MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred marveled at the rapid growth of the World Baseball Classic in recent tournaments prior to Venezuela’s victory Wednesday over the U.S. in the 2026 championship game.
“The early years of the WBC were tough. It was hard. And hard to attract attention. Hard to get clubs to buy in. But I think that the last two (WBC events), in particular, the popularity of the event has gotten the players more engaged, and once the players are more engaged, you can really grow,” Manfred said on MLB Network.
“I didn’t think it was going to get this big this fast, but it is a real jewel, a real gem, that’s going to be a big part of the growth of the game going forward.”
The 2026 WBC set an attendance record with nearly 1.62 million fans, up 24% from 2023. The U.S.-Dominican Republic semifinal game drew a WBC-record 6.9 million viewers.
Netflix secured the Japanese rights to the WBC for over $100M, and revenues have doubled from the previous tournament -- with Venezuelan players receiving over $100,000 each in prize money for winning it all.
Manfred wants to replicate the successes MLB has had in Japan and South Korea with Latin America.
“Latin American countries, particularly the ones where we get a lot of players, are really leaning in. There’s a lot of talk in the Dominican about really building a bigger facility, so that we could play regular-season games in the Dominican. That would be a great development for our Dominican players, a great development for the sport,” Manfred said.
“We need to lean in and grow those markets, just like we’ve leaned in in Japan and Korea, in terms of making the game as big as it can possibly be.”
Italy, the tournament darling, could also be a place for baseball growth.
“Growing the game in places where we don’t have a lot of play right now,” Manfred said. “That’s the most important thing about this event, at the end of the day.”
