[FuzzyRussianHat]

The 1983 World Baseball Championship was the 37^th edition of the event and returned to Mexico for the first time since 1967, this time with Tijuana as the primary host city. In Division 1, the Netherlands earned it’s fourth-ever division title and second in three years. The Dutch took it narrowly at 7-2, edging out both Colombia and France by one game. The defending world champion United States cruised in Division 2 at 9-0 with only 7-2 Paraguay showing much competition. The perennial powerhouse American team has been in the elite eight 33 times. Division 3 had a tie between Germany and China at 8-1, but the Germans advanced having won the head-to-head. This was the sixth division title for the Germans, although they hadn’t done it since 1961. It was also a rare back-to-back miss for the Chinese.

Italy rolled to the Division 4 title at 8-1 for their eighth division title and first since 1979. South Korea clobbered the completion with an unbeaten 9-0 in D5 for their 13^th division title and second in three years. Last year’s runner-up Australia was a non-factor at 5-4. In Division 6, Ukraine won at 7-2, edging 6-3 efforts by Mexico and Russia. It is the third division title for the Ukrainians and first since 1960. D7 had the Philippines and Canada tie for first at 7-2 with Romania at 6-3. The tiebreaker went to the Filipinos for their tenth division title. And in D8, Brazil prevailed at 7-2, topping both Cuba and Northern Ireland by one game. For the Brazilians, it is their 19^th time advancing to the Elite Eight.

In Double Round Robin Group A, Germany took first place at 4-2 to earn their third-ever final four appearance with the other two being 1959 and 1955. Ukraine and the United States were both 3-3 and the Netherlands was 2-4. The tiebreaker ousted the defending champion Americans, marking only the third time they had gotten to the elite eight without later getting to the final four. It was Ukraine’s second-ever semifinal trip, joining their 1958 runner-up season. In Group B, South Korea and the Philippines rolled with both going 5-1, while Italy and Brazil were 1-5. It marks the tenth semifinal berth for the Koreans and the seventh for the Filipinos.

Both semifinal series went all five games. Germany edged South Korea to earn their first-ever finals trip. Ukraine topped the Philippines to earn their second finals berth, joining the 1958 campaign. SK officially was third over the Filipinos due to the better round one record. It is the third time the Koreans have finished third and the sixth time the Philippines had been fourth.



The 37^th World Championship was the first to feature two European teams. It was also a surprising result for many considering neither Germany nor Ukraine had gotten to the elite eight in more than 20 years. The Germans would dominate the finale4-1 to earn their first-ever title, becoming the third European champ (Russia in 1956, Czechia in 1980). Leading the way was tournament MVP Bernd “Noodle” Sprenger, a 23-year old emerging star at shortstop for Belfast. In 25 games, Sprenger had 33 hits, 20 runs, 15 home runs, 28 RBI, and 2.0 WAR. Best Pitcher went to Vhon Lasam of the Philippines, the two-time Pitcher of the Year with Zamboanga. The 28-year old lefty pitched 16 scoreless innings with 24 strikeouts and four hits allowed.



Other notes: American Dorian Ferrer had an impressive 20 strikeout no-hitter with one walk against Mali. In the overall standings, South Korea’s third place allowed them to jump back into the fourth place spot overall ahead of Brazil.