Miami has established itself as the capital of national team tournaments in baseball and none of that will change by 2026, when the sixth edition of the World Baseball Classic will be held and the home of the Marlins will once again have the honor of hosting the most important duels of the competition.
The Major League office announced this Thursday that Miami, like Tokyo, will repeat as venues for the maximum national team tournament in baseball, while San Juan, Puerto Rico, will once again host matches in the competition for the first time since 2013, while Houston will do so for the first time.
The challenges of the first round of the WBC will be distributed among the four venues, while the semifinals will be in charge of Houston and Miami. The decisive clash will take place again in the fish house.
Miami has opened its doors for the Classic since 2009 and has served as the stage for some of the most memorable moments in the competition’s young history, including Japan’s memorable comeback against Mexico in last year’s semifinals, the three-run homer by Nelson Cruz that helped the Dominican Republic beat the United States in 2017 or David Wright’s single with the bases loaded to leave Puerto Rico in the field in 2009.
The Tokyo Dome is the only venue that has hosted every edition of the event so far and the fans have responded in an exemplary manner to all events.
End of the sweet wait:
For its part, Hiram Bithorn from San Juan managed to make the long-awaited return of the prestigious tournament to a territory that has seen the birth of many of the discipline’s main Latin stars.
“The return of the World Baseball Classic to Puerto Rico reaffirms our city’s ability to host important international tournaments and the commitment to bringing the best baseball in the world to our shores,” said Miguel Romero, mayor of San Juan, in statements to MLB .com.
