The World Baseball Classic quarterfinal field is now set, and not only did the U.S. survive and advance, but so did all of the other tournament heavyweights. That will set up a series of high-profile, and likely heavily watched, games to come.
The U.S. team lost control of its own competitive destiny after losing Tuesday night to Italy. But after the Italian team trounced Mexico on Wednesday to complete an undefeated run in pool play, the U.S. advanced to the quarterfinals as the runner-up in Pool B. That helped set up what will be four major WBC quarterfinal matchups this weekend.
Among the scheduled games:
- U.S. vs. Canada (Friday): Less than a month after the two countries faced off for Olympic gold in both men’s and women’s hockey, the rivalry will move to the diamond. The U.S. WBC team has made no secret that it has been inspired by the Olympic counterparts, part of a fast-rising feeling of national pride among many WBC participants. The Canadian team is in the WBC quarterfinals for the first time.
- Korea vs. Dominican Republic (Friday): The Dominican team also went undefeated, sweeping through Pool D, and is a highly dangerous club featuring an array of MLB stars including Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Manny Machado, and Fernando Tatis Jr. Korea, meanwhile, is in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009, when it advanced to an epic final at Dodger Stadium against eventual champion Japan, still one of the most dramatic games in WBC history.
- Puerto Rico vs. Italy (Saturday): The Italians have quickly become the story of the tournament following that undefeated run, and a series of notable WBC traditions, including players arriving at the ballpark in tailored suits and drinking espresso shots in the dugout after hitting home runs. The originator of that latter move, Royals first baseman Vinnie Pasquantino, hit three home runs in the Wednesday win. Puerto Rico, despite seeing some of its WBC roster depleted by pre-tournament insurance issues, has only lost to Canada in this tournament.
- Venezuela vs. Japan (Saturday): Japan is the defending WBC champion, has Shohei Ohtani leading its squad, and also went undefeated in pool play. Venezuela, however, also has an array of top MLB talent on its roster, including outfielders Ronald Acuña Jr. and Jackson Chourio.
The remaining teams involve the majority of the record 78 MLB All-Stars that are taking part of this year’s WBC. Each of the quarterfinal games will be single-elimination contests in advance of next week’s semifinals and championship game in Miami.
“This tournament is so amazing because everybody expected only four teams to make it,” said Italy manager Francisco Cervelli, referring in part to pre-event favorites such as the U.S. and Japan. “But when you’ve got this kind of surprise, the game grows globally. And I believe that’s what MLB is looking for. Put baseball in every part of the world, every corner.”
Audience Milestones
Fox Sports said that it averaged 5.02 million viewers for Monday’s pool-play game between the U.S. and Mexico. That figure represents the most-watched WBC game on any network in the event’s 20-year history—at least until subsequent figures arrive.
The game beat the average of 4.48 million viewers for the 2023 WBC final between the U.S. and Japan, which had been the audience highwater mark for this event.
The latest Fox number also nearly doubled the 2.64 million and 2.98 million that watched the first two U.S. pool-play games against Brazil and Great Britain, respectively. Spanish-language audiences provided a meaningful lift to the U.S.-Mexico game audience, as the broadcast on Fox Deportes averaged 300,000 viewers.
With the U.S. team playing at least one additional WBC game, the network is likely to see a further lift in viewership.
