When was the last time Great Britain was in the World Baseball Classic?

Great Britain is participating in the World Baseball Classic for the very first time this year, and in their opener on Saturday, March 11, they will face defending champions United States in Pool C. They will also come up against Canada, Colombia, and Mexico in the heavyweight group, with all games to be held at Chase Field in Phoenix, Arizona.

On their way to the 2023 World Baseball Classic

It has been quite the journey for the British on their way to the tournament, with an emotional ninth-inning comeback seeing them finally qualify by defeating Spain 10-9 in extra innings.

One thing that surprised everyone in Regensburg, Germany during the qualifying round was the dogged resilience of the Great Britain baseball team. Widely viewed as one of the weakest teams in the pool, they shocked the entire group by trouncing France 14-4 before handing home nation Germany an 8-1 defeat. In their game against Spain, they simply refused to lie down.

Team GB scratched and clawed their way back into the game, one run at a time, with catcher Harry Ford, the Seattle Mariners’ number one prospect, knocking in the first run with his third home run in as many games.

D’Shawn Knowles, a Los Angeles Angels prospect outfielder, made it a one-run game when he hit a dinger to right center in the seventh before Blue Jays prospect Jaden Rudd leveled the game at 9-9 in the ninth inning with a shot over that same right center wall.

“We felt like we were gonna win that baseball game. And we did. That was one of the best moments in my baseball career right there,” said Rudd.

Great Britain finally makes it

This will be the first appearance ever for the GB Lions in the World Baseball Classic, having failed to qualify in previous years, often with a fairly miserable performance. But with their outing in Regensburg, it appears they will put up a good fight in the competition, though it will likely be a baptism of fire.

Great Britain’s MLB players

The team does have a few MLB-based players on the team such as Harry Ford, as well as the Dodgers’ Trayce Thompson and the Reds’ Ian Gibaut. However, the squad has been rocked by the absence of its biggest star, Jazz Chisolm, who will miss the tournament after the Marlins refused to allow him to participate.

With recent events in the UK, from covid to Brexit to the Queen’s death, the nation can often feel like it is on the receiving end of a series of heavyweight punches. Now, for fans and countrymen alike, participating in the World Baseball Classic is something to take pride in.

However the World Baseball Classic turns out, the Lions should be proud of their performance. And the country should get behind them, baseball fan or not.