The World Baseball Classic is generally held every four years, though in practice it has varied between three and four years because of scheduling changes and the 2021 COVID postponement.

Quick Scoop

  • The tournament was first played in 2006, then 2009 (3-year gap), and then 2013 and 2017 (4-year gaps).
  • The 2021 edition was postponed due to the pandemic, and the next one after 2017 was played in 2023 instead.
  • After 2023, organizers scheduled the next WBC for 2026, creating a three‑year gap and reinforcing a “roughly every 3–4 years” pattern rather than a fixed cycle.

In other words, if you’re planning around it as a fan, you can think of the World Baseball Classic as a recurring global tournament that comes around about once every Olympic cycle, with some flexibility (three to four years) depending on MLB and international scheduling.