World Baseball Classic: All-time stats leaders in batting and pitching
Ahead of the 2023 World Baseball Classic, which begins March 8, discover who has the most hits, home runs, runs batted in, pitching strikeouts, pitching wins and more in the four-edition history of the WBC.
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The 2023 World Baseball Classic is nearly upon us.
After six years, many of the world's top men's baseball players, including dozens of Major League Baseball stars, will represent their countries in the sport's biggest international competition from March 8–21.
It will be the fifth time the tournament has taken place, after editions in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017.
But from those four tournaments, who has the most hits? Who has hit the most World Baseball Classic home runs? Who has the most wins, and the most strikeouts as a pitcher? And who has been named Most Valuable Player the most times at the WBC?
Read on to discover. All stats are through the 2017 WBC.
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WBC hitting leaders
- Most WBC games played as a hitter: Carlos Beltrán (Puerto Rico) – 28
- Most WBC hits: Frederich Cepeda (Cuba) – 32
- Most WBC home runs: Alfredo Despaigne (Cuba) – 7
- Most WBC runs batted in (RBI): Cepeda – 23
- Most WBC runs scored: Cepeda – 19
- Most WBC strikeouts as a hitter: Beltrán – 20
- Most WBC stolen bases: Nishioka Tsuyoshi (Japan), Jimmy Rollins (USA), Suzuki Ichiro (Japan) – 5 each
WBC pitching leaders
- Most WBC games appeared in as a pitcher: Fernando Rodney (Dominican Republic) – 15
- Most WBC games started as a pitcher: Matsuzaka Daisuke (Japan), Edinson Vólquez (Dominican Republic) – 6 each
- Most WBC pitching wins: Matsuzaka – 6
- Most WBC pitching losses: Chen Hung-wen (Chinese Taipei) – 3
- Most WBC saves: Rodney – 8
- Most WBC innings pitched: Diegomar Markwell (Netherlands) – 28.0
- Most WBC runs allowed: Barry Armitage (South Africa) – 14 (12 earned)
- Most WBC pitching strikeouts: Matsuzaka – 23
Multiple WBC awards
Matsuzaka is the only man to have won more than one WBC Most Valuable Player award, being crowned MVP in both 2006 and 2009 as Japan won both tournaments.
The Japanese pitcher is also one of just two players who have been selected in the All-WBC all-star team more than once, having been named as one of three All-WBC pitchers in both 2006 and 2009.
Puerto Rico's Yadier Molina, who will manage his national team in 2023, was named All-WBC catcher in 2013 and 2017.