Could the World Baseball Classic (WBC), the fifth edition of which started March 8 in three host nations, eventually grow to rival its famous soccer counterpart?

Maybe that’s too much to ask, but the event is quickly gaining ground on other already well established pinnacle international sports tournaments, such as the rugby and cricket world cups.

The 2020 WBC was canceled due the Covid pandemic. All 16 teams that participated in the 2017 event have qualified automatically for this year’s tournament, plus four additional nations.

Baseball crazy nations such as Japan, the United States, Cuba and the Dominican Republic will be favored for the title, but outsiders such as Venezuela, Canada and even Mexico will also have a chance, such is the nature of short tournaments with single game elimination from the quarter finals on.

Adding to the novelty factor this year are the four countries that qualified in regional tournaments, none more so than Great Britain, making its debut.

What’s that all about, you may ask?  The nation that gave the world soccer, rugby and cricket actually plays baseball? Well yes, and if the history books are to be believed, the game evolved from bat-and-ball games played in England by the mid-18th century and brought by immigrants to North America.

Despite its relatively small number of players (20,000  in 2021), Great Britain runs a non-professional multi-tier national league, several independent regional leagues, and around 20 university field teams.

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