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Past World Baseball Classic Results: Winners and How United States Has Fared
The 2026 World Baseball Classic begins on a single game on Wednesday, two on Thursday and then a full-fledged feast of eight on Friday. This year's tournament sports arguably the most talented collection of rosters the event has ever seen and potential story lines are magnificent. Japan will be seeking to defend its 2023 triumph and its fourth victory in six tries at the international event. The United States has revenge on its mind after having fallen to Japan in the final three years ago.
Let's take a look a little deeper look into the history of the World Baseball Classic, its past winners and how the U.S. has fared.
2006
Quarterfinalists | Semifinalists | Finalists | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
Korea, Japan, Mexico, United States, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Venezuela | Cuba, Dominican Republic, Japan, Korea | Japan, Cuba | Japan |
2009
Quarterfinalists | Semifinalists | Finalists | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
Korea, Japan, Cuba, Mexico, Venezuela, United States, Puerto Rico, Netherlands | Korea, Venezuela, United States, Japan | Japan, Korea | Japan |
2013
Quarterfinalists | Semifinalists | Finalists | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
Cuba, Japan, Chinese Taipei, Netherlands, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, United States, Italy | Puerto Rico, Japan, Netherlands, Dominican Republic | Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic | Dominican Republic |
2017
Quarterfinalists | Semifinalists | Finalists | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
Israel, Netherlands, Japan, Cuba, Dominican Republic, United States, Puerto Rico, Venezuela | Netherlands, Puerto Rico, United States, Japan | United States, Puerto Rico | United States |
2023
Quarterfinalists | Semifinalists | Finalists | Champion |
|---|---|---|---|
Cuba, Italy, Japan, Australia, Mexico, United States, Venezuela, Puerto Rico | Cuba, United States, Japan, Mexico | Japan, United States | Japan |
Admittedly, there is not an enormous sample size from which to judge the World Baseball Classic. But it's clear that Japan has been the most successful team and the United States have more than held their own.
World Baseball Classic Leaderboard
Country | Quarterfinals reached | Semifinals reached | Finals reached | WBCs won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Japan | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
United States | 5 | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Dominican Republic | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Puerto Rico | 5 | 2 | 1 | |
Korea | 2 | 2 | 1 | |
Cuba | 4 | 2 | 1 | |
Mexico | 3 | 1 |
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Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.
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