MLB stars Mike Trout and Mookie Betts lead Team USA into the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which starts this week in Phoenix, Miami, Tokyo and Taichung, Taiwan.
Team USA crushed Puerto Rico 8-0 to capture the title in 2017. Other MLB stars like Shohei Ohtani, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Yu Darvish and Manny Machado highlight rosters of teams Team USA could face in this year’s tournament, which was postponed from 2021 due to COVID-19.
Pool C games at Chase Field in Phoenix
Boasting 18 online sportsbooks and several in-person venues available to sports fans, Arizona sports betting is booming. This year’s Pool C games of the World Baseball Classic (WBC) will be played at Chase Field. Caesar’s has a sportsbook at the stadium.
The WBC runs March 7 through March 21. The games will be broadcast on Fox outlets: Fox, Fox Sports 1 and 2, the Fox Sports App and Fox Deportes.
There are 20 teams across four pools, A through D. Teams in Pool C with Team USA include Canada, Colombia, Great Britain and Mexico. The WBC is an international baseball tournament backed by MLB, the MLB Players Association and the World Baseball Softball Confederation.
Team USA begins play against WBC first-timer Great Britain
Team USA begins Pool C play against Great Britain March 11. The Brits made it through via the qualifiers pool. The team is making its first appearance at the WBC.
Canada has never made it past pool play, while Colombia and Mexico have both been competitive against Team USA in the past. Even so, Team USA is the heavy favorite in Pool C and is expected to defend its title from 2017.
Pool C Schedule
March 11
- Colombia vs. Mexico: noon MST
- Great Britain vs. USA: 7 p.m.
March 12
- Great Britain vs. Canada: noon PDT
- Mexico vs. USA: 7 p.m.
March 13
- Colombia vs. Great Britain: noon
- Canada vs. USA: 7 p.m.
March 14
- Canada vs. Colombia: noon
- Great Britain vs. Mexico: 7 p.m.
March 15
- Mexico vs. Canada: noon
- USA vs. Colombia: 7 p.m.
Defending champs sport star-studded roster
Team USA looks to defend its 2017 WBC title with a new coach at the helm, former Team USA player Mark DeRosa. His staff boasts five-time World Series champion Andy Pettitte as the pitching coach and Hall of Famer Ken Griffey Jr. as the hitting coach.
Along with team captain Trout and Betts, former MVPs on the Team USA roster include Paul Goldschmidt and Clayton Kershaw. St. Louis Cardinals’ third baseman Nolan Arenado and starting pitcher Merrill Kelly of the Arizona Diamondbacks also highlight the Team USA lineup.
All players on Team USA’s 30-man roster play in the MLB, and 21 are All-Stars.
The winners of Pool C will face off against the runner-up from Pool D, which includes the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, in the quarterfinals on March 17. Semifinals will be on March 19 and 20, followed by the championship game on March 21.
