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FuzzyRussianHat · 09-10-2024, 06:53 AM

The 67^th World Baseball Championship was hosted in Nanning, China. Division 1 saw Guatemala emerge from a very competitive field at 7-2, finishing one game ahead of last year’s runner-up Italy, the DR Congo, and Taiwan. This was the fifth division title for the Guatemalans, who last did it with a fourth place overall finish in 2009.

England and the United States tied at 7-2 in Division 2, while Sweden was 6-3. The English had the head-to-head win to advance for the eighth time. This was only the third time in WBC history that the Americans missed the Round Robin in back-to-back WBCs, joining 1986-87 and 1969-70.

Myanmar secured D3 at 7-2, edging host China and Spain at 6-3. This was the second-ever division title for Myanmar, who took fourth in 2001. The defending world champion Romania struggled to 3-6 in D3. Ethiopia went 8-1 atop Division 4 with both Afghanistan and Kazakhstan their closest foes at 6-3. It was the third division title for the Ethiopians, who most recently had finished fourth in 2008.

Division 5 had a three-way tie for first at 7-2 between Canada, India, and Australia. The Canadians took the tiebreaker, advancing for the 37^th time and the first time since 2010. D6 went to 8-1 Ukraine with their nearest foe being 6-3 Czechia. That gives the Ukrainians nine division titles with their last coming in 2007.

All ten teams were within two games of first in Division 7. Scotland prevailed at 6-3, followed by Malaysia, Nigeria, and Slovakia at 5-4, then everyone else at 4-5. The Scots grabbed their fourth division title, ending a drought dating back to 1977.

In Division 8, Poland tied with Russia at 7-2, followed by Iran at 6-3. The Poles had the tiebreaker for their sixth division title; their first in 44 years going back to 1969. No teams were unbeaten in divisional play in 2013 and eight different teams advanced compared to 2012. The last four years had seen significant parity with the 32 division titles claimed by 27 different nations.

England took first in Double Round Robin Group A at 4-2. Ethiopia and Canada were 3-3, while Scotland was 2-4. The Ethiopians had the tiebreaker to advance to their second-ever semifinal, joining the fourth place from 2008. The English moved to the semifinal for the fourth time (1963, 1975, 2011, 2013).

Group B was dominated by Ukraine at 5-1. The Ukrainians earned a third trip to the final four, having taken runner-up in both 1958 and 1983. Guatemala advanced as well at 3-3, topping 2-4 efforts by Myanmar and Poland. This was the third semifinal for the Guatemalans, who took third in 1968 and fourth in 2009.

England cruised to a semifinal sweep of Guatemala, while Ukraine outlasted Ethiopia 3-2. The Ethiopians officially took third, their highest-ever finish. The 67^th World Championship was guaranteed to crown the 14^th unique nation as champ. Both countries had been there before with the English losing two years prior to the United States and Ukraine losing to the US in 1958 and to Germany in 1983. It was also back-to-back finals between two European nations and the third all-Europe final.

For the first time since 2002, the finale needed all seven games. England edged Ukraine for the title, led by Tournament MVP Harvey Coyle. The 25-year old shortstop had won four straight EBF Northern Conference MVPs with Oslo. In 25 games, Coyle had 33 hits, 20 runs, 4 doubles, 14 home runs, 30 RBI, a .333/.383/.798 slash, and 2.0 WAR.

England also had the Best Pitcher winner in Leo Bhagwan, a 24-year old closer in the Second League with Liverpool. He had 13 appearances with a 0.76 ERA over 23.2 innings, 5-1 record, 7 saves, 11 shutdowns, 47 strikeouts, and 9 hits allowed for a 502 ERA+ and 1.5 WAR.

With the loss, Ukraine joins Italy at 0-3 in their finals appearances; the most defeats by a nation without a world title. Their top performer was LF Anatoliy Kucherenko, twice a Second League MVP with Odessa. In 27 starts, he had 25 hits, 23 runs, 13 home runs, 21 RBI, and 14 stolen bases.

Other notes: Japan’s Heihachiro Okasawa struck out 22 over 8.1 innings against Kazakhstan. It was the 12^th time in WBC history that a pitcher had 22+ Ks in a game and the third time it had happened in fewer than nine innings. Greece’s Stefanos Emmanoulidis became the 15^th player to hit for the cycle in the WBC, doing it against Peru.

