World Baseball League and the Baseball World Cup

[Jakeydude18]

World Baseball Classic
Welcome to the World Baseball Classic! No, not the World Baseball Classic of 2017, but the series! This is my save starting in the year 2017 that has a whopping 70 teams! From all corners of the world from the mighty USA to the Far East and everywhere in between! This league not only contains the best teams from around the world, but also the best baseball nations.

The World Baseball League is comprised of teams from 70 countries’ capitols places into divisions of 5. There are two Leagues of 7 divisions each (Africa America and Eurasia Leagues)
• Africa America
1. North America
a. Ottawa Senators
b. San Juan Bulldogs
c. Havana Hellfighters
d. Mexico City Twisters
e. Washington Huskies

2. South America
a. Lima Red Lions
b. Santiago Riversnakes
c. Buenos Aires Bluebirds
d. Brasilia Bison
e. Asuncion Alligator

3. Central America
a. San Jose Sharks
b. San Salvador Silver Snakes
c. Tegucigalpa Ticos
d. Panama City Pythons
e. Belmopan Beavers

4. Western Africa
a. Nouakchott Knights
b. Yamoussoukro Yellowjackets
c. Accra Pigs
d. Rabat Rabbits
e. Bamako Bison

5. Northern Africa
a. Addis Ababa Alligators
b. N’Djamena Knights
c. Algiers Algerians
d. Tripoli Black Tigers
e. Cairo Black Kats

6. Central Africa
a. Yaounde Yellowjackets
b. Nairobi Nighthawks
c. Kigali Kangaroos
d. Lusaka Green Lions
e. Dodoma Doves

7. Southern Africa
a. Luanda Lions
b. Cape Town Black Cats
c. Maputo Moneys
d. Gaborone Gators
e. Windhoek Green Wave


• Eurasia
1. British Isles
a. Belfast Bears
b. Edinburgh Elephants
c. Dublin Dolphins
d. London Lions
e. Cardiff Cats

2. Western Europe
a. Madrid Monarchs
b. Brussels Bison
c. Amsterdam Admirals
d. Paris Penguins
e. Lisbon Leopards

3. Southern Europe
a. Zagreb Zebras
b. Athens Hens
c. Belgrade Cutters
d. Rome Romans
e. Sofia Snakes

4. Northern Europe
a. Berlin Black Knights
b. Oslo Cardinals
c. Warsaw War Pigs
d. Copenagen Copperheads
e. Helsinki Fishermen

5. Eastern Europe
a. Moscow Minutemen
b. Chisinau Kats
c. Minsk Mustangs (my team)
d. Tallinn Tigers
e. Kiev Knights

6. Western Asia
a. Riyadh Rattlesnakes
b. Kabul Red Knights
c. Baghdad Braves
d. New Dehli Nighthawks
e. Tehran Tide

7. Eastern Asia
a. Seoul Snakes
b. Pyoungyang Cavaliers
c. Beijing Braves
d. Tokyo Tamarins
e. Canberra River Snakes

The season starts February 1st and runs until November 23rd, for a total of 272 games! There is no interleague so teams will play each team in their respective 8 times in series of 4. The division winner plus the best wildcard team make the postseason. Each playoff series is a best-of-3. Will I be able to lead the Minsk Mustangs to World Domination? Tune in next time to find out!

[Jakeydude18]

In this world there are two international competitions: The Baseball World Cup (FIFA World Cup like tournament) with the top 32 nations competes every four years to be crowned the best nation in the world. The top 32 nations are split into 8 groups of four and play each other 4 times for a total of 12 teams in the Group Stages. The top 2 in each group move onto the knockout stages where each series is a best-of-3 until we determine a Baseball World Cup Champion! You may be thinking to yourself “The WBL is from February to November, when does the Baseball World Cup take place?” Well, it takes place DURING the WBL REGULAR SEASON! The Baseball World Cup starts Monday, September 1st, 2017! The rosters won’t be named until five days before the competition begins so minimize the amount of that players are away from their respective clubs. I will be taking over the Scottish national team in hopes of bringing glory to the mighty Scots!

The other international competition is the Intercontinental Baseball Cup, a less reputable month and a half long tournament that takes place annually in June and involves that top 64 nations in the world. They are split into 4 groups of 16. They place each team in their respective group twice for a total of 30 games. The top 8 in each group move onto the second round which is a double round robin. From there the top two in each of those groups (16 total) make it into the playoffs to determine that years international competition!

