USA’s ice hockey teams restored some national pride as both won gold at the Winter Olympics.
Now their men’s baseball team aims to follow suit at this month’s World Baseball Classic.
The sport may be known as ‘America’s Pastime’ but the USA are not the reigning champions.
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In fact, Japan have won three of the previous five editions, beating the US on their own turf in a thrilling finale in 2023.
But the US have named a star-studded roster and sought help from the nation’s most decorated Olympian, with Great Britain among the teams standing in their way.
What is the WBC?
The World Baseball Classic was first staged in 2006 as an invitational event before replacing the Baseball World Cup – held for the 39th and final time in 2011 – as the sport’s official world championship.
Each tournament has been held in multiple countries, with 16 teams competing in the first four editions before expanding to 20 for the fifth staging in 2023.
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Japan won the first two tournaments before the Dominican Republic triumphed in 2013, followed by the USA in 2017.
Then came an epic ending three years ago, as two of Major League Baseball’s best players went head-to-head in the final at-bat with the title of world champions on the line.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani faced his then Los Angeles Angels team-mate Mike Trout and struck out the US captain to clinch a 3-2 victory.
As in 2023, there are three host nations, with 20 teams having qualified. They are spread across four pools and will play a round-robin format, with the top two teams from each pool qualifying for the quarter-finals.
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All Pool C games take place in Tokyo, Japan, including Thursday’s opener between Chinese Taipei and Australia, while all Pool A games will be played in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Houston and Miami will host Pools B and D, respectively, and share the quarter-finals. Miami’s LoanDepot Park will then stage the semi-finals and final from 15-17 March.
How USA are trying to channel Olympic spirit
Michael Phelps has spent time with Team USA this week [Getty Images]
In the early editions of the WBC, America’s top players were reluctant to take part, preferring to focus on spring training or recovering from injury. Even now, some players are unable to play because of insurance issues.
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But the perception of the tournament began to change in 2017. Watching the USA triumph convinced Trout to make himself available for 2023, and other MLB stars decided to take up one of the few opportunities they have to represent their country.
The unique circumstances of that 2023 finale also helped to build the WBC’s prestige, and this year the tournament will boast the highest calibre of players it has ever had.
This will be the first WBC to feature the holders of MLB’s four most prestigious awards – Ohtani, Aaron Judge, Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal.
Three-time Most Valuable Player Judge, 33, will make his Classic debut as captain of a US roster that includes Bryce Harper and Cal Raleigh.
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Legendary swimmer Michael Phelps spoke to the team on Monday and the 23-time Olympic champion stepped into the dugout during Tuesday’s exhibition game against the San Francisco Giants.
“He was intense, I thought it was an awesome speech,” said Team USA manager Mark DeRosa.
“There’s nothing better than winning gold for USA – it’s pretty much what it centered around,” added Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher. “We’ve got to keep that moving.”
Which other stars will play?
Most of the other 30-man rosters feature mainly minor league players with a smattering of stars. Of the 600 players in total, about half are affiliated with MLB teams, with 190 currently on MLB rosters.
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They include a record 78 players who have been named to an All-Star team, with 36 selected last year. The US have the most, but the Dominican Republic and Venezuela have at least 12 All Stars.
Juan Soto plays for the New York Mets on the most lucrative contract in world sport – worth a staggering $765m (£600m) – and he will lead the 2013 champions while Ronald Acuna Jr stars for Venezuela.
Czechia are the only team without an MLB-affiliated player but again have Ondrej Satoria, the electrician who struck out four-time MVP Ohtani in 2023.
Ohtani will not pitch as the two-way superstar continues his recovery from elbow surgery and the Los Angeles Dodgers have agreed to release team-mate Yoshinobu Yamamoto because they “understand how important the WBC is to everyone in Japan”.
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The 27-year-old pitcher, who was series MVP as he and Ohtani helped the Dodgers win last year’s World Series, added: “I’m in good shape, so I can play in the WBC and be ready for the Dodgers’ opening game.”
Nolan Arenado has switched allegiance from Team USA to Puerto Rico, who will feature pitcher Edwin Diaz, while Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran will play for Mexico, and Australia will be led by Travis Bazzana, the first overall pick of the 2024 MLB draft.
And with baseball returning to the Olympics, the two highest-ranked teams from the Americas will qualify for LA 2028, besides the hosts USA.
Who are the GB stars to watch?
Great Britain made their WBC debut in 2023, winning one of their four games to finish fourth in their pool and secure an automatic place in this year’s edition.
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Their current roster features 11 of those players while Jazz Chisholm Jr of the New York Yankees will represent Britain for the first time in 10 years.
The 28-year-old is the only All Star on the British roster after injury prevented the Bahamas-born infielder from taking part in 2023.
He will be co-captain with catcher Harry Ford, who was traded from the Seattle Mariners to the Washington Nationals in December and hit two home runs during GB’s 2023 campaign.
They are two of 20 GB players currently affiliated with an MLB team, while eight have MLB experience.
GB are in Pool B so will be based in Houston and begin their campaign on Friday against Mexico before facing the USA, Italy and Brazil.
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US pitcher Tarik Skubal is set to make his only start of the tournament against GB on Saturday, while GB’s best chance of victory will come in their final pool game on Monday against Brazil, the lowest-ranked team in their group.
