The World Baseball Classic has grown in popularity since its inception back in 2006. With every passing tournament, it seems to amplify the desire of the players to participate. And this year has been arguably the most star-studded turnout yet. So let’s examine three early observations from the first few games of the 2026 World Baseball Classic.

EARLY OBSERVATION #1: STRONG PERFORMANCES FROM THE THREE FAVORITES

There’s little question that the three teams most favored to win the 2026 WBC tournament were Team USA, Team Japan, and Team Dominican Republic. And judging by the first game for each team, they are primed and ready to deliver another tournament victory. Team Japan shut out and mercy ruled Team Chinese Taipei in seven innings with a 13-0 defeat. (Japan would go on to win their second game against Team Korea 8-6, in a highly entertaining matchup.) Then, Team Dominican Republic followed suit with a 12-3 bludgeoning of Team Nicaragua. And then Team USA beat up on Team Brazil 15-5. All three favorites look ready to try and dominate their respective pools and advance onto bracket play.

EARLY OBSERVATION #2: BETTER SHOWINGS THAN ORIGINALLY EXPECTED

Several teams, through their first few games, have delivered better-than-expected results. Teams like Mexico, Korea, Australia, Venezuela, Italy, and Canada have played some great baseball early in the tournament. Across all the pool play, these teams were expected to be competitive; however, it seems as if all these teams are hungry to force their way into bracket play. Sadly, for some of these teams, however, some of them will be eliminated because of how the tournament works, with just the top two teams advancing out of pool play into the bracket. Nevertheless, the early returns are that baseball on an international level has never looked stronger than it does right now.

EARLY OBSERVATION #3: DESPITE MISSING SOME BIG NAMES (DUE TO INSURANCE ISSUES), TEAM PUERTO RICO SHOWS STRENGTH AT HOME

No team in the 2026 World Baseball Classic has dealt with more adversity going into the tournament than Team Puerto Rico. Stalwarts of this tournament for PR like Francisco Lindor, Carlos Correa, and Javy Baez are all missing for one reason or another. Yet, in their opening contest of the tournament, as the “visiting” team despite playing in Puerto Rico, Team PR has a solid game. The contest finished with a 5-0 shutout and was headlined by a tremendous four-inning effort by Seth Lugo starting the game, and was managed beautifully by Yadier Molina to the closer Edwin Diaz to seal the victory. Puerto Rico also capitalized on some miscues and timing, hitting for their five-run fifth inning. It was the only inning in which runs were scored in the contest against Team Colombia. Playing in front of the “home” crowd at Hiram Bithorn Stadium in San Juan, Puerto Rico, should continue to aid Team PR throughout play in Pool A. However, if the Puerto Rican team hopes to advance beyond pool play to play in more significant games, they are going to need more of the magic they had in their first game in the 2026 WBC.