09-10-2024, 06:53 AM	#1599
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,807	2013 World Baseball Championship The 67^th World Baseball Championship was hosted in Nanning, China. Division 1 saw Guatemala emerge from a very competitive field at 7-2, finishing one game ahead of last year’s runner-up Italy, the DR Congo, and Taiwan. This was the fifth division title for the Guatemalans, who last did it with a fourth place overall finish in 2009. England and the United States tied at 7-2 in Division 2, while Sweden was 6-3. The English had the head-to-head win to advance for the eighth time. This was only the third time in WBC history that the Americans missed the Round Robin in back-to-back WBCs, joining 1986-87 and 1969-70. Myanmar secured D3 at 7-2, edging host China and Spain at 6-3. This was the second-ever division title for Myanmar, who took fourth in 2001. The defending world champion Romania struggled to 3-6 in D3. Ethiopia went 8-1 atop Division 4 with both Afghanistan and Kazakhstan their closest foes at 6-3. It was the third division title for the Ethiopians, who most recently had finished fourth in 2008. Division 5 had a three-way tie for first at 7-2 between Canada, India, and Australia. The Canadians took the tiebreaker, advancing for the 37^th time and the first time since 2010. D6 went to 8-1 Ukraine with their nearest foe being 6-3 Czechia. That gives the Ukrainians nine division titles with their last coming in 2007. All ten teams were within two games of first in Division 7. Scotland prevailed at 6-3, followed by Malaysia, Nigeria, and Slovakia at 5-4, then everyone else at 4-5. The Scots grabbed their fourth division title, ending a drought dating back to 1977. In Division 8, Poland tied with Russia at 7-2, followed by Iran at 6-3. The Poles had the tiebreaker for their sixth division title; their first in 44 years going back to 1969. No teams were unbeaten in divisional play in 2013 and eight different teams advanced compared to 2012. The last four years had seen significant parity with the 32 division titles claimed by 27 different nations. England took first in Double Round Robin Group A at 4-2. Ethiopia and Canada were 3-3, while Scotland was 2-4. The Ethiopians had the tiebreaker to advance to their second-ever semifinal, joining the fourth place from 2008. The English moved to the semifinal for the fourth time (1963, 1975, 2011, 2013). Group B was dominated by Ukraine at 5-1. The Ukrainians earned a third trip to the final four, having taken runner-up in both 1958 and 1983. Guatemala advanced as well at 3-3, topping 2-4 efforts by Myanmar and Poland. This was the third semifinal for the Guatemalans, who took third in 1968 and fourth in 2009. England cruised to a semifinal sweep of Guatemala, while Ukraine outlasted Ethiopia 3-2. The Ethiopians officially took third, their highest-ever finish. The 67^th World Championship was guaranteed to crown the 14^th unique nation as champ. Both countries had been there before with the English losing two years prior to the United States and Ukraine losing to the US in 1958 and to Germany in 1983. It was also back-to-back finals between two European nations and the third all-Europe final. For the first time since 2002, the finale needed all seven games. England edged Ukraine for the title, led by Tournament MVP Harvey Coyle. The 25-year old shortstop had won four straight EBF Northern Conference MVPs with Oslo. In 25 games, Coyle had 33 hits, 20 runs, 4 doubles, 14 home runs, 30 RBI, a .333/.383/.798 slash, and 2.0 WAR. England also had the Best Pitcher winner in Leo Bhagwan, a 24-year old closer in the Second League with Liverpool. He had 13 appearances with a 0.76 ERA over 23.2 innings, 5-1 record, 7 saves, 11 shutdowns, 47 strikeouts, and 9 hits allowed for a 502 ERA+ and 1.5 WAR. With the loss, Ukraine joins Italy at 0-3 in their finals appearances; the most defeats by a nation without a world title. Their top performer was LF Anatoliy Kucherenko, twice a Second League MVP with Odessa. In 27 starts, he had 25 hits, 23 runs, 13 home runs, 21 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. Other notes: Japan’s Heihachiro Okasawa struck out 22 over 8.1 innings against Kazakhstan. It was the 12^th time in WBC history that a pitcher had 22+ Ks in a game and the third time it had happened in fewer than nine innings. Greece’s Stefanos Emmanoulidis became the 15^th player to hit for the cycle in the WBC, doing it against Peru. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)