[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 1967 World Baseball Championship was the 21^st edition of the tournament as it was held in Mexico for the third time; this time in Monterrey. For the first time in tournament history, the United States didn’t advance to the elite eight. The Americans took second in Division 1 at 5-2, finishing behind 6-1 North Korea. This snapped the USA’s bid for a championship four-peat and was the fifth time that NK won a division. South Korea also moved on, rolling to a 7-0 Division 2 title. SK now has moved onto the Round Robin stage seven times, bouncing back after the 1965 runner-up missed out in 1966. Canada won Division 3 at 6-1, beating Poland by one game. The Canadians have 15 appearances in the elite eight, second only to the US. Division 4 went to Japan at 6-1, their seventh division title and first since 1964.

Mexico was unbeaten to take Division 5 at 7-0, beating out a strong 6-1 effort from Italy. The Mexicans have moved on eight times, also their first time since 1964. France won a tight Division 6 at 6-1, edging defending runner-up Brazil and Uzbekistan at 5-2. It joins 1963 as the only division titles for the French. Russia at 5-2 took Division 7, one game better than Colombia, Panama, and Serbia. The Russians advance for the sixth time and for the third consecutive season. And in Division 8, the Philippines rolled to 7-0 for their second-ever elite eight appearance (1964).

In Round Robin Group A, South Korea took first at 4-2. Canada and Japan tied for second at 3-3 with Russia at 2-4. The tiebreaker moved the Canadians forward for their 14^th semifinal appearance. For the Koreans, it was their fourth time making it to the final four. In Group B, the Philippines finished first at 5-1 for their first-ever semifinal berth. Mexico was second at 4-2 to advance, while North Korea was 3-3 and France went 0-6. The Mexicans advanced to their seventh semifinal.



Mexico earned its sixth finals berth as they took their semifinal series 4-2 over South Korea. Canada ousted the Philippines in five games, giving the Canadians their ninth finals berth. South Korea officially earned third place with the Philippines fourth. The championship was the first appearance since 1963 for both Mexico and Canada, with the Mexicans prevailing that year in seven games. The 1967 final was far less dramatic with the Canadians pulling off a sweep. Canada is now a three-time tournament champion, adding this rung to their 1959 and 1954 wins.



Tournament MVP was Mexico’s Diego Garcia. The 29-year old third baseman for Milwaukee in 23 starts had 26 hits, 19 runs, 11 home runs, 15 RBI, and 1.5 WAR. Taking Best Pitcher was Canada’s Hugo Salyer. A 24-year old reliever for Philadelphia, the lefty had four saves and a 3-0 record over 10 appearances and 19.2 innings, posting a 0.46 ERA and 42 strikeouts. This was the peak for the promising young closer as a torn rotator cuff in August of 1967 ended his career.

Below are the updated running stats for the tournament.