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FuzzyRussianHat · 03-02-2025, 11:24 AM

The 2026 Baseball Grand Championship was hosted by Buenos Aires, Argentina and was the 17^th edition of the event. The host city happened to be a participant with the Atlantics and Barranquilla representing BSA. The other auto-bids were MLB’s San Diego and Cincinnati, CABA’s Mexico City and Bahamas, EAB’s Incheon and Sapporo, EBF’s Rotterdam and Munich, EPB’s St. Petersburg, OBA’s Port Moresby, APB’s Cebu, CLB’s Tianjin, WAB’s Cotonou, SAB’s Mandalay, ABF’s Hyderabad, ALB’s Algiers, and AAB’s Bujumbura. OBA runner-up Christchurch earned the at-large spot.

San Diego was a wild card team that had gotten hot en route to a World Series win. The Seals kept that momentum going to win the Grand Championship outright at 15-4. SD was the first MLB team to take it since New Orleans in 2021 and was the seventh American team to take the top spot.

It was a truly dominant performance, as the Seals led all teams in runs scored (105) and fewest allowed (50). Only two other teams had achieved that prior with Philadelphia in 2012 and Antwerp in 2015. Incidentally, neither of those teams won the title with the Phillies officially third after a five-way tie for the top spot and the Airedales in third outright. Philadelphia’s +60 was the only run differential in BGC history better than San Diego’s +55 in 2026.

Mexico City was alone in second at 13-6, which was the third-time a CABA team had been in the top two (Juarez won in 2017, Guatemala was second in 2023). There was then a mess with six teams tied at 12-7. Officially after tiebreakers sorted it out, the order was Munich third, Rotterdam fourth, Barranquilla fifth, Cincinnati sixth, Mandalay seventh, and Port Moresby eighth.

Buenos Aires and St. Petersburg were both 11-8 and Bahamas was 10-9 to round off the winning teams. Next in line was Cotonou at 9-10, Bujumbura at 8-11, and Cebu at 7-12. Five teams finished 6-13; Algiers, Christchurch, Hyderabad, Sapporo, and Tianjin. Incheon was alone in the last place slot at 4-15.

Tournament MVP went to RF Talgat Nurgaliev, the reigning European League MVP with St. Petersburg. The 32-year old Tajik had 18 hits, 17 runs, 12 homers, 18 RBI, 1.112 OPS, and 1.6 WAR. Also worth a mention was Mandalay’s Alexander Thongsuk, who had the second-most hits in event history at 30. Thongsuk (2.15 WAR) and Mexico City’s Franklin Madrid (2.10 WAR) became the 13^th and 14^th position players to record 2+ WAR in the Baseball Grand Championship.

Best Pitcher was Rotterdam’s Pasquale Barola in his second year with the Ravens. The 29-year old Italian lefty nicknamed “The Hammer” had a 1.07 ERA over his four starts with a 4-0 record, 33.2 innings, and 41 strikeouts. One of his starts was a two-hit shutout against Mandalay with 12 strikeouts.

Other notes: Buenos Aires’ Adrian Jimenez had the 10^th no-hitter in Baseball Grand Championship history with 10 Ks and four walks facing Cebu on November 17. Cincinnati’s Don Jolves became the 6^th in BGC history to have a five-hit game, going 5-5 against Bujumbura.

03-02-2025, 11:24 AM	#2117
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,806	2026 Baseball Grand Championship The 2026 Baseball Grand Championship was hosted by Buenos Aires, Argentina and was the 17^th edition of the event. The host city happened to be a participant with the Atlantics and Barranquilla representing BSA. The other auto-bids were MLB’s San Diego and Cincinnati, CABA’s Mexico City and Bahamas, EAB’s Incheon and Sapporo, EBF’s Rotterdam and Munich, EPB’s St. Petersburg, OBA’s Port Moresby, APB’s Cebu, CLB’s Tianjin, WAB’s Cotonou, SAB’s Mandalay, ABF’s Hyderabad, ALB’s Algiers, and AAB’s Bujumbura. OBA runner-up Christchurch earned the at-large spot. San Diego was a wild card team that had gotten hot en route to a World Series win. The Seals kept that momentum going to win the Grand Championship outright at 15-4. SD was the first MLB team to take it since New Orleans in 2021 and was the seventh American team to take the top spot. It was a truly dominant performance, as the Seals led all teams in runs scored (105) and fewest allowed (50). Only two other teams had achieved that prior with Philadelphia in 2012 and Antwerp in 2015. Incidentally, neither of those teams won the title with the Phillies officially third after a five-way tie for the top spot and the Airedales in third outright. Philadelphia’s +60 was the only run differential in BGC history better than San Diego’s +55 in 2026. Mexico City was alone in second at 13-6, which was the third-time a CABA team had been in the top two (Juarez won in 2017, Guatemala was second in 2023). There was then a mess with six teams tied at 12-7. Officially after tiebreakers sorted it out, the order was Munich third, Rotterdam fourth, Barranquilla fifth, Cincinnati sixth, Mandalay seventh, and Port Moresby eighth. Buenos Aires and St. Petersburg were both 11-8 and Bahamas was 10-9 to round off the winning teams. Next in line was Cotonou at 9-10, Bujumbura at 8-11, and Cebu at 7-12. Five teams finished 6-13; Algiers, Christchurch, Hyderabad, Sapporo, and Tianjin. Incheon was alone in the last place slot at 4-15. Tournament MVP went to RF Talgat Nurgaliev, the reigning European League MVP with St. Petersburg. The 32-year old Tajik had 18 hits, 17 runs, 12 homers, 18 RBI, 1.112 OPS, and 1.6 WAR. Also worth a mention was Mandalay’s Alexander Thongsuk, who had the second-most hits in event history at 30. Thongsuk (2.15 WAR) and Mexico City’s Franklin Madrid (2.10 WAR) became the 13^th and 14^th position players to record 2+ WAR in the Baseball Grand Championship. Best Pitcher was Rotterdam’s Pasquale Barola in his second year with the Ravens. The 29-year old Italian lefty nicknamed “The Hammer” had a 1.07 ERA over his four starts with a 4-0 record, 33.2 innings, and 41 strikeouts. One of his starts was a two-hit shutout against Mandalay with 12 strikeouts. Other notes: Buenos Aires’ Adrian Jimenez had the 10^th no-hitter in Baseball Grand Championship history with 10 Ks and four walks facing Cebu on November 17. Cincinnati’s Don Jolves became the 6^th in BGC history to have a five-hit game, going 5-5 against Bujumbura. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)