The sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic is set to kick off on Thursday with 20 nations vying to be crowned as the best in the world.
The tournament has gradually grown in popularity with each edition since the first in 2006, culminating in a 2023 WBC that captivated fans across the globe and ended with Japan captain Shohei Ohtani striking out U.S. captain Mike Trout to clinch the title for Samurai Japan.
Japan returns in 2026 with Ohtani in the fold again and enters the tournament as one of the favorites to win it all.
AloJapan.com