{"id":630633,"date":"2026-03-18T20:57:36","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:57:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/630633\/"},"modified":"2026-03-18T20:57:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T20:57:36","slug":"the-wbc-is-thriving-rob-manfred-says-mlb-might-consider-moving-it-to-midseason-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/630633\/","title":{"rendered":"The WBC is thriving. Rob Manfred says MLB might consider moving it to midseason"},"content":{"rendered":"

MIAMI \u2013 Having set attendance and broadcast viewer records, the World Baseball Classic<\/a> will return in 2029 or 2030 and at some future point could be moved to midseason, when clubs would be less likely to restrict players.<\/a><\/p>\n

Since the WBC’s inception in 2006, it has been played during spring training. Tournament rules include pitch count restrictions, and teams can demand tougher limits or deny players permission to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously we have commitments to Fox in terms of the All-Star Game in the middle of the season through ’28,\u201d baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Wednesday during an interview with The Associated Press. \u201cAs the game continues to evolve, we have talked about midseason tournaments in general. And certainly if we decided to get serious about this, about a midseason tournament, this would be an ideal opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fan interest for the WBC continues to grow<\/p>\n

This year’s WBC drew 1,619,839 fans for 47 games, a 24% increase over the previous high of 1,306,414 in 2023. The initial tournament in 2006 drew 740,451 for 39 games.<\/p>\n

The most-watched 2006 matchup was Mexico’s second-round win over the U.S. at 2.46 million on ESPN.<\/p>\n

This year’s most-viewed game through Sunday was the Americans’ semifinal victory over the Dominican Republic<\/a> at 7.37 million on FS1 and Fox Deportes. That topped the previous high of 5.2 million for the 2023 final on FS1, Fox Deportes and Fox Sports streaming services. Numbers for Tuesdays final aren’t yet available.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s no resemblance to where we started in 2006,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cThis one, I feel like it went to a different level. We set an attendance record after the early play. By the time we got into the semis and the final it was all gravy.”<\/p>\n

The Ohtani effect has been key<\/p>\n

Shohei Ohtani striking out then-Los Angeles Angels teammate Mike Trout<\/a> for the last out of the 2023 WBC was a seminal moment. A sport that emerged in the U.S. in the 19th century took until the 21st century to establish a truly global competition.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe WBC is kind of a springboard for the rest of our international efforts,\u201d Manfred said. “It gives you kind of a cornerstone to work from in terms of making long-term business relationships with sponsors, broadcasters and whatnot.”<\/p>\n

Fans from baseball-mad countries like Japan, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela have watched the tourney closely since its inception. Japan has three titles, while the DR and Venezuela have each won once.<\/p>\n

The U.S. also has just one title, in 2017, despite using an All-Star roster this year led by captain Aaron Judge, Bryce Harper and Paul Skenes. Judge was appointed U.S. captain last April<\/a> and his early commitment sparked other top players to join,<\/p>\n

Judge called the WBC crowds \u201cbigger and better than the World Series.\u201d<\/a> Italy’s run to the semifinals this year awakened baseball interest in a soccer-crazed country, even though games started in the middle of the night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just told the guys that they are the champions of this tournament,” Italy manager Francisco Cervelli said after the Azzurri were eliminated by Venezuela<\/a>, the eventual champion. “They revolutionized Italy. They put another sport on the map.\u201d<\/p>\n

A midseason tournament likely would lead to fewer stars declining or being held back. Two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal agreed with Detroit to be limited to one appearance<\/a>, and the U.S. started 24-year-old rookie Nolan McLean in the final. The U.S. lost 3-2 to Venezuela, which rallied in the ninth inning against Garrett Whitlock to win its first title<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Closer Mason Miller was held out by DeRosa, who promised the San Diego Padres he would be used only in a save situation.<\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly if it was moved to the middle of the season, I don\u2019t think you would have any nos for competing in it,\u201d DeRosa said.<\/p>\n

Could the Olympics be next?<\/p>\n

MLB and the players’ association are negotiating over having big leaguers participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics<\/a>. The six-nation baseball tournament, which includes the U.S.. Dominican Republic and Venezuela, would be played during an extended All-Star break. That event could impact the decision on when the seventh WBC will be played.<\/p>\n

MLB and the players’ association have matching equity shares that are the most in the WBC, with Nippon Professional Baseball, the Korea Baseball Organization and the World Baseball Softball Confederation owning minority stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue for us is whether we do it in \u201829 or in \u201930, three years or four years? I’m getting a lot of email from people today saying don\u2019t make us wait four more years for this,\u201d Manfred said. \u201cI do think a three- or four-year cycle is probably about right for the event. The timing is going to turn on what we do with respect to related sorts of international efforts. I remain optimistic about the Olympics and obviously if we play in the Olympics it\u2019s a short time from July of \u201828 \u2019till the spring of 29 and that\u2019s something we\u2019ll have to take into account. I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s outcome determinative, but it\u2019s something we’ll have to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP MLB: https:\/\/apnews.com\/MLB<\/a><\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MIAMI \u2013 Having set attendance and broadcast viewer records, the World Baseball Classic will return in 2029 or…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[106,5,1207,70291,4506,1101,603,4,877,330,468,185,382,328],"class_list":["post-630633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mlb","tag-aaron-judge","tag-baseball","tag-bryce-harper","tag-francisco-cervelli","tag-garrett-whitlock","tag-mason-miller","tag-mike-trout","tag-mlb","tag-paul-skenes","tag-rob-manfred","tag-shohei-ohtani","tag-sports","tag-tarik-skubal","tag-u-s-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116252183821186750","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}