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FuzzyRussianHat · 03-09-2025, 12:27 PM

The 2027 World Baseball Championship was the 81^st edition of the event and was hosted in Valencia, Spain. This was the first time the event was in Europe since 2005’s event in Naples, Italy. In Division 1, Kazakhstan claimed the top spot at 9-2, fending off 8-3 Australia. This was the fifth division title for the Kazakhs, who hadn’t done it since 2003.

Division 2 had a tie for the top spot at 9-2 between the United States and Malaysia, while England (8-3) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7-4) were in the mix. The Americans advanced on the tiebreaker, ending a two-year division title drought. The US now has gone to the elite eight or deeper in 61 editions of the WBC.

D3 was remarkably competitive with Spain (7-4) surviving for their second division win in three years and their 11^th overall. Six nations were one back at 6-5 (Denmark, Ireland, Niger, Scotland, Slovakia, Tanzania) with three others at 5-6 (Canada, China, Philippines).

Japan and Ukraine were even atop Division 4 at 9-2 with the head-to-head tiebreaker favoring the Japanese. Japan advanced for the 21^st time and ended their second-longest ever drought at seven years. Defending world champion Austria missed the cut at 6-5.

Last year’s runner-up and 2024’s world champion France claimed Division 5 at 9-2 with their nearest foes being 7-4 Afghanistan and Iran. The French now have 16 division titles overall. In D6, Bulgaria became a first-time division winner at 9-2, edging out 8-3 Venezuela. The Bulgarians became the 84^th unique nation to advance to the elite eight at some point. After a surprise fourth place the prior year, Hungary struggled to 3-8.

Vietnam and Pakistan tied for first in Division 7 at 9-2. The Vietnamese had the tiebreaker to earn back-to-back division titles and only their fourth overall. Vietnam and France would be the only teams from the 2026 elite eight to make it back in 2027. Argentina, Brazil, and Thailand were each next at 7-4. Lastly, Egypt (9-2) won D8 over Germany (8-3), Colombia (7-4), Peru (7-4), Russia (7-4), and Tajikistan (7-4). It was the fifth division title for the Egyptians, who last did it in 2014.

France led Round Robin Group A at 4-2, becoming the first team to earn three semifinal trips in four years since the US’s five straight from 2007-11. The Americans and Spain were both 3-3 and Japan was 2-4. The tiebreaker sent the Spanish forward for their fifth trip to the final four and second in three years.

Newcomer Bulgaria led the way in Group B at 5-1, advancing along with 4-2 Vietnam. Kazakhstan was close at 3-3 and Egypt struggled to 0-6. The Vietnamese and Bulgarians were both first time semifinalists, making it 52 different countries that have made it into the final four.

Both semifinal series went 3-2 with one newcomer and one familiar advancing. France outlasted Vietnam for a third finals trip in four years, a feat only previously done by the US, China, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. Bulgaria prevailed over Spain to become the 34^th nation to make it to the finals.

The 81^st World Championship was an all-time classic that needed all seven games for only the second time in 12 years. For only the third time in event history, game seven required extra innings. The previous ones were the 1995 final (Canada over China 1-0 in 11) and 2023 (Canada over the US 4-3 in 10). Not only did the 2027 final go extras, but it needed another game’s worth of innings plus one.

Game seven was the ultimate pitching duel and entered the bottom of the 19^th inning tied at 1-1. There, Bulgarian LF Dimitar Ivanov smacked a three-run home run to give Bulgaria the 4-1 win and a shocking upset over France. The 24-year old Ivanov was a second-year player in the European Second League with Cluj-Napoca, having taken third in Rookie of the Year voting the prior year.

Ivanov forever cemented his status as a national hero with one swing of the bat. He was perhaps an unlikely hero, since he set a bad all-time tournament record with 68 strikeouts over his 28 games. Despite his whiffs, he did lead all players for the event in hits (37), total bases (81), and RBI (28) while adding 11 home runs.

Although Ivanov had the decisive blow, it was LF Stanislav Iliev won Tournament MVP. He was another E2L player, although the 26-year old had won conference MVP honors the prior year with Stuttgart. In 29 starts, Iliev had 34 hits, 28 runs, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, 16 RBI, 26 walks, 1.100 OPS, and 2.4 WAR. Iliev’s 26 walks were tied for the second-most in WBC history, behind only Jaxson Bradley’s 28 from 1952.

For the fourth straight year (and the fifth time in six years), there was a first-time World Champion. There were also now ten different champions in ten years. Apart from the first-ever WBC, there had never been a nation that had earned both their first-ever playoff trip and first world title in the same year. Bulgaria became the 21^st country to win the championship and the 10^th from Europe. It was also four consecutive years with a European champ.

Best Pitcher went to Norway’s Inge Sverdup, a former E2L and EBF closer who was signed with MLB’s Hartford for 2027. The 30-year old righty had 13 no-hit innings over three appearances, striking out 22 with only one walk allowed. Sverdup had a no-hitter against neighboring Sweden on January 14, where had had 15 Ks and the one walk. His .025 opponent’s OPS was a new tournament record among qualifiers (13 IP minimum). Sverdup also became only the 13^th in event history to toss 13+ innings without a hit allowed.

Other notes: France’s Henri L’Ecuyer had 12 doubles, tying the WBC record set by Monty Mood (1994) and Jae-Min Hwang (2003). Australia’s Charlie Redfern had a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts and one walk against Mexico on January 18. He became the 11^th in event history to record a no-no with 19+ Ks. El Salvador’s Yassel Cortez hit for the cycle against Romania, becoming the 20^th player to achieve the feat.

