World Baseball Classic rosters to be announced at 6 p.m. E.T. tonight
Photo: MLB/World Baseball Classic
February 7, 2023
Official MLB Press Release
As the anticipation continues to build for the 2023 World Baseball Classic, MLB Network is set to exclusively reveal all 20 rosters this Thursday, Feb. 9, at 6 p.m. ET.
Hosted by Siera Santos with commentary from Chris Young and Jon Morosi, the special two-hour MLB Tonight program will showcase the field of 20 teams for the tournament, which will begin on Wednesday, March 8, and culminate with the Championship Game on Tuesday, March 21, at loanDepot park, the home of the Miami Marlins, in Florida.
Interviews with team personnel from the tournament will be featured across the program, including three-time AL MVP Award winner and Team USA captain Mike Trout and Team USA manager, 2009 World Baseball Classic participant and MLB Network analyst Mark DeRosa. 2020 NL MVP Award winner and Team Canada first baseman Freddie Freeman will join the program, plus clips from an exclusive one-on-one interview with 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner and Team Dominican Republic pitcher Sandy Alcantara hosted by MLB Network analyst Yonder Alonso will be featured.
Serving as the fifth installment of the tournament, the program will detail how the field of teams has expanded to 20 for the first time in history. The tournament will feature five-team pools in the first round for round-robin play. The top two teams in each of the four first round pools will advance to the quarterfinals, while the top two teams from each quarterfinal pool will advance to the Championship Round.
The defending World Baseball Classic Champion United States will begin its first round Saturday, March 11, at 10 p.m. ET, against Great Britain, live from Chase Field, the home of the Arizona Diamondbacks, in Phoenix. MLB Network will provide live on-site coverage from the semi-finals and finals at loanDepot park from March 19-21. MLB Network will also produce the world feed for the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Following this Thursday’s program, MLB Network will air a marathon of 2017 World Baseball Classic games this Saturday, Feb. 11, beginning with Team USA’s second round win against Team Dominican Republic at 12 p.m. ET. Team USA’s semi-final win against Team Japan will air at 3 p.m. ET, followed by Team USA’s shutout victory against Team Puerto Rico in the final at 6 p.m. ET.