As pool play winds down at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, 10 teams are still in the hunt for the championship and 10 have been eliminated.
With teams making their exits, so too are players and managers, many of whom have kept going with the sole goal of representing their country in the World Baseball Classic. Here’s a rundown of the players and managers who we may have seen for the last time or have announced retirements following the World Baseball Classic.
Dusty Baker – Nicaragua’s manager didn’t announce his retirement per se, but did acknowledge his age following Nicaragua’s 4-0 loss to Venezuela Monday night.
“Every game could be my last game as a manager,” Baker said. “At 76 years old this could be my last day. So you’ve got to enjoy every day. I was talking to some people and maybe if I’m still around and still feeling healthy, I mean, who knows. Maybe I could — I’m not going back down on the field in the MLB, but maybe Olympic team, to represent your country, maybe.”
Baker, 76, began his MLB career as a teammate of Hank Aaron, was the co-creator of the high five with Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Glenn Burke, was a three-time National League manager of the year, won three pennants as a manager and led the Houston Astros to the a World Series title in 2022.
Carlos Teller – Teller announced he’d retire from Nicaragua’s national team prior to the game against Venezuela, and had hoped to do it with the country’s first win at the WBC. Sadly, it didn’t work out. He spent three years in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 2005-08, never making it out of rookie ball, and then played in Latin America until 2013, when he played in the San Francisco Giants system for a season, rising as high as Triple-A. He’s since pitched in Mexico, Venezuela, and his native Nicaragua, and appeared in four Caribbean Series.
Carlos Teller, who is 39 and one of the most veteran players in the WBC” in tears after he confirmed again that he is retiring from Nicaragua ?? but we wanted to do it with a win ??
— Fernando Rayo (@Rayo2Fer) March 9, 2026
Paolo Espino – The Toronto Blue Jays legend went out on a high note, throwing 4 1/3 shutout innings and allowing one hit in Panama’s loss to Colombia Monday. Espino pitched in Major League Baseball for Washington, Milwaukee, Texas and Toronto over six seasons. He also appeared in winter ball in LIDOM, the Liga Venezolana de Beisbol Professional, Puerto Rico’s LBPRC, made multiple Caribbean Series appearances, including for Panama’s Federales de Chiriqui last month in Guadalajara, Mexico, and was the only player in the 2026 World Baseball Classic who appeared in the inaugural event in 2006.
Julio Teheran – Colombia’s ace was unable to pitch in the WBC this year, having been scratched from his scheduled start with shoulder discomfort, then announced his retirement. Teheran is 81-82 with a 3.85 ERA in 248 starts and seven relief appearances for Atlanta (2011-19), the Los Angeles Angels (2020), Detroit (2021), Milwaukee (2023) and the Mets (2024).
Ondrej Satoria – Satoria, the Czech electrician with a fastball that tops out in the low 80s, had a beautiful final outing at the Tokyo Dome, throwing 4 2/3 scoreless innings as Czechia’s starter against Japan. An obscure athlete in his own country, Satoria is a celebrity in Japan, best remembered for his strikeout of Shohei Ohtani at the 2023 WBC. He soaked in the applause from the Tokyo Dome crowd while walking off the field for the final time.
Taking it in for one final time on the #WorldBaseballClassic stage ?
Take a bow, Ondrej Satoria. You made Czech Republic proud ? pic.twitter.com/J33bnDRXkE
— World Baseball Classic (@WBCBaseball) March 10, 2026
Pavel Chadim – Chadim, the Czech Republic manager who’s a neurologist by day, announced he would retire from managing the Czech national team, though not until after the next WBSC Premier12 cycle. Chadim gave possibly the most poignant quote of the tournament thus far, acknowledging that in a world full of conflict, perhaps baseball is the answer.
“If sport can replace war in the world, and if you can use sport for people being competitive between nations – I think this is a great role for sport,” Chadim said. “If sport, especially baseball, can be played instead of wars fought, we can be friends with a lot of places in the world.”
Czechia manager Pavel Chadim is one of my most favorite people in the world. Here's one reason why. @baseballczech_ pic.twitter.com/BrqbenIfhN
— Michael Clair (@michaelsclair) March 7, 2026
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Photo: Czech Republic’s pitcher Ondrej Satoria waves at the crowd following his team’s loss to Japanin their World Baseball Classic game on Tuesday, March 10, 2026 in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