Below is the all-time updated tournament standings:

03-09-2025, 12:27 PM	#2137
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,893	2027 World Baseball Championship The 2027 World Baseball Championship was the 81^st edition of the event and was hosted in Valencia, Spain. This was the first time the event was in Europe since 2005’s event in Naples, Italy. In Division 1, Kazakhstan claimed the top spot at 9-2, fending off 8-3 Australia. This was the fifth division title for the Kazakhs, who hadn’t done it since 2003. Division 2 had a tie for the top spot at 9-2 between the United States and Malaysia, while England (8-3) and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (7-4) were in the mix. The Americans advanced on the tiebreaker, ending a two-year division title drought. The US now has gone to the elite eight or deeper in 61 editions of the WBC. D3 was remarkably competitive with Spain (7-4) surviving for their second division win in three years and their 11^th overall. Six nations were one back at 6-5 (Denmark, Ireland, Niger, Scotland, Slovakia, Tanzania) with three others at 5-6 (Canada, China, Philippines). Japan and Ukraine were even atop Division 4 at 9-2 with the head-to-head tiebreaker favoring the Japanese. Japan advanced for the 21^st time and ended their second-longest ever drought at seven years. Defending world champion Austria missed the cut at 6-5. Last year’s runner-up and 2024’s world champion France claimed Division 5 at 9-2 with their nearest foes being 7-4 Afghanistan and Iran. The French now have 16 division titles overall. In D6, Bulgaria became a first-time division winner at 9-2, edging out 8-3 Venezuela. The Bulgarians became the 84^th unique nation to advance to the elite eight at some point. After a surprise fourth place the prior year, Hungary struggled to 3-8. Vietnam and Pakistan tied for first in Division 7 at 9-2. The Vietnamese had the tiebreaker to earn back-to-back division titles and only their fourth overall. Vietnam and France would be the only teams from the 2026 elite eight to make it back in 2027. Argentina, Brazil, and Thailand were each next at 7-4. Lastly, Egypt (9-2) won D8 over Germany (8-3), Colombia (7-4), Peru (7-4), Russia (7-4), and Tajikistan (7-4). It was the fifth division title for the Egyptians, who last did it in 2014. France led Round Robin Group A at 4-2, becoming the first team to earn three semifinal trips in four years since the US’s five straight from 2007-11. The Americans and Spain were both 3-3 and Japan was 2-4. The tiebreaker sent the Spanish forward for their fifth trip to the final four and second in three years. Newcomer Bulgaria led the way in Group B at 5-1, advancing along with 4-2 Vietnam. Kazakhstan was close at 3-3 and Egypt struggled to 0-6. The Vietnamese and Bulgarians were both first time semifinalists, making it 52 different countries that have made it into the final four. Both semifinal series went 3-2 with one newcomer and one familiar advancing. France outlasted Vietnam for a third finals trip in four years, a feat only previously done by the US, China, Brazil, Mexico, and Canada. Bulgaria prevailed over Spain to become the 34^th nation to make it to the finals. The 81^st World Championship was an all-time classic that needed all seven games for only the second time in 12 years. For only the third time in event history, game seven required extra innings. The previous ones were the 1995 final (Canada over China 1-0 in 11) and 2023 (Canada over the US 4-3 in 10). Not only did the 2027 final go extras, but it needed another game’s worth of innings plus one. Game seven was the ultimate pitching duel and entered the bottom of the 19^th inning tied at 1-1. There, Bulgarian LF Dimitar Ivanov smacked a three-run home run to give Bulgaria the 4-1 win and a shocking upset over France. The 24-year old Ivanov was a second-year player in the European Second League with Cluj-Napoca, having taken third in Rookie of the Year voting the prior year. Ivanov forever cemented his status as a national hero with one swing of the bat. He was perhaps an unlikely hero, since he set a bad all-time tournament record with 68 strikeouts over his 28 games. Despite his whiffs, he did lead all players for the event in hits (37), total bases (81), and RBI (28) while adding 11 home runs. Although Ivanov had the decisive blow, it was LF Stanislav Iliev won Tournament MVP. He was another E2L player, although the 26-year old had won conference MVP honors the prior year with Stuttgart. In 29 starts, Iliev had 34 hits, 28 runs, 8 doubles, 2 triples, 9 homers, 16 RBI, 26 walks, 1.100 OPS, and 2.4 WAR. Iliev’s 26 walks were tied for the second-most in WBC history, behind only Jaxson Bradley’s 28 from 1952. For the fourth straight year (and the fifth time in six years), there was a first-time World Champion. There were also now ten different champions in ten years. Apart from the first-ever WBC, there had never been a nation that had earned both their first-ever playoff trip and first world title in the same year. Bulgaria became the 21^st country to win the championship and the 10^th from Europe. It was also four consecutive years with a European champ. Best Pitcher went to Norway’s Inge Sverdup, a former E2L and EBF closer who was signed with MLB’s Hartford for 2027. The 30-year old righty had 13 no-hit innings over three appearances, striking out 22 with only one walk allowed. Sverdup had a no-hitter against neighboring Sweden on January 14, where had had 15 Ks and the one walk. His .025 opponent’s OPS was a new tournament record among qualifiers (13 IP minimum). Sverdup also became only the 13^th in event history to toss 13+ innings without a hit allowed. Other notes: France’s Henri L’Ecuyer had 12 doubles, tying the WBC record set by Monty Mood (1994) and Jae-Min Hwang (2003). Australia’s Charlie Redfern had a no-hitter with 19 strikeouts and one walk against Mexico on January 18. He became the 11^th in event history to record a no-no with 19+ Ks. El Salvador’s Yassel Cortez hit for the cycle against Romania, becoming the 20^th player to achieve the feat. Below is the all-time updated tournament standings: __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)