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FuzzyRussianHat · 03-27-2025, 06:13 PM

The 2028 Baseball Grand Championship was the 82^nd edition of the event and was hosted in Conakry, Guinea. In Division 1, Mexico (9-2) fended off 8-3 efforts by Italy and Zimbabwe and 7-4 runs for Australia and South Africa. The Mexicans advanced to the elite eight for the 34^th time, fourth most behind only the United States, Canada, and Brazil. This did end a six-year drought for Mexico.

D2 saw England prevail at 9-2 over 8-3 Canada and 7-4 tries by the Dominican Republic and Taiwan. The English got their 11^th division title and first since 2022. The US was fifth at 6-5, marking only the 21^st time that the Americans didn’t advance. The Philippines dominated Division 3 at 10-1 with only 8-3 China close by. The Filipinos earned their 16^th division title and first since 2021. Spain, last year’s fourth place finisher, was at 7-4.

Ukraine claimed Division 4 at 9-2, two games better than both Algeria and Japan. It was their second division win in four years and 14^th overall. After taking runner-up in back-to-back years, France missed the cut at 6-5. D5 had a three-way tie at 7-4 between India, Belgium, and Nigeria while four others were at 6-5. The tiebreaker sent the Indians ahead for the tenth time and the second time in four years. Bulgaria, who was a surprise world champ in 2027, finished at 5-6.

Poland prevailed in D6 at 9-2 over 8-3 Romania and 7-4 Pakistan, Haiti, and Vietnam. The Poles picked up their tenth division title and first since taking runner-up in 2022. D7 had a tie at 9-2 between Indonesia and Bolivia with the tiebreaker going to the former. The Indonesians advanced for the 26^th time and for the first time since 2024. Lastly, Portugal took D8 at 9-2 ahead of Egypt, Germany, Myanmar, and Uganda at 7-4. The only previous division title for the Portuguese was back in 1998.

The 2028 elite eight was completely different from the prior two years. Round Robin Group A had Mexico and India advance at 4-2, while both Ukraine and the Philippines were 2-4. It was the fifth semifinal trip for the Indians (first since 2025) and the 20^th for the Mexicans (first since 2020). Group B had Poland on top at 4-2 for their seventh trip to the semis and first since 2022. England and Indonesia tied at 3-3 and Portugal was 2-4. The tiebreaker favored the English for their seventh final four appearance and first since 2022.

In the semifinals, England eliminated India 3-1 and Poland topped Mexico 3-1. Officially, the Mexicans were third for the seventh time and the Indians were fourth for the third time. The English earned their fourth championship appearance, having won in 2013 and 2019 and lost in 2011. The Poles earned their fifth finals try, having won in 2018 and lost in 1959, 1964, and 2022. This also guaranteed a European world champ for the fifth straight year and was the third consecutive final between European teams.

From 2018-27, each year had a different champ. The 82^nd World Championship was guaranteed to break that streak. England routed Poland with the first sweep since 2020 to become three-time world champs. The English joined the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and China as the only nations with three titles. 11 countries have now been to the finale at least four times.

Tournament MVP was Canada’s Neil Hollinger despite only playing 11 games. The 26-year old LF was the defending American Association MVP with Oklahoma City. The Lloydminster, Alberta native had 17 hits, 18 runs, 4 doubles, 9 homers, 17 RBI, a .447/.560/1.316 slash, 1.876 OPS, and 2.1 WAR. Carrying on from the prior year, Hollinger also had a 20-game hitting streak, only the tenth player to have a 20+ streak in WBC history.

Best Pitcher was Romania’s Rafail Istrate, a 12-year EBF veteran starter signed with Brno for 2028. The 32-year old righty had four scoreless relief appearances with 13.1 innings, 3 saves, 27 strikeouts, 7 hits, and 1 walk.

Other notes: There were two no-hitters in the 2028 WBC, the first coming from Turkey’s Yuksel Yalcin on January 13 with 15 Ks and 1 walk against Belgium. Three days later, Russia’s Aleksey Faustus did it with 8 Ks and 1 BB facing Sudan. Below are the updated all-time tournament stats.

