Lifers and legends among 18 of the most interesting players on Classic rosters

If you’re reading this, you don’t need me to tell you about Aaron Judge or Paul Skenes. You already know plenty about not just Shohei Ohtani, but his dog Decoy, too. You know that Julio Rodríguez is dedicated to philanthropy in his hometown of Loma de Cabrera, and that Puerto Rico has been rallying around blond hair dye as “Team Rubio” since the 2017 tournament.

But what makes the World Baseball Classic so special is that it’s not just the superstars who get to play under baseball’s brightest lights (though there are plenty of those). There are great players with unique backgrounds from all over the world, who play this game with remarkable skill outside the limelight of the Majors or even the world of professional baseball.

Today, I want to talk about 18 of those players. Not just because those stories matter, but because these players have just as good a chance to make the play of a lifetime on the global baseball diamond. For evidence, see: Adam Stern’s inside-the-park home run against the USA, Sidney de Jong’s double to kickstart the Netherlands’ 11th-inning victory against the Dominican Republic, or Martin Mužík’s game-winning home run against China.

1. Leonardo Reginatto (Brazil)

Arguably (and there’s not much room to argue) the best player in World Baseball Classic Qualifier history. Brazil has participated in every Qualifier since 2012 and Reginatto has been a key member on each of them, helping lead Brazil to the main tournament twice. He has absolutely scorched the opposition in those games, going 26-for-51 -- the most hits by any player in Qualifier history. He also didn't disappoint in the 2013 Classic, going 4-for-11 in the main tournament.

About to turn 36, Reginatto announced his retirement this winter, making the 2026 World Baseball Classic his swan song.

2. Alessandro Ercolani (Italy)

The 21-year-old prospect made his Double-A debut last year, putting him just two rungs away from the Major Leagues. A remarkable achievement for anyone, it will be even more impressive when you consider Ercolani’s background: The right-hander is from San Marino, a tiny landlocked nation of about 34,000 people. To put that in perspective, the entire nation could fit into most big league ballparks and the game wouldn’t even be a sellout.

After making his debut in the Italian Serie A with San Marino, the Pirates made him the first San Marino signee in history in 2021. Just two years after fellow national team teammate Samuel Aldegheri made his big league debut as the first Italian born-and-developed player in big league history, Ercolani could do the same.

3. Adam Macko (Canada)

Adam Macko’s baseball background is truly unlike any other. Born in Slovakia, Macko quickly fell in love with a game that was almost unknown to everyone around him. (Though Slovakia borders the Czech Republic, its national team's WBSC ranking is 72 -- compared to Czechia at 15.)

“I discovered baseball on the first day of grade one,” Macko said last year. “Nobody in Slovakia knew what baseball was, but it was offered as a free extracurricular activity at school that my friends and I did, and I really liked it.”

His family then moved to Ireland when he was 11 years old and he began emulating Justin Verlander’s mechanics off of YouTube (Who knew it was that easy!). It was only when moving to Canada the next year and enrolling in the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball as a 10th grader that his ascent toward professional baseball really began.

Now, Macko will be a crucial part of a Canadian pitching staff that is looking to advance beyond the first round for the first time in tournament history.

4. Kevin Kelly (Netherlands)

Kelly has been representing the Netherlands national team since 2010, appearing in two World Baseball Classic tournaments and collecting a bevy of gold medals at the European Baseball Championships. But Kelly, who has pitched in Mexico for the past two summers, saved his best for the 2025 Euros this past fall. Facing Spain -- the then-defending champions -- ace starting pitcher Tom de Blok had to leave the semifinal with an injury just two outs into the contest.

Kelly then entered from the bullpen and pitched 8 1/3 shutout innings, striking out 16 batters to finish off the game and send the Honkbalers back to the final.

5. Brennan Bernardino (Mexico)

After being released by the Reds in 2018, Bernardino spent the rest of the season in independent baseball for the Winnipeg Goldeyes. That experience rejuvenated the southpaw, who went to Spring Training without a contract. Instead, he went door-by-door asking for a chance until he got to the Guardians camp, who liked what they saw and promptly signed him. Two months later however, his contract was sold to the Toros de Tijuana in the Mexican League, where he would spend the next few years until the Mariners signed him and ushered him to the Major Leagues in 2022.

With 169 big league appearances under his belt now, Bernardino will be making his World Baseball Classic debut this spring, but it won't be his first time appearing for the Mexican national team. Bernardino played for Mexico at the 2015 and 2019 Premier12 tournaments, throwing 7 2/3 innings while striking out 11 and giving up just one run.

