🌎 World baseball classic 2026 announced

Today we cover:

• 🌎 World baseball classic 2026 announced

• 🤖 Commissioner discusses robot umps

• 🐇 Bad Bunny’s agency faces punishment

• ✋ Ronel Blanco suspended for foreign substance

• 🚔 Former Red Sox pitcher arrested in child sex sting

• And More!

World baseball classic 2026 announced

The World Baseball Classic will be returning in March 2026. It was announced where the action will take place when Samurai Japan tries to defend its World Baseball Classic crown against the rest of the world.

The first-round pools will be split across the four locations, while the semifinals will be split between Houston and Miami, with the final once again taking place at LoanDepot park.

Sixteen teams have qualified for the tournament -- the top four teams from each of the pools from the 2023 tournament -- while the final four teams will be determined at the 2025 Qualifiers. More information on the Qualifiers will be coming soon.

Commissioner discusses robot umps

Rob Manfred touched on several topics at a news conference following an owners meeting Thursday, but the overarching message from the Major League Baseball commissioner was no one is particularly happy with the automated ball-strike (ABS) system currently used in the minor leagues.

ABS was implemented in the Triple-A and Low-A Florida State League at the start of this season.

• Manfred said he doesn’t expect ABS to make its MLB debut until 2026 at the earliest.

• He favors a challenge system, not a wholesale replacement of human umpires with a robotic strike zone.

• At this point, 2025 seems unlikely, and 2026 might even be a stretch, given the lack of progress made in the minors with the testing of the new system.