Venezuela’s 2026 WBC Champions Elected to Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame

Venezuela’s historic 2026 World Baseball Classic championship team has received another permanent place in the country’s baseball history. The Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame elected the entire title-winning national team unanimously through its Historical Committee, while Francisco Rodríguez, Endy Chávez and Tomás Pérez were voted into the Class of 2026 individually.

The announcement, made September 16 by the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Valencia, comes six months after Venezuela defeated the United States 3-2 in Miami to win its first World Baseball Classic championship.

Venezuela’s WBC title team enters as a group

The Historical Committee voted unanimously to recognize the roster that delivered Venezuela’s breakthrough international championship in March. Omar López’s team beat the United States in the final at loanDepot park after Eugenio Suárez drove in the go-ahead run with a ninth-inning double and Daniel Palencia closed the game.

The honor turns an already historic tournament run into a permanent part of the museum’s Hall of Fame. Venezuela had never previously won the World Baseball Classic, and the 2026 championship also secured the country a place in the 2028 Olympic baseball tournament.

Rodríguez leads three-player Class of 2026

Francisco Rodríguez led the Contemporary Committee voting with 78 percent. The former closer finished his 16-year MLB career with 437 saves and still owns the major-league single-season record after recording 62 saves for the Los Angeles Angels in 2008.

Endy Chávez followed with 76 percent of the vote. Chávez played 13 MLB seasons and built an extensive career in Venezuelan winter baseball, becoming one of the most recognizable players associated with Navegantes del Magallanes.

Tomás Pérez reached the required threshold exactly at 75 percent. The versatile infielder played 12 MLB seasons and accumulated more than 1,000 hits during a 24-season career in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League.

All three also represented Venezuela in the inaugural World Baseball Classic in 2006, connecting the country’s first WBC generation with the team that finally captured the championship 20 years later.

A championship that keeps adding to its legacy

The Hall of Fame recognition is the latest tribute to Venezuela’s 2026 champions. The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League has already dedicated its 2026-27 season to the national team following the March title.

For Venezuelan baseball, the Class of 2026 therefore brings together two eras: three veterans who helped establish the country on the early World Baseball Classic stage and the national team that ultimately finished the job two decades later.