The value of GB’s win over Brazil in the World Baseball Classic is almost incalculable.
Let’s rephrase that. The value for the Great Britain national set-up is incalculable. Whether there is a trickle-down to the domestic scene in the UK is another debate for another day.
A player in the UK said (and I paraphrase):
“I’ve always heard how the London Series will be huge for the British game and the WBC will be huge for the British game… but I’m still playing on the same run-down fields, against largely the same player base I was 10–15 years ago.”
Anyway, as I say, that’s another discussion for another day.
The advantages of a higher profile for the GB national team include greater access to funding and more exposure for players and coaches. The 2023 manager, Drew Spencer, converted his WBC appearance into a role within the Yankees organisation.
The mantra within GB Baseball is: “You can get there from here,” and you really can.
Planning for the next few years becomes more straightforward for the team behind the scenes in Great Britain Baseball. The guarantee that GB will appear in the next World Baseball Classic (maybe 2029) provides long-term security for the sport’s future in the UK.
There are also hundreds of GB-eligible players – some born in the UK, some in the USA, some in the Bahamas and others elsewhere – who watched the impressive performances by Brad Marcelino’s team and will want to be part of the journey in 2029.
And do not underestimate those performances.
GB v USA: First-pitch homer off reigning Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal. GB led into the fifth.
GB v Mexico: Out-hit the star-studded lineup that reached the semi-final at the last WBC.
GB v Italy: Led through the first three innings and had a bases-loaded opportunity in the ninth.
GB v Brazil: The team that scored five runs against the USA were limited to just one in an 8-1 GB win.
During the roster reveal party, it became clear that Great Britain had not been blessed with the same array of “imports” that, say, Italy had.
With Jac Caglianone, Zach Dezenzo, Jakob Marsee, Dante Nori, Andrew Fischer, Thomas Saggese and Dominic Canzone, Italy had stunning depth from some of MLB’s most exciting young talent.
Great Britain’s roster required far more Baseball-Reference research. But that research revealed lots of young, lower-profile names with bags of potential.
Realistically, Great Britain arrived in Houston with four possible outcomes.
Zero wins: Humiliation on the international stage, with a couple of shutouts and a couple of mercy-rule defeats.
Zero wins: A step back for the national team, with the acceptance that 2023 had been an overperformance. GB would head back to the qualifiers.
One win: Equalling 2023’s campaign, this would hopefully guarantee GB’s place in the next WBC. This would be huge.
Two wins: I bang on about how “anything can happen in one-off games”, and on another day, Great Britain could have converted their hit advantage over Mexico into a W, or Harry Ford could have gone yard with the bases loaded in the ninth inning against Italy.
It was with tremendous pride that we watched the four GB games and saw a national team that looked like it belonged on the biggest stage.
It showed how far the GB national team has come in just a few short years. From plucky underdogs – “Who even knew they played baseball in England?” – to tricky pool opponents.
Although, admittedly, still with the same “Who even knew they played baseball in England?” questions from commentators and fans.
In 2023, Spain lifted the European Championship trophy in an emphatic gold-medal win over Great Britain in Brno, Czechia. The ever-impressive Dutch beat Germany in the bronze-medal game.
Spain and Germany – as the top two European teams outside the already-qualified GB and the Netherlands – progressed to the WBC qualifiers in early 2025.
They were joined by Brazil and South Africa, plus the four nations relegated from the 2023 WBC (the teams that finished bottom of their pools).
The value of GB’s win over Colombia on that memorable day in Phoenix comes back into focus, as Colombia was one of the four relegated teams.
So near, yet so far. The long WBC journey ended in frustration for both Spain and Germany, who finished third in their groups, allowing Nicaragua, Taiwan, Colombia and Brazil to join baseball’s elite for the World Baseball Classic.
Sobering thought: Spain and Germany both beat GB at the 2025 European Championship, yet here they are – watching GB compete in the WBC. It bears repeating: qualifying for the World Baseball Classic is no easy feat.
And so to 2026.
Although the round-robin stage isn’t yet complete, we already know which countries will be relegated to the qualifiers: Panama, Brazil, Czechia and Nicaragua.
This means that both Colombia and Taiwan fought their way through the qualifiers alongside Spain and Germany – and have now maintained their place within baseball’s elite with automatic qualification.
Spain and Germany (along with France, Sweden, Croatia, Belgium and others) will need strong performances in the 2027 European Championship in Regensburg just to qualify for the qualifier.
The stress this puts on the resources of underfunded associations can be overwhelming.
And then there is the erratic availability of players. It’s amazing how many who cannot make a low-profile qualifier suddenly become available for the blue-riband event when the world’s eyes are watching.
This article started with the line: “The value of GB’s win over Brazil in the World Baseball Classic is almost incalculable.”
It really is.
Had Great Britain finished bottom of Pool B, it’s entirely possible that we would never have seen GB in a World Baseball Classic again.
But the win over Brazil means automatic qualification. I’m keeping my fingers crossed they get put in a group in Seoul or Taipei. I’m going to start saving now.
Featured image of Lucas Ramirez (Brazil) and Jazz Chisholm Jr. (Great Britain) by Rob Tringali/WBCI/MLB Photos via Getty Images.
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