03-27-2025, 06:13 PM	#2174
FuzzyRussianHat Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2020 Posts: 2,964	2028 World Baseball Championship The 2028 Baseball Grand Championship was the 82^nd edition of the event and was hosted in Conakry, Guinea. In Division 1, Mexico (9-2) fended off 8-3 efforts by Italy and Zimbabwe and 7-4 runs for Australia and South Africa. The Mexicans advanced to the elite eight for the 34^th time, fourth most behind only the United States, Canada, and Brazil. This did end a six-year drought for Mexico. D2 saw England prevail at 9-2 over 8-3 Canada and 7-4 tries by the Dominican Republic and Taiwan. The English got their 11^th division title and first since 2022. The US was fifth at 6-5, marking only the 21^st time that the Americans didn’t advance. The Philippines dominated Division 3 at 10-1 with only 8-3 China close by. The Filipinos earned their 16^th division title and first since 2021. Spain, last year’s fourth place finisher, was at 7-4. Ukraine claimed Division 4 at 9-2, two games better than both Algeria and Japan. It was their second division win in four years and 14^th overall. After taking runner-up in back-to-back years, France missed the cut at 6-5. D5 had a three-way tie at 7-4 between India, Belgium, and Nigeria while four others were at 6-5. The tiebreaker sent the Indians ahead for the tenth time and the second time in four years. Bulgaria, who was a surprise world champ in 2027, finished at 5-6. Poland prevailed in D6 at 9-2 over 8-3 Romania and 7-4 Pakistan, Haiti, and Vietnam. The Poles picked up their tenth division title and first since taking runner-up in 2022. D7 had a tie at 9-2 between Indonesia and Bolivia with the tiebreaker going to the former. The Indonesians advanced for the 26^th time and for the first time since 2024. Lastly, Portugal took D8 at 9-2 ahead of Egypt, Germany, Myanmar, and Uganda at 7-4. The only previous division title for the Portuguese was back in 1998. The 2028 elite eight was completely different from the prior two years. Round Robin Group A had Mexico and India advance at 4-2, while both Ukraine and the Philippines were 2-4. It was the fifth semifinal trip for the Indians (first since 2025) and the 20^th for the Mexicans (first since 2020). Group B had Poland on top at 4-2 for their seventh trip to the semis and first since 2022. England and Indonesia tied at 3-3 and Portugal was 2-4. The tiebreaker favored the English for their seventh final four appearance and first since 2022. In the semifinals, England eliminated India 3-1 and Poland topped Mexico 3-1. Officially, the Mexicans were third for the seventh time and the Indians were fourth for the third time. The English earned their fourth championship appearance, having won in 2013 and 2019 and lost in 2011. The Poles earned their fifth finals try, having won in 2018 and lost in 1959, 1964, and 2022. This also guaranteed a European world champ for the fifth straight year and was the third consecutive final between European teams. From 2018-27, each year had a different champ. The 82^nd World Championship was guaranteed to break that streak. England routed Poland with the first sweep since 2020 to become three-time world champs. The English joined the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and China as the only nations with three titles. 11 countries have now been to the finale at least four times. Tournament MVP was Canada’s Neil Hollinger despite only playing 11 games. The 26-year old LF was the defending American Association MVP with Oklahoma City. The Lloydminster, Alberta native had 17 hits, 18 runs, 4 doubles, 9 homers, 17 RBI, a .447/.560/1.316 slash, 1.876 OPS, and 2.1 WAR. Carrying on from the prior year, Hollinger also had a 20-game hitting streak, only the tenth player to have a 20+ streak in WBC history. Best Pitcher was Romania’s Rafail Istrate, a 12-year EBF veteran starter signed with Brno for 2028. The 32-year old righty had four scoreless relief appearances with 13.1 innings, 3 saves, 27 strikeouts, 7 hits, and 1 walk. Other notes: There were two no-hitters in the 2028 WBC, the first coming from Turkey’s Yuksel Yalcin on January 13 with 15 Ks and 1 walk against Belgium. Three days later, Russia’s Aleksey Faustus did it with 8 Ks and 1 BB facing Sudan. Below are the updated all-time tournament stats. __________________ Baseball: The World's Game fictional world reports Continental Baseball Federation world reports (8-tier promotion/relegation sim and college feeder)