6. Juan Montes (Nicaragua)

The owner of the best mustache in the tournament, Montes is also the only player from Guatemala to appear in the World Baseball Classic this year. (There has never been a player born in Guatemala to reach the Major Leagues.) Montes played college baseball at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala and was inked by the Orioles after a tryout in the country. Though he topped out at Class-A Aberdeen, Montes has been a star for the Nicaraguan national team -- he was 5-for-13 with two stolen bases at the Taipei Qualifier in March.

7. Martin Schneider (Czechia)

Assuming that you are now well acquainted with electrical engineer and bester-of-Shohei-Ohtani, Ondřej Satoria, it's time to highlight another pitcher on Czechia's roster: Martin Schneider. A firefighter in his hometown of Olomuoc, Schneider has been a crucial member of the Czech national team at both shortstop and on the mound for much of his career. (His diving play to begin a game-saving bases-loaded 6-2-5 double play against Germany is one of the most remarkable plays you'll likely ever see.)

With his work schedule keeping him away from the ballfield, Schneider had thrown just a handful of innings before the 2022 World Baseball Classic Qualifier final against Spain. That didn't bother the veteran, who came out and dominated Spain for 6 1/3 innings to send Czechia to its first WBC in the nation's history.

"When [manager Pavel Chadim] asked me [to start], I said, 'Hey, you know me. I'm gonna die out there tomorrow. So, it's up to you. It's your decision,'" Schneider said. "I was ready for it. I was prepared for it. And I did my best."

After appearing in the 2023 Classic, Schneider was then selected to play for Team Europe in a two-game exhibition series against Samurai Japan the next spring. Unfortunately, just a few outs into his appearance, Schneider was hurt and required shoulder surgery. Now 40 years old, Schneider is back on the national team's roster.

8. Tim Kennelly (Australia)

Another firefighter, this time it’s Australia’s longtime captain. Signed by the Phillies when he was 18 years old in 2005, Kennelly has been on Australia’s World Baseball Classic roster since the 2013 tournament -- the same year that was his last in affiliated baseball -- and has led the team with solid defense in the outfield and a 9-for-33 showing at the plate with a home run and three RBIs. Since then, he’s become a true legend in the Australian Baseball League, holding the record for most hits (509), home runs (63), RBIs (256), games played (453), and he’s second in steals with 69.

Last tournament, his daughter -- then 3 years old -- convinced the rest of the Tokyo Dome crowd to join her in cheering for her dad. We’ll see if that happens again in what is likely his final tournament.

9. Vitor Ito (Brazil)

There are a few players with NPB experience on Brazil’s World Baseball Classic roster, but none are like Ito’s. Brazil’s starting shortstop -- he went 5-for-13 in the Qualifier -- is a translator for the Hanshin Tigers.

"I think my biggest challenge is to not overdue stuff, like when I'm trying so hard to help and I might end up saying more than I should, or doing more than I should," Ito told MLB.com about his job last March. "Balance, that is my biggest challenge."

While Ito lives and works in Japan, there’s another player on Brazil’s roster with a day job much closer to home: DH Osvaldo Carvalho works in construction and plays for the local São Paulo team, Nikkei Marília.

10. Alexei Ramirez (Cuba)

OK, OK, I know what you’re saying: Alexei Ramirez was a big leaguer, and not just that but he was an All-Star and a two-time Silver Slugger Award winner. And yes, I know that, but Ramirez has also not played a big league game since 2016 and his last pro season was in 2018 with the Diablos Rojos of the Mexican League before he returned to Cuba’s Serie Nacional in 2024.

It also means Ramirez is back in the World Baseball Classic for the first time since 2006 -- the first tournament in WBC history. And though the Cuban Missile is playing first base instead of shortstop these days (he was actually a center fielder when he appeared in the ‘06 Classic), the bat sure hasn’t looked like his 44 years of age. He slashed .339/.475/.607 with 15 home runs while playing for Pinar del Río this past season.

11. Alberto Mineo (Italy)

This will be Mineo’s second World Baseball Classic, but the Gorizia, Italy, native has has been representing Italy since 2011, when he was just 18 years old. He's since racked up over 60 national team appearances and was with Team Europe during their two-game exhibition against Samurai Japan in 2024.

“Wearing the national team jersey is always a responsibility and an honor,” Mineo said in a recent press conference. “The key is always passion. Then you have to work hard, believe in it, and give 100 percent. [Manager Francisco Cervelli] is passing along his ideas to us. We’re all competitors, and we don’t want to stop.”

A left-handed catcher -- a sighting only slightly more common than that of a living, breathing, singing and dancing Elvis -- Mineo first signed with the Cubs as a teenager in 2010, eventually reaching Triple-A briefly with the Blue Jays in 2018. He helps give Italy some impressive catching depth, both on the roster and on the bench: There’s the skipper Cervelli and bench coach Jorge Posada, while Mineo and the Kyle Teel of the White Sox will hold down the catching position.

