Those games will take place in Tokyo and Miami. The semifinals and finals will take place at LoanDepot Park in Miami, home of the Miami Marlins.
Los Angeles Angels outfielder Mike Trout will join Team USA for the first time in 2023. He will man one of the outfield spots for the defending WBC champions.