The World Baseball Classic returns after three years, with Team USA looking to win its first title since 2017. The U.S. lost to Japan in the 2023 finals, culminating in a memorable moment when Japan’s Shohei Ohtani struck out Mike Trout in the ninth inning.
This time, Team USA is the favorite to win the title, with opening odds at +140 at BetMGM Sportsbook and -110 as the favorite. Unsurprisingly, Team USA garnered the most bets (35.5%) and total bets (38.7%) of the 20 teams. The United States is also the biggest burden for sportsbooks.
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The United States will begin the World Baseball Classic in Group B, which includes Mexico, Italy, Great Britain and Brazil.
Japan, led by Ohtani, have the next best odds at +350 as they look to defend their title, followed by the Dominican Republic at +400. Venezuela’s odds are 10-1, but no other team has better odds than 25-1.
Puerto Rico opened at 12-1 but is currently sitting at 25-1, in large part due to New York Mets star Francisco Lindor announcing he would not play after being unable to obtain mandatory insurance required for international play.
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Six teams – Brazil, Israel, Great Britain, Australia, Nicaragua and the Czech Republic – have odds of 500 to 1 to win the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
For all the information on the event (March 5-March 17), be sure to check out this Yahoo Sports primer by Chris Cwik.
Championship odds for each team
USA-110
Japan+350
Dominican Republic +400
Venezuela 10-1
Puerto Rico 25-1
Mexico 25-1
Canada 50-1
South Korea 66-1
Cuba 100-1
Netherlands 100-1
Colombia 100-1
Italy 100-1
Chinese Taipei 250-1
Panama 250-1
Brazil 500-1
Israel 500-1
UK 500-1
Australia 500-1
Nicaragua 500-1
Czech 500-1
