With a .450 batting average and five RBIs, Francisco Lindor helped carry Team Puerto Rico in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. When the event returns next year, Lindor will reprise his leading role.

ARLINGTON -- Angels superstar Mike Trout said he had great conversations with Team USA manager Mark DeRosa and new captain Aaron Judge last week and indicated his interest in participating in the World Baseball Classic again next year. Trout served as captain in the 2023 edition that saw Team USA

NEW YORK -- Aaron Judge recalls watching from home while Mike Trout led Team USA onto the field in the most recent World Baseball Classic finals, proudly carrying a flagpole flying the stars and stripes across his right shoulder. That responsibility of representing both a roster and a country now

Team USA has its leadership in place ahead of the 2026 World Baseball Classic. On Thursday, USA Baseball announced that Mark DeRosa will return to the dugout to manage the United States at the 2026 WBC, marking his second consecutive stint leading the stars and stripes at the Classic. DeRosa

Daisuke Matsuzaka carving up batters en route to back-to-back MVP Awards; Nelson Cruz’s triumphant blast; Adam Jones’ leaping home run robbery; Javier Báez’s no-look tag; and Shohei Ohtani vs. Mike Trout with the championship on the line -- these are just some of the World Baseball Classic’s indelible moments that

The season couldn't have started worse. Do-yeong Kim, just 20 years old at the time, was entering his third year with the Kia Tigers of the KBO, Korea's top professional baseball league. He was coming off an 84-game season which saw him top a .300 batting average with an increase

In the winter of 2016, Dodgers utility player and Kiké Hernández had just finished his second season with the Dodgers, yet to become the postseason hero that he is now known for in Los Angeles. So, that offseason, he returned to Puerto Rico to play for the Gigantes de Carolina

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of Michael Clair's International Beat Newsletter, bringing global baseball news to your inbox every month. Sign up for future installments HERE and check out the full newsletter HERE. The World Baseball Classic Qualifiers have wrapped up, with Nicaragua, Chinese Taipei, Colombia and

After Nicaragua and Chinese Taipei booked their trips to the 2026 World Baseball Classic last week, only two spots remained. The first of those was decided when Colombia went 3-0 in the Tucson (Ariz.) Qualifiers and booked its ticket to next year's tournament. China was eliminated after finishing with an

TUCSON, Ariz. – Colombia is going back to the World Baseball Classic. The team entered the Tucson Qualifier as the clear favorite, the country’s roster bursting with talent even after big league players such as José Quintana and Donovan Solano couldn’t participate. All they did at the Kino Veterans Memorial

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Vitor Ito speaks Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish. Unfortunately, I only speak English. That meant that this time, the translator needed his own translator. "I'm being careful not to talk too much, so it will be easier for the interpreter to translate," Ito said, laughing, his Portuguese being

TUCSON, Ariz. – With Colombia having already qualified for the 2026 World Baseball Classic after sweeping its three games at the Tucson leg of this year’s qualifiers this week -- and China having been eliminated after losing all three of its contests – the second team to come out of

TUCSON, Ariz. -- On a team filled with experienced ballplayers and Major Leaguers both past and present, it's not a veteran that Colombia manager Jose Mosquera penciled in at the top of his lineup. While sweeping its way through the World Baseball Classic Qualifiers this week to advance to the

TUCSON, Ariz. -- Lou Helmig is tall and lean, long brown locks hanging from beneath his ballcap. He looks the part of the prototypical ballplayer, like he was born to play the game. In a way, he was. Lou's grandfather, Claus, is called "the godfather of German baseball." He --

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The Brazilian national team isn't lacking in professional talent. Though there are no active Major Leaguers on the roster (former big leaguers Paulo Orlando and Andre Rienzo are on the coaching staff -- the first all-Brazilian coaching staff in the team's history), Angels prospect Lucas Ramirez --

Monday's World Baseball Classic Qualifiers featured a showdown of superstar baseball legacy vs. superstar tennis legacy -- and baseball won. Lucas Ramirez, the son of Red Sox legend Manny Ramirez, faced Jaden Agassi, the son of tennis Hall of Famers Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, during Brazil's game against Germany

TUCSON, Ariz. -- As 6-foot-3, 205-pound left-handed-hitting No. 24 took batting practice for Team Brazil at Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday to prepare for the country’s first 2025 World Baseball Classic Qualifier game on Sunday vs. Colombia, the Brazilian club’s manager, Daniel Yiuchi Matsumoto, was talking about the 18-year-old

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The last time Colombia had to play in a World Baseball Classic Qualifier was nine years ago, in 2016. At the time, the country had never played in the main tournament, falling short of the tournament in 2012 with a 7-1 loss to Brazil in the Qualifier

After leading Leones del Escogido to the Dominican Republic Professional Baseball League (LIDOM) championship in the 2024-25 winter season -- his first managerial experience -- followed by the 2025 Caribbean Series crown in Mexicali last month, Albert Pujols will be named skipper of the Dominican squad for the 2026 World

TUCSON, Ariz. – When Colombia won its first game at the 2023 World Baseball Classic in extra innings over Mexico at Phoenix’s Chase Field, it seemed to be a continuation of the nation's ascent in the sport. In 2016, Colombia had qualified for its first Classic, which would be played

Nicaragua and Chinese Taipei are headed back to the World Baseball Classic! Nicaragua defeated the hosts, 6-0, to close out round-robin play on Sunday as the undefeated pool winner, while Chinese Taipei -- playing in front of sold out crowds at the Taipei Dome -- defeated Spain, 6-3, on Tuesday

The Qualifier host team is heading to the World Baseball Classic after Chinese Taipei held off Spain, 6-3, on Tuesday. Chinese Taipei will join Nicaragua, which earned a berth in the 2026 World Baseball Classic with a 6-0 victory over its hosts on Sunday morning to cap a 3-0 run

The World Baseball Classic Qualifiers opened with an absolutely stunning moment in the seventh inning of the first game between South Africa and Nicaragua at Taipei Dome. With one out and Nicaragua's Freddy Zamora on second base after singling in the tying run earlier in the frame, Benjamin Alegria hit

Tennis Hall of Famers Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf made their living going after grand slams -- winning a combined 30 between them. Their son Jaden wants to avoid them at all costs. That's because Jaden, a 23-year-old graduate of USC, didn't follow in the family footsteps, grabbing a glove

This is an excerpt from the latest edition of Michael Clair's International Beat Newsletter, bringing global baseball news to your inbox every month. Sign up for future installments HERE and check out the full newsletter HERE.