Throughout the history of the World Baseball Classic, which goes back to 2006, several interesting records have been set, and many players have posted incredible numbers. And as we look ahead to the sixth edition of the Classic, some of these seem like they will be highly difficult — if not impossible — to match.
With this year’s 20-team, adrenaline-fueled event beginning in March, let’s review some of these impressive records.
Playing for Team USA in the first World Baseball Classic, Griffey produced seven RBIs against South Africa on March 10, 2006. No batter has been able to match The Kid since then. Adrián González has come the closest, posting a six-RBI game in 2009. Over 2,671 MLB games in his Hall of Famer career, Griffey reached seven or more RBIs only once, driving home eight for the Reds on July 8, 2000. But he did it once in just six Classic appearances.
Matsuzaka took home MVP honors in each of the first two Classics, winning it for Japan in both 2006 and ‘09. Matsuzaka epitomized dominance at those two events, posting a 1.95 ERA in 27 2/3 innings across six starts. The former Red Sox right-hander won three games each of those years, and his six career wins make him the all-time leader. In fact, no other pitcher has more than three, with Javier Vázquez (Puerto Rico), Pedro Strop (Dominican Republic) and Diegomar Markwell (Netherlands) his closest rivals.
It is worth noting that Shohei Ohtani (Japan) won the MVP award in 2023 and is playing in ‘26 with a shot to tie Matsuzaka.
While a 10-strikeout game is hardly rare in the Major Leagues, the Classic is a different story. In these tournaments, starters cannot work deep into games due to limitations on their workloads. Jiménez, however, managed to pull off the feat by racking up 10 K’s in only four innings against the Netherlands on March 10, 2009. That stood as the only such outing in the history of the tournament until March 13, 2023, when José De Leon had 10 strikeouts against Israel. That was the game where Puerto Rico allowed no hits in a contest that ended in eight innings.
Even playing in two World Baseball Classics is a significant challenge. So notching a four-hit game in both of those is even more impressive. But that’s exactly what Morneau did while competing for Canada in 2009 and ‘13. Morneau went 4-for-5 with two doubles against Italy on March 9, 2009, and then posted the same line in a blowout win over Mexico exactly four years later. In fact, Morneau is the only player with multiple four-hit games in a WBC career.
To be clear, this is not a career record — though Rodney holds that too, with eight. Rodney nailed down seven saves in seven chances during the 2013 Classic, when he made eight appearances and allowed only one hit in 7 1/3 innings. His performance was one of the keys to the Dominican Republic going undefeated in eight tournament games on its way to a championship. The second-most saves by a pitcher in a single WBC is three, done by a handful of pitchers.
It’s difficult to hit home runs in a World Baseball Classic, but even more so to do it at 20 years old. First, you need to make the national team of your country, and then you have to deliver on the international stage. In 2023, more than two years before his September 2025 MLB debut for the Mariners, Ford homered for Great Britain on March 12 at 20 years and 19 days old. He actually wasn’t the only 20-year-old to homer in that game. An inning before Ford, Canada’s Owen Caissie went yard at 20 years and 247 days old, briefly holding the title of youngest to homer. Before the 2023 WBC, the youngest WBC homer belonged to Jonathan Schoop in 2013, at 21 years and 140 days.
Manager in 6 different Classics (Ernie Whitt)
Whitt will set this mark in 2026 when he guides Canada — just as he did in each of the first five Classics. How is that even possible to do? You need to have health, results and consistency, among other things. In this role, Whitt has managed players such as Jason Bay (’06), Morneau (’06, ‘09, ‘13, ‘17), Matt Stairs (’09), Joey Votto (’09, ‘13), Russell Martin (’09), Freddie Freeman (’17, ‘23) and Ryan Dempster (’17).
3 pairs of siblings as teammates (Kingdom of the Netherlands)
In 2023, the Kingdom of the Netherlands team featured three pairs of brothers. The brothers were: Jurickson and Juremi Profar, Jonathan and Sharlon Schoop, and Josh and Richie Palacios. All six are position players, and appeared in a game together on March 11.
4 extra-base hits in a game (Yung-Chi Chen)
This is one of the oldest records in the World Baseball Classic. Chen, of Chinese Taipei, registered four extra-base hits in a first-round game against China on March 4, 2006, with three doubles and a home run. Eight other players had exactly three extra-base hits in a game, most recently Salvador Perez of Venezuela (March 12, 2023), but no one has matched Chen.
