The rosters in the 2023 World Baseball Classic are loaded with the biggest stars in the sport today, but there are some teams more loaded with star talent than others.
The U.S. roster has a combined five MVPs between Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Paul Goldschmidt. The Dominican Republic has some of the brightest young talents with Wander Franco, Rafael Devers, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Sandy Alcantara. Japan boasts the most talented player in the world in Shohei Ohtani, a pitcher with 17 straight perfect innings in Roki Sasaki and the Japanese Mike Trout in Tetsuto Yamada.
Historically, those three teams are also among the biggest powers in the World Baseball Classic. They are the only teams with titles in the international tournament, and the U.S., Japan, Cuba and Puerto Rico are the only four countries to have reached the second round in each edition.
Which teams have won the most titles in World Baseball Classic history? Here’s what you need to know.
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Most World Baseball Classic wins
There have only been four editions of the World Baseball Classic, and just one team has won multiple times. That would be Japan, which won the first two titles. The Dominican Republic won in 2013 and the United States won in 2017.
| Team | Titles | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 2 | 2006, 2009 |
| United States | 1 | 2017 |
| Dominican Republic | 1 | 2013 |
Japan has been the most consistent power in the World Baseball Classic in the history of the tournament. It is the only team to reach the semifinals in all four years, having finished third in both 2013 and 2017. No other team has reached the semifinals more than twice.
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The United States, Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Korea and Netherlands are the only other countries with two semifinal appearances before 2023. The U.S. placed fourth in 2009 and the Dominican Republic finished fourth in 2006. Puerto Rico has been the runner-up in back-to-back tournaments (2013 and 2017), while Korea was the runner-up in 2009 and the third-place team in 2006. The Netherlands finished fourth in 2013 and 2017.
It should come as no surprise that with multiple titles, Japan has the most individual game wins in the World Baseball Classic entering 2023. But Puerto Rico, despite having not yet won a title, finds itself ahead of both the other two title-winners with 20 total wins.
Here’s a look at all the teams with at least one WBC wins:
| Team | 2006 | 2009 | 2013 | 2017 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japan | 5 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 22 |
| Puerto Rico | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 20 |
| Dominican Republic | 5 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 18 |
| Cuba | 5 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
| South Korea | 6 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| United States | 3 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 15 |
| Venezuela | 3 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 11 |
| Mexico | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 7 |
| Italy | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
| Israel | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 4 | 4 |
| Canada | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Chinese Taipei | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 |
| Australia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| China | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Colombia | DNQ | DNQ | DNQ | 1 | 1 |
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