In ten days, 5 March 2026, the World Baseball Classic will begin, matching 20 national teams, in four pools, to deliver a world champion for 2026. The teams will play in stadiums in Tokyo, San Juan, Houston, and Miami.
According to the experts, the Dominican team is a powerhouse and certainly a favorite to dispute the crown against the likes of Japan with Shohei Ohtani, and the United States with American League MVP Aaron Judge and Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes.
Listin Diario reports on those who are seeing similarities between Team DR and the famous 1927 New York Yankees that were led by Babe Ruth, and Lou Gehrig. Local sportswriters are comparing the 2026 team to the Yankee’s famous “Murderer’s Row” of Earle Combs, Mark Koenig, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Meusel and Tony Lazzeri.
It’s that Team DR has Juan Soto, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Julio Rodriguez, Ketel Marte, Junior Caminero, and Gerardo Perdomo, among others with high rankings in MLB league. This Dominican lineup hit 264 home runs during the 2025 baseball season and brings to mind that glorious team of the “Bronx Mules” that won 110 games in 1927, and swept the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-0 in the World Series.
The offensive might of the Dominican team is impressive, and can also easily be compared to the ’27 Yankees. Caminero hit 45 homeruns last year, Juan Soto 43, Rodriguez, 32, Marte 28, Machado 27, Tatis Jr., 27. Those Yankees had Babe Ruth with 60, Gehrig, 47, and at least five Yankees had 100 RBIs. The 2026 Dominican team has six players that hit the century mark in runs-batted-in (RBIs).
Back in 2023, for the previous WBC, the team from the Dominican Republic did not get deliver the key hits, in spite of having a very good team. This year, however, with Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Tatis Jr., and Junior Caminero, who were not on the ’23 team, there is the expectation that the DR will make the final, especially with a Ketel Marte with more experience, and Perdomo who finished third in the MVP voting last year with his 20 homers and 100 RBIs.
In baseball, pitching is of first importance, and this year’s Dominican team has some very good pitchers, including Christopher Sanchez, Sandy Alcantara and Bryan Bello. Bello might be the key, since he is coming off a season where is earned-run-average (ERA) was below 3.00 from June until August. Put the date on your calendar, 5 March, the World Baseball Classic.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
Wikipedia
WBC
23 February 2026