Who are the World Baseball Classic all-time stat leaders? Home runs, hits, RBIs
Though the 2023 edition is only the fifth World Baseball Classic to be staged, now is as good a time as any to take a look at the all-time stat leaders of the tournament.
As cliché as it may sound, there is something beautiful about an international tournament in which we can witness each nation’s take on the sport we love. The World Baseball Classic is no different. So, if you’re wondering which country has given us the slugger with the most homers, or the arm that’s struck out more batters than any other, then don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
The World Baseball Classic All-Time Leaders
Before we begin, there’s one interesting stat that we imagine you can appreciate, which applies to two specific players, Mexico’s Oliver Pérez and Venezuela’s Miguel Cabrera. Should they make an appearance in a game for their respective teams, they will have done so in all five World Baseball Classics so far. With that, let’s get into the list of all-time leaders by category.
BATTING
Home runs: Alfredo Despaigne, Cuba - 7
Having played in three WBCs prior to this one - 2009, 2013 and 2017 - Despaigne is indeed a veteran, but his hitting has remained ageless. With one HR in his first tournament and 3 a piece in the two that followed, he now sits on 7. On average he has batted .778 in 17 career WBC games. Right behind him with six homers each are Miguel Cabrera (Venezuela) and Frederich Cepeda (Cuba)
RBIs: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba - 23
Having been mentioned above, you could have probably guessed that Cepeda knows how to manufacture runs. Across the 25 WBC games that he’s played he actually posted his 23 RBIs through his first 19 games, meaning he’s been quiet of late. We don’t expect him to stay that way for long. Following Cepeda, we’ve got Wladimir Balentien (Netherlands) and Jorge Cantu (Mexico), both of whom have 17 each.
Hits: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba - 32
The Cuban knows how to bat. To be clear, 31 of his 32 WBC hits came from the first three tournaments, and he still leads. Puerto Rico’s star, Carlos Beltrán, is right on his tail with 30
Doubles: Justin Morneau, Canada - 8
Morneau is another veteran of the WBC, having played in each of the first four tournaments. Indeed, it was during his first three, that he registered his eight doubles. Interestingly, Morneau shares the record with the above mentioned Cepeda, who we should mention is actually the all-time leader in total bases with 60. His 108 at bats are second only to Carlos Beltrán’s 115. The said same Beltrán is actually right behind Morneau and Cepeda with seven.
Triples: Yoenis Céspedes, Cuba - 3
Céspedes like his compatriot Cepeda, is something to behold with a bat. Not only is he the all-time leader in triples, but he also sits atop the all-time single-tournament list as well, with all three of his triples coming back in 2009 across six WBC games. Behind the Cuban, we’ve got Gregor Blanco and Endy Chavez of Venezuela, Akinori Iwamura from Japan, South Africa’s Gift Ngoepe and the American, Jimmy Rollins. They’ve all got two a piece
Walks: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba - 22
If you’re going to hit the way Cepeda does, then it stands to reason that a point will come when pitchers no longer want to face you. To that end, one can imagine that it was only a matter of time before teams started to take a more hands off approach to the Cuban. In his final WBC back in 2017, Cepeda registered just a single hit, but consider for a moment that he was walked seven times. Fellow hitman, Carlos Beltrán, is just behind him with 19.
Stolen bases: Tsuyoshi Nishioka, Japan; Ichiro Suzuki, Japan & Jimmy Rollins, United States - 5
It’s worth noting, that all of Nishioka’s stolen bases were registered in the 2006 WBC, which also represented the most ever in a single tournament. In the case of Ichiro and Rollins, both of them arrived at the mark playing across two separate tournaments. Behind the pair, we have Carlos Beltrán and Javier Báez of Puerto Rico, Yasuyuki Kataoka from Japan and Randolph Oduber of the Netherlands. They’ve all got four a piece.
PITCHING
Strikeouts: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan - 23
Firstly, let’s consider Matsuzaka’s performance in the first two WBCs. During those two tournaments, he was pitching with a 1.95 ERA in 27 2/3 innings, the best of which was surely in 2009 against Cuba in the second round. On that occasion, pitched six scoreless, striking out eight batters before the curtain came down. Trailing the Japanese sniper, we’ve got a one of his countrymen in Yu Darvish, as well as Edinson Volquez from the Dominican Republic. They both have 20 strikeouts each. We should also mention here, that Matsuzaka holds the record for wins in the WBC with six.