Santo Domingo.-It’s almost here. After a six-year wait, the World Baseball Classic is back, and bigger than ever. And this is not hyperbole, either: the field has grown to 20 teams, with three newcomers Great Britain, the Czech Republic and Nicaragua trying to surprise and go as far as possible. But they will have to overcome teams like Japan (seeking their third title), the USA (defending champion), the Dominican Republic (one of the big favourites) and Puerto Rico (trying to win it all after two consecutive editions taking the medal of silver).
Baseball is a more global game now than at any point in its history, and the rosters show that: There are 67 players who have made the All-Star Game, 186 players on rosters of 40, and 332 players under contract to baseball organizations. Big leagues.
Eight MLB MVP winners will see action: Paul Goldschmidt, Mike Trout, Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Mookie Betts, Clayton Kershaw and Venezuelans José Altuve and Miguel Cabrera. In fact, 16 of the top 18 players in the 2022 NL MVP voting and six of the top 10 in the 2022 AL MVP voting are scheduled to participate in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, while they would also say In attendance were NPB Japan MVP Munetaka Murakami and KBO South Korea MVP Jung-Hoo Lee.
In the tournament, which will begin on March 8 and end with the final on March 21 at LoanDepot Park in Miami, the best teams in the world will be measured, and the possibility of some dream duels, Trout vs. Ohtani, Betts v. the Mexican Julio César Urías, Xander Bogaerts vs. Yu Darvish, Lee v. Major League pitchers who could be his teammates next year have fans savoring already.
Next, the rosters of each group:
Group A (It will be held from March 8 to 12)
taiwan
Cuba
Italia
Netherlands
Panama
Group B (It will be held from March 9 to 13)
Australia
China
Czech Republic
Japan
South Korea
Group C (It will be held from March 11 to 15)
Canada
Colombia
Britain
Mexico
USA
Group D (It will be held from March 11 to 15)
Dominican Republic
Israel
Nicaragua
Puerto Rico
Venezuela.
