World Baseball Classic features more stars after 6-year absence

Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani of Japan, and Miguel Cabrera and Jose Altuve, both from Venezuela, are among seven Major League Baseball MVPs on 30-man rosters. There are 63 All-Stars, after Nestor Cortes, Nathan Eovaldi, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Clayton Kershaw, Alejandro Kirk and German Márquez dropped ou

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March 7, 2023 - 2:01 PM

St. Louis Cardinals infielder Nolan Arenado throws to first base against the Miami Marlins during the second inning at loanDepot park on Tuesday, April 19, 2022, in Miami. (Mark Brown/Getty Images/TNS)

Nolan Arenado wants the World Baseball Classic to grow into a global event with stature approaching soccer’s World Cup.

“I feel like the hype is a little bit higher this time around than it was in 2017. There’s more guys that want to do it,” the St. Louis third baseman said ahead of this year’s tournament. “I know it’s not the World Cup, but just watching the World Cup and how awesome that was just to represent your country … I don’t know if it will get quite there, but get it close at least.”

Baseball’s top international championship opens Wednesday at Taichung, Taiwan, when the Netherlands plays Cuba and Panama faces Taiwan in a Group A that also includes Italy.

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