New World Baseball Classic exhibit opens in Hall of Fame

Excitement abounds for the 2026 World Baseball Classic, which is set to begin on March 4. With the sixth edition of the international tournament approaching, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum announced on Thursday that it has opened a new WBC exhibit to capture the thrilling drama, national pride and burgeoning history of the event.

Housed in the “Whole New Ballgame” exhibit on the museum’s second floor, the World Baseball Classic exhibit features the baseball that was thrown as the first pitch in the inaugural tournament in 2006, which was in a game between South Korea and Chinese Taipei.

Also among the artifacts on display in the exhibit are:

• The jersey Japan’s Daisuke Matsuzaka wore during the 2006 WBC championship game -- after which he was named the tournament Most Valuable Player.
• The cap worn by Netherlands pitching coach and Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven when the team advanced to the knockout round in 2009.
• The bat used by Ichiro Suzuki when he tallied 12 hits to help Japan win its second straight WBC title in 2009.
• The cap worn by Team Italy coach and Hall of Famer Mike Piazza during the 2013 WBC.
• The jersey worn by Fernando Rodney when he closed out the 2013 championship game to clinch the title for the Dominican Republic.
• Batting helmet worn by Team Israel’s Ryan Lavarnway in 2017, during the club’s WBC debut.
• The cap worn by Team USA’s Marcus Stroman, who was named the MVP of the 2017 tournament after capping his performance with six scoreless innings in the championship game.
• The batting helmet worn by Munetaka Murakami when he homered during the 2023 title game, which his Japanese squad won for its third WBC championship.
• A model of the original WBC championship trophy before it was retired prior to the 2023 tournament.

The exhibit is a “living” display, so to speak, as more will be added to it from this year’s WBC.

“Every time the World Baseball Classic is staged, we see that baseball has the power to unite countries and bring together fans from across the globe," Jon Shestahovsky, vice president of communications and content for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, said. "As we head into the next WBC, this exhibit captures that excitement with artifacts preserved forever in Cooperstown, and after the 2026 champion is crowned, it will be updated to include that new history."

The display will be up for at least a year, so you'll have time to make your way to the museum once this year's champion is crowned.