Dominican Republic star outfielder Julio Rodriguez even admitted that winning the WBC means more than the World Series, saying, “I love the Mariners. They know I give my best every single time I step on the field, but winning a World Baseball Classic would be top of the list.”
Who remains in the World Baseball Classic?
To start the quarter-finals is the matchup between South Korea and the Dominican Republic. The former is the only team left in the tournament with a 2-2 record out of Pool play, while the DR, who have been deemed "the most fun team of the tournament," went a perfect 4-0.
South Korea is led by Bo Gyeong-Moon, who is coming out of Pool play with 11 runs batted in - more than any other player from any other country - and seven more than the next on his own team. He also leads South Korea with a stellar .538 batting average, racking up seven hits in 15 at-bats, and ties teammate Shay Whitcomb with two home runs.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Republic has four players with at least two home runs, with Fernando Tatis Jr. leading the way with nine RBI and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. with a .500 batting average. The DR team leads the entire tournament in home runs (13), runs scored (41), runs batted in (40), walks (33), and batting average (.313).
In the second game, it's going to be the North American rivalry between Canada and the United States. It's officially the first quarter-finals appearance in Team Canada's history at the WBC after they came out of Pool A in first place. As a team, Canada has the second-best team earned run average (1.50) of any pitching staff in the tournament.
For the USA, they're entering the game as the runner-up from their Pool after they were stunned by Italy in what is now being deemed as the biggest upset in World Baseball Classic history. However, they are second to the DR with 35 runs scored and have put up the most hits (41) and doubles (10) of any team in the tournament.
The winner between Canada and the U.S. will face the winner between South Korea and the Dominican Republic.
On the other side of the bracket, it will be Italy vs. Puerto Rico to start. The Italians are the Cinderella story of the WBC this year after going undefeated in Pool play, trampling the USA, Mexico, Brazil, and Great Britain.
They finished Pool play with just one fewer home run (12) than the powerhouse Dominican lineup (13), with Vinnie Pasquantino leading the way, whose only three hits of the tournament have been home runs - all hit in the same game against Mexico right before the quarter-finals.
As for Puerto Rico, their pitching has been near-perfect. They boast the best ERA (1.22) of any team in the tournament, still alive or eliminated. Between them and Canada, they hold the only two pitching staffs that have yet to give up a home run to an opposing team.
It'll be a clash against the red-hot power bats of Italy vs the stone-cold stunners of the Puerto Rico pitching staff.
And in the final game of the quarter-finals, it's a clash between Venezuela and Japan - the defending champs from 2023. Japan is coming into this game a perfect 4-0 from Pool play and joins the DR as the only two teams to finish with a team batting average above .300 (.301).
Superstars Shohei Ohtani and Masataka Yoshida both have two home runs, six RBI, and batting averages above .500 heading into the quarter-finals matchup. Their pitching staff comes right behind Canada and Puerto Rico with a 2.12 ERA, but are second only to the USA with 49 strikeouts. And, it was recently announced that their ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto will pitch throughout the rest of the tournament.
As for Venezuela, they're led by Luis Arraez, who has two home runs and nine RBI this tournament, paired with a .500 batting average - no other player on the team has more than one home run or three RBI. However, he's joined by MLB superstar Ronald Acuna Jr., who leads the team with eight runs scored
When it comes to their pitching, Venezuela sits just one strikeout (36) ahead of South Korea (35) with the fewest of any of the remaining pitching staffs.
Rules of the World Baseball Classic quarter-finals
For starters, there is no more mercy rule. During the Pool stage, a mercy rule would be implemented if a team was winning by 15 runs after the fifth inning, or 10 runs after the seventh inning.
Secondly, pitch counts are now capped at 80 for pitchers in the quarter-finals, but will be increased to 95 during the semi-finals and championship. However, a pitcher may exceed these counts to finish a current at-bat if a manager makes that decision.
No pitcher can pitch again until a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched, a minimum of one day has passed since he last pitched, if he threw 30 or more pitches when he last pitched, or a minimum of one day has passed since any second consecutive day on which the pitcher pitched.
As per usual baseball rules, games will be nine innings in length. Should the games go into extra innings, the ghost runner rule will take effect - a runner on second base.
The MLB's pitch clock will remain in place, meaning pitchers will have 15 seconds to throw the ball when the bases are empty. If there are runners on the base path, the time increases to 18 seconds. There is no review system for this tournament, unlike for MLB games.
World Baseball Classic remaining schedule
March 13th - quarter-finals begin (adjusted for Eastern Time)
Dominican Republic vs South Korea - 6:30 p.m. (LoanDepot Park - Miami, Florida)
United States vs Canada - 8:00 p.m. (Daikin Park - Houston, Texas)
March 14th
Italy vs. Puerto Rico - 3:00 p.m. (Daikin Park)
Japan vs Venezuela - 9:00 p.m. (LoanDepot Park)
March 15
Winners between DR/SK vs. US/CAN - 8:00 p.m. (LoanDepot Park)
March 16th
Winners between JPN/VEN vs. ITA/PR - 8:00 p.m. (LoanDepot Park)
March 17th
World Baseball Classic final - 08:00 p.m. (LoanDepot Park)
Where can I watch the 2026 World Baseball Classic?
The World Baseball Classic will be available to watch worldwide through a variety of different platforms.
Asia
China: BesTV, Douyin, MIGU, Tencent Video, Fujian TV, Youku
Israel: Sport5
Japan: Netflix
Malaysia: Astro
Oceania: ESPN
South Korea: tvN, tvN Sports, TVING, KBS, SBS, MBC
Southeast Asia: SpoTV
Taiwan: ELTA, EBC, Videoland, TTV
Europe
Czech Republic: CT Sport
France: beIN Sport
Germany: SportDigital+
Hungary: Sport 1
Netherlands: ESPN
Turkey: S Sport Plus
Middle East & Africa
MENA: beIN Sport
Sub-Saharan Africa: ESPN
North & South America
Canada: Sportsnet, TVA Sports
Caribbean and Latin America: ESPN, 1 Baseball Network
Cuba: Tele Rebelde
Dominican Republic: VTV32, Teleantillas 10, Coral 39
Mexico: TelevisaUnivision
Nicaragua: Viva 13
Panama: RPC, TV Max
Puerto Rico: WAPA Deportes
USA: Fox Sports, FS1, TUBI
Venezuela: Televen, Venevision
Who are the favourites to win the World Baseball Classic?
All of the favorites from the start of the tournament (USA, Japan, Dominican Republic, Venezuela) are still alive and remain the favorites out of the remaining eight teams.
Meanwhile, Canada, South Korea, Italy, and Puerto Rico are the underdogs for the rest of the way.
