The World Baseball Classic's all-time stat leaders

The 2023 World Baseball Classic is in the books -- that's five Classics, now, going back to the inaugural tournament in 2006.

Curious who's hit the most home runs or struck out the most batters in WBC play? Look no further.

Here are the World Baseball Classic's all-time individual stats leaders.

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BATTING

Home runs: Alfredo Despaigne, Cuba (seven)

Despaigne participated in the 2009, '13, '17 and '23 WBCs, hitting one homer in the first and three in each of the next two tournaments. He went homerless in 2023 but is still the WBC all-time leader. Despaigne has slugged .732 in 21 career WBC games.

Next on the list: Miguel Cabrera (Venezuela) & Frederich Cepeda (Cuba), six each

RBIs: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba (23)

Cepeda played in 25 WBC games while participating in each of the first four tournaments, but he actually racked up his 23 RBIs through his first 19 games -- even before the end of the 2013 edition. He drove in eight runs in '06, 10 in '09 and five in '13.

Next: Despaigne, 20

Hits: Frederich Cepeda (32)

Cepeda got 31 of his 32 WBC hits through the first three tournaments alone, and he is still the all-time leader. He had 10 hits in 2006, 12 in '09, nine in '13 and one in '17.

Next: Carlos Beltrán (Puerto Rico), 30

Doubles: Justin Morneau, Canada and Frederich Cepeda, Cuba (eight)

Morneau played in each of the first four Classics, notching his eight doubles through the first three. As for Cepeda, this feels like a good time to note he’s the all-time leader in total bases (60) and his 108 plate appearances trail only Beltrán’s 115.

Next: Beltrán & Jorge Cantu (Mexico), seven each

Triples: Yoenis Céspedes, Cuba (three)

Not only is Céspedes the all-time leader in triples, he’s the single-tournament leader, too, as all three came in 2009. And he did it in just six games -- his most triples in a six-MLB-game span is two. He returned to play for Cuba in 2023 but didn't add to his triples total.

Next: Gregor Blanco (Venezuela), Endy Chavez (Venezuela), Akinori Iwamura (Japan), Gift Ngoepe (South Africa) and Jimmy Rollins (United States), two each

Walks: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba (22)

It’s hard to believe Cepeda had any plate appearances in which he wasn’t getting hits, but it's not surprising that the WBC world took notice and pitched around him. In his final WBC in 2017, Cepeda got just one hit but was walked seven times.

Next: Beltrán, 19

Stolen bases: Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Japan; Ichiro Suzuki, Japan; Jimmy Rollins, United States; Javier Báez, Puerto Rico; and Chavez Young, Great Britain (five)

Nishioka’s stolen bases all came in the 2006 WBC, marking the most in a single tournament -- until Young equaled him with five in WBC '23. Ichiro, Rollins and Báez each got to five over the course of two WBCs, with Báez notching his fifth steal in 2023.

Next: Beltrán, Yasuyuki Kataoka (Japan), Tetsuto Yamada (Japan) and Randolph Oduber (Netherlands), four each

PITCHING

Strikeouts: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan (23)

Matsuzaka pitched in each of the first two WBCs -- and was named the MVP of both of them -- going 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA in 27 2/3 innings. He had 10 strikeouts in the 2006 WBC and 13 strikeouts in the 2009 WBC.

Next: Yu Darvish (Japan), 22

Saves: Fernando Rodney, Dominican Republic (eight)

Of course it’s Rodney, who went 7-for-7 in save opportunities in 2013, when the Dominican Republic won the tournament in undefeated fashion. He also had one save in '06.

Next: Fernando Cabrera (Puerto Rico) & Francisco Rodríguez (Venezuela), five each

Innings: Diegomar Markwell, Netherlands (28)

Markwell was one of 20 players to play in each of the first four WBCs, making nine appearances total, five of them starts. When the Netherlands advanced to the second round in 2013, Markwell made three starts, with the team winning two of them.

Next: Matsuzaka, 27 2/3 innings

Starts: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan and Edinson Volquez, Dominican Republic (six)

Matsuzaka made three starts apiece in the 2006 and '09 Classics. Volquez’s six starts came in the '09, '13 and '17 editions, across which he compiled a 2.53 ERA.

Next: Markwell, Rick Van Den Hurk (Netherlands) and Marcus Stroman (United States/Puerto Rico), five each

Wins: Daisuke Matsuzaka (six)

Here’s a time when wins are definitely worth noting: when you’ve made six career WBC starts and won all of them, like Matsuzaka. That’s not just 6-0, that’s 6-0 without even so much as a no-decision thrown in.

Next: Markwell, Darvish, Javier Vazquez (Puerto Rico), Pedro Strop (Dominican Republic) and Shairon Martis (Netherlands), three each

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSICS PLAYED

WBC appearances: Miguel Cabrera (five)

Here's one last fun note: Miggy has played in all five World Baseball Classics for Venezuela ... and he's recorded a hit in every tournament, including in 2023 at age 39. Oliver Pérez had a chance to play in his fifth Classic too, but he didn't pitch in any games for Mexico. There are coaches who have been part of all five Classics as well, including Puerto Rico’s Yadier Molina, who played in the first four and managed the team in 2023.