world baseball classic happens how often

The World Baseball Classic is generally held every four years , although recent editions and future plans show a bit of flexibility in that cycle.

Quick Scoop

• The first two WBCs were in 2006 and 2009, three years apart.

• Since then, the tournament has been organized on a four‑year cycle in principle: 2009, 2013, 2017, 2023, and the next one set for 2026.

• The planned 2021 edition was postponed to 2023 because of the COVID‑19 pandemic, which is why the recent gap was six years instead of four.

• Going forward, MLB and the players’ union can still adjust the exact timing in future collective bargaining, but for fans the safe rule of thumb is: think of it as a quadrennial event (about every four years).

So if you’re planning around it, expect the World Baseball Classic to happen roughly once every four years, usually in March, with occasional real‑world disruptions causing exceptions.