2023 World Baseball Classic: Calendar, full game schedule, groups, teams and start times

After a two-year, pandemic caused break, the World Baseball Classic is back, and will feature some of the world’s biggest names playing for national pride in a newly expanded, 20-team format.

Team USA will attempt to defend their title and will have their hands full with a Dominican Republic lineup that looks to be one of the strongest the game has ever seen. Team Japan will be hungry to re-establish their dominance as the world’s winningest team, and to prove that the win by the USA in 2017 was a chance fluke, an unwelcome speed bump in Japanese baseball’s empire.

Pool play will kick off in four locales, with regional and historic focus on display.

Here are the pools for the 2023 WBC

2023 WBC Pool A

Teams

• Chinese Taipei (Taiwan)
• Cuba
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Panama

Location

• Taichung, Taiwan

2023 WBC Pool B

Teams

• Australia
• China
• Japan
• South Korea
• Czech Republic

Location

• Tokyo, Japan

2023 WBC Pool C

Teams

• Canada
• Colombia
• Mexico
• USA
• Great Britain

Location

• Phoenix, Arizona

2023 WBC Pool D

Teams

• Dominican Republic
• Israel
• Puerto Rico
• Venezuela
• Nicaragua

Location

• Miami, Florida

Each team will get two warm-up games against professional teams in their location, with Pool A teams facing a team from the CPBL League, Pool B teams facing a Nippon Professional League team, and both US locations facing an MLB team during spring training.

Play will get underway on Sunday, March 5, as the warmup games take center stage. Here is a full schedule of the pre-competition warmup games, with all times shown in Eastern Standard Time.

Sunday March 5

• Panama @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (1 a.m. ET)
• Italy @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (1 a.m. ET)
• Cuba @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (1 a.m. ET)
• Chinese Taipei @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (6 a.m. ET)
• Netherlands @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (6 a.m. ET)
• People’s Republic of China @ local team, Miyazaki, Japan (10 p.m. ET)
• Republic of Korea @ Orix Buffaloes, Osaka, Japan (10 p.m. ET)
• Australia @ local team, Miyazaki, Japan (10 p.m. ET)

Monday March 6

• Panama @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (1 a.m. ET)
• Italy @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (1 a.m. ET)
• Japan @ Hanshin Tigers, Osaka, Japan (4 a.m. ET)
• Czechia @ local team, Miyazaki, Japan (5 a.m. ET)
• Cuba @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (6 a.m. ET)
• Chinese Taipei @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (6 a.m. ET)
• Netherlands @ local team, Taichung, Taiwan (6 a.m. ET)
• China @ local team, Miyazaki, Japan (10 p.m. ET)
• Rep. Korea @ Hanshin Tigers, Osaka, Japan (10 p.m. ET)
• Australia @ local team, Miyazaki, Japan (10 p.m. ET)

Tuesday March 7

• Czechia @ local team, Miyazaki, Japan (5 a.m. ET)
• Japan @ Orix Buffaloes, Osaka, Japan (5 a.m. ET)

Wednesday March 8

• Canada @ Chicago Cubs, Mesa, Arizona (3:05 p.m. ET)
• Colombia @ Oakland Athletics, Mesa, Arizona (3:05 p.m. ET)
• Mexico @ Cleveland Guardians, Goodyear, Arizona (3:05 p.m. ET)
• Great Britain @ Milwaukee Brewers, Phoenix, Arizona (3:10 p.m. ET)
• USA @ San Francisco Giants, Scottsdale, Arizona (9:05 p.m. ET)
• Puerto Rico @ Boston Red Sox, Lee County, Florida (1:05 p.m. ET)
• Dominican Republic @ Atlanta Braves, North Port, Florida (1:05 p.m. ET)
• Venezuela @ Houston Astros, West Palm Beach, Florida (6:05 p.m. ET)
• Nicaragua @ New York Mets, Port St. Lucie, Florida (6:10 p.m. ET)
• Israel @ Miami Marlins, Jupiter, Florida (6:40 p.m. ET)

Thursday March 9

• Colombia @ Chicago White Sox, Glendale, Arizona (3:05 p.m. ET)
• Great Britain @ Kansas City Royals, Surprise, Arizona (3:05 p.m. ET)
• Mexico @ Colorado Rockies, Scottsdale, Arizona (3:10 p.m. ET)
• USA @ Los Angeles Angels, Tempe, Arizona (3:10 p.m. ET)
• Canada @ Seattle Mariners, Peoria, Arizona (3:10 p.m. ET)
• Puerto Rico @ Tampa Bay Rays, Port Charlotte, Florida (1:05 p.m. ET)
• Dominican Republic @ Minnesota Twins, Lee County, Florida (1:05 p.m. ET)
• Nicaragua @ St. Louis Cardinals, Jupiter, Florida (1:05 p.m. ET)
• Venezuela @ New York Mets, Port St. Lucie, Florida (1:10 p.m. ET)
• Israel @ Washington Nationals, West Palm Beach, Florida (6:05 p.m. ET)

The actual competition will kick off with pool play on March 8 with a Cuba vs Netherlands matchup that should whet the appetite of any baseball fan. Because of the time difference, viewers in the US will actually see this game in the late hours of March 7.

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The Quarterfinals will have two locations, as the teams from Pools A and B will battle it out in the Tokyo Dome in Japan while the teams from Pools C and D will clash in LoanDepot Park in Miami. The Semi Finals and the Final match will all take place in Miami’s LoanDepot Park.

Where can I watch the 2023 World Baseball Classic?

All of the games will be broadcast in the US by Fox, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, the Fox Sports App, and Fox Deportes in Spanish. Here is a full calendar of the matchups and where you can see them, with all times listed in Eastern Standard Time.