12 and 13. Alex & Lachlan Wells (Australia)

There are a few pairs of brothers in this year’s tournament: Great Britain has Tristen and Brendan Beck, Colombia has Carlos and Michael Arroyo and Mexico has Ramón and Luis Urías. ) But twins? That’s a little more rare – especially when one of those twins -- Lachlan -- was originally signed by the Twins.

Both left-handed pitchers, Alex reached the big leagues with the Orioles in 2021-22 and spent the last two winters pitching for the Sydney Blue Sox in the ABL. Lachlan, meanwhile, has found success in the KBO, making four starts and posting a 3.15 ERA for the Kiwoom Heroes before signing with the LG Twins this winter.

14. Marek Chlup (Czechia)

Czechia’s starting catcher, Martin Červenka, is likely the greatest player in national history. He made it to Triple-A, narrowly missing a trip to the Major Leagues as the first Czech born-and-developed player in history, is a consummate defender behind the plate and hit two homers and drove in seven runs in the Czechs’ bronze medal-winning game this past September.

If anyone is to surpass him, look to right field: There is Marek Chlup, a multi-tool outfielder blessed with good looks and a cannon for an arm. After lacing a double against Roki Sasaki’s blazing fastball in the 2023 World Baseball Classic, the Yomiuri Giants scouts took notice and they continued to follow him when he returned to the States to play for the Lake Country DockHounds. After eventually signing him, Chlup made his debut for the Giants last summer -- becoming the first European-developed position player in NPB history and the first Czech-born player to ever play in the league. Unfortunately, after just two games, Chlup broke his wrist.

He's now signed with the Caliente de Durango of the Mexican League. Should he make his debut with them, he'll become the first Czech player in Mexico.

15. Adam Hall (Canada)

In another life, Hall is probably a hockey player. Instead, Hall -- who was born in Hamilton, Bermuda, to a Canadian father and a Bermudan mother -- found his way to the diamond. It's not just a rarity, it's practically unheard of: Hall is the only Bermudan player in professional baseball.

"My dad was not a baseball guy, he grew up in Canada, he was hockey," Hall told MLB.com's Matt Monagan. "If I had grown up somewhere near an ice rink, I'm sure I would've followed suit. I was fortunate to have a pretty good group of guys that were two or three years older than me that I was kind of able to mix into."

Last year, Hall reached Triple-A in the Brewers organization, finding himself just one step away from the Major Leagues. Before that, though, he'll look to help Canada advance beyond the group stage for the first time in tournament history.

16. Shairon Martis (Netherlands)

Martis is one of three players to be participating in this year's tournament who also played in 2006. (Alexei Ramirez is one and the other? He's next on the list.) Just 18 years old at the time, Martis pulled off perhaps the greatest start in World Baseball Classic history: Facing Panama, Martis blitzed through the lineup, no-hitting them for six innings while his team built up a 10-run lead.

Only problem? He needed to record three more outs for the game to reach the mercy rule, but he only had eight pitches left before he hit his limit. Fortunately, using his 65th and final pitch, he got a double play to end the game. While Puerto Rico tossed a combined no-no in 2023, Martis is still the only starter with a WBC no-hitter on his resume.

17. Paolo Espino (Panama)

Espino is one of those guys who never gave up the dream. Espino was just 19 years old and still in high school when he appeared in the 2006 World Baseball Classic, throwing one scoreless inning against the Netherlands. It would be 11 more years before Espino reached the Major Leagues, later topping 100 innings twice for the Nationals in 2021 and 2022.

Espino has also been a regular contributor for the national team: He's appeared in the 2006 and '09 WBC tournaments, as well as the 2012 and '16 Qualifiers.

18. Chieh-Hsien Chen (Chinese Taipei)

We'll end on a player who at this point is a star, but with a background many may not realize. While Chen has the largest contract in the CPBL, was named MVP of the 2024 Premier12 and is captain of the Chinese Taipei team, his success was not always guaranteed. As a teenager, Chen had thought he would sign a contract with a Major League team. That didn't happen.

After attending a Japanese high school, he then entered the 2012 NPB Draft before going unselected. So, he returned to Taiwan and began playing in the corporate league, the top amateur baseball league, before being selected in the 2016 CPBL draft.

Since then, all he's done is be arguably the most decorated player in the CPBL: A Taiwan Series champion and CPBL batting champion, a six-time All-Star, a four-time Golden Glove Award winner, a two-time best shortstop winner and a three-time best outfielder.

If Chinese Taipei is to advance to Miami, Chen will be at the center of it.