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The sixth World Baseball Championship was held in 1952 in Caracas, Venezuela. The format was adjusted again slightly with the top two teams from each 10-team division advancing to the next round. There would then be two round robin pools where each team would play the other three twice. The best two teams from each group advanced to a best-of-five semifinal, followed by a best-of-seven championship. This particular format lasted four seasons.



In Division 1, the United States advanced with a 10-1 record, just holding off North Korea by one game. In Division 2, Ecuador took first by going 9-2, two games better than both Peru and Switzerland. The Swiss advanced over the Peruvians on a tiebreaker. In Division 3, Brazil at 9-2 had the top spot with Canada second at 8-3. In Division 4, there was a three-way tie for first between China, Japan, and Mexico. The Chinese and Mexicans moved forward on the tiebreakers, eliminating last year’s runner-up Japan.

In Group A, the United States went unbeaten at 6-0 to advance to the semifinal. Mexico went 4-2 to advance as well, while Switzerland and North Korea both were knocked out at 1-5. In Group B, Canada and China both moved forward with 4-2 records, while Brazil was 3-3 and Ecuador went 1-5.

Both semifinals ended up being 3-0 sweeps as the United States downed Canada and Mexico ousted China. In a rematch of the 1950 championship, the Americans got revenge on the Mexicans, winning the series 4-2. The USA has taken four of the first six world championships.





Earning tournament MVP was American shortstop Tony Bigam. The 26-year old shortstop for Oklahoma City in 26 games had 38 hits, 33 runs, 12 home runs, 27 RBI, and 2.7 WAR. The Best Pitcher went to Mexico’s Javier Solis. The 26-year old reliever for Santiago made nine appearances with 4 saves over 17.1 scoreless innings with 17 strikeouts. It would be the peak for the promising young reliever as his career tragically ended the next spring with a torn UCL.