The World Baseball Classic's all-time stat leaders

With the sixth World Baseball Classic tournament now in the books, are you curious who's hit the most home runs or struck out the most batters in Classic play? Look no further.

Here are the all-time individual stats leaders in WBC history.

BATTING

Home runs: Alfredo Despaigne, Cuba (seven)

Despaigne participated in every WBC from 2009 through 2026, five in total. He homered in the first tournament and then bashed three home runs in each of the next two. He didn't go deep in 2023 or '26 but is still the WBC all-time leader. Despaigne has slugged .611 in 26 career Classic games.

Next on the list: Miguel Cabrera (Venezuela) & Frederich Cepeda (Cuba), six each

RBIs: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba (23)

Cepeda played in 25 WBC games while participating in each of the first four tournaments, but he actually racked up his 23 RBIs through his first 19 games -- even before the end of the 2013 edition. He drove in eight runs in '06, 10 in '09 and five in '13.

Next: Despaigne, 21

Hits: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba (32)

Cepeda got 31 of his 32 WBC hits through the first three tournaments alone, and he is still the all-time leader. He had 10 hits in 2006, 12 in '09, nine in '13 and one in '17.

Next: Carlos Beltrán (Puerto Rico), 30

Doubles: Justin Morneau, Canada and Frederich Cepeda, Cuba (eight)

Morneau played in each of the first four Classics, notching his eight doubles through the first three. As for Cepeda, this feels like a good time to note he’s the all-time leader in total bases (60), and his 108 plate appearances trail only Beltrán’s 115.

Next: Beltrán, Randy Arozarena (Mexico) & Jorge Cantu (Mexico), seven each

Triples: Yoenis Céspedes, Cuba (three)

Not only is Céspedes the all-time leader in triples, he’s the single-tournament leader, too, as all three came in 2009. And he did it in just six games; his most triples in a six-game span in the Majors was two. He returned to play for Cuba in 2023 but didn't add to his triples total.

Next: Gregor Blanco (Venezuela), Endy Chavez (Venezuela), Akinori Iwamura (Japan), Gift Ngoepe (South Africa) and Jimmy Rollins (United States), two each

Walks: Frederich Cepeda, Cuba (22)

It’s hard to believe Cepeda had any plate appearances in which he wasn’t getting hits, but it's not surprising that the WBC world took notice and pitched around him. In his final WBC in 2017, Cepeda got just one hit but was walked seven times.

Next: Beltrán, 19

Stolen bases: Tetsuto Yamada, Japan (six)

Yamada took over the stolen base lead during the 2023 tournament, stealing three bases to go along with the three he stole in 2017. The veteran Japanese infielder helped lead Samurai Japan to the WBC '23 championship.

Next: Ronald Acuña Jr. (Venezuela), Tsuyoshi Nishioka (Japan), Ichiro Suzuki (Japan), Jimmy Rollins (United States), Javier Báez (Puerto Rico) & Chavez Young (Great Britain), five each

PITCHING

Strikeouts: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan (23)

Matsuzaka pitched in each of the first two Classics -- and was named the MVP of both of them -- going 6-0 with a 1.95 ERA in 27 2/3 innings. He had 10 strikeouts in the 2006 WBC and 13 strikeouts in the 2009 WBC.

Next: Yu Darvish (Japan), 22

Saves: Fernando Rodney, Dominican Republic (eight)

Of course it’s Rodney, who went 7-for-7 in save opportunities in 2013, when the Dominican Republic won the tournament in undefeated fashion. He also had one save in '06.

Next: Fernando Cabrera (Puerto Rico) & Francisco Rodríguez (Venezuela), five each

Innings: Shairon Martis, Netherlands (28 1/3)

Martis pitched in five of the first six Classic and posted a 1.59 ERA across his 28 1/3 innings (10 games). He got hit around for seven runs (four earned) during the 2013 tourney. But outside of that year, Martis permitted one earned runs through 21 WBC innings.

Next: Diegomar Markwell, Netherlands (28)

Starts: Daisuke Matsuzaka, Japan and Edinson Volquez, Dominican Republic (six)

Matsuzaka made three starts apiece in the 2006 and '09 Classics. Volquez’s six starts came in the '09, '13 and '17 editions, across which he compiled a 2.53 ERA.

Next: Markwell, Rick Van Den Hurk (Netherlands), Seth Lugo (Puerto Rico) and Marcus Stroman (United States/Puerto Rico), five each

Wins: Daisuke Matsuzaka (six)

Here’s a time when wins are definitely worth noting: when you’ve made six career Classic starts and won all of them, like Matsuzaka. That’s not just 6-0, that’s 6-0 without even so much as a no-decision thrown in.

Next: Lugo, Martis, Markwell, Darvish, Javier Vazquez (Puerto Rico) and Pedro Strop (Dominican Republic), three each

WORLD BASEBALL CLASSICS PLAYED

WBC appearances: Miguel Cabrera, Venezuela, Shairon Martis, Netherlands and Alfredo Despaigne, Cuba (five)

Miggy played in each of the five World Baseball Classics for Venezuela and recorded a hit in every tournament, including in 2023 at age 39. Despaigne recorded at least one extra-base hit in each of his five tournaments, and Martis pitched no fewer than 3 1/3 innings in each of his five Classics.