[T27]

Can you please make a QuickStart of this looks well done thanks

[Jakeydude18]

Minsk Mustangs Overview:

After the draft and spring training the Mustangs arenÂ’t predicted to pull any strings this year in the Eurasia Eastern European Division. Being predicted dead last in the division with a 125-140 record and 14 games behind the division winner Chisinau Kats (139-125).

Our starting lineup is as follows
CF Billy OÂ’Doherty (57 Contact/ 61 Gap Power/ 45 Power/ 51 Eye/ 51 Avoid KÂ’s)
LF Hasheem bin Dharr (76/80/13/50/98)
3B Suljo Prpos (68/77/78/69/65)
SS Josh Hughes (58/81/72/66/59)
RF Taha Hatungimana (54/64/72/71/48)
2B Riyadh bin Halim (51/87/65/55/51)
1B Vsevolod Galkovich (48/57/66/59/61)
C Azeem bin Mansur (42/51/44/57/52)
P


Our rotation looks as follows
RHP Sariyah Ishaq (93 Stuff/ 73 Movement/ 69 Control)
RHP Pang Da (72/65/64)
RHP Yasha Bagishaev (65/69/67)
LHP Faiq Labib (54/57/53)
RHP Mezian Suja (51/64/54


I am very happy with our starting and relief pitchers as we have the 3rd and 5th best pitchers, respectively. Our infield is pretty decent as well with us having the 5th best 3B and 12th best SS. Our first basement leaves litter to be desired however and so does our outfield, all ranking 49th or worse out of 70 total teams. I will be looking at the waiver wire intently for a nice steal during the season.

Owner Goals:
Achieve a wining record and Build team to reach playoffs in five seasons
Budget $178M (t-26th)
Player Payroll $156.9M (21st)
No money for free agents
$56M for Extensions
Team Focus is Neutral
Market Size is 8 (Big)
Fan Loyalty is 9 (Very Good)
Fan Interest is 6 (59)
Ticket Price is $28.50
Season Ticket Holders 13,425 (48,900 seat stadium)

ItÂ’s time for the first two months of baseball! See you on April 1st!

[Jakeydude18]

Originally Posted by T27

Can you please make a QuickStart of this looks well done thanks

I'll make a QuickStart Starting on February 1st. I apologize I didn't think to do it before the inaugural draft

[Jakeydude18]

Sunday, April 2nd, 2017 – Right off the bat we did not have a good start. Behind the leaders by 7 games at some points I kept sinking my head further and further into my shirt with each passing loss. Our starting pitcher Yasha Bagishaev when down with bone chips in his elbow. He will need surgery for that and will miss 7-8 months. Effectively out for the entire season. He was picked in the fifth round, 291st overall and he will be missed. Our pitching hasn’t been the same since his injury. Our starters are sporting a 5.30 ERA good for 33rd best in the Eurasia League. Our relievers aren’t much better (4.64 ERA) good for 29th best in the Eurasia League. Usually good defense can help bad pitching, but we have the second worse defensive efficiency in the league at .655%. Unless we can get our pitching sorted out, I will be looking at a long and disappointing season. I’m secretly hoping the Intercontinental Baseball Cup in June can pick out the players in the better teams and give us a chance for a month to get back into the playoff race (remember only the division winners plus one wildcard get in the playoffs). I really shouldn’t be looking to deep into it since we’ve only played 56 of 272 (1/5th of the season), being only 5 games back being Moscow I should really stay positive.

Now, onto the goods about the team. We are second in HR with 76 and 5th in Runs Scored with 275. Prpos, bin Dharr, and Hatungimana all have 12 HRs while Gaikovich has 13. He’s tied for 34th in the Eurasian League.
The best team in the world right now is the Washington Huskies with a very good 38-17 record. They are 5.5 games ahead of second place Mexico City Twisters. Tokyo Tamarins and Nouakchott Knights are next best at 37-19. The worst teams in the world are the Canberra River Sharks and Chisinau Kats. To be fair, our entire division isn’t much better. Here are the Eastern European Division Standings:
Moscow 29-27
Tallinn 25-27 2GB
Kiev 24-32 5GB
Minsk 24-32 5GB
Chisinau 17-25 10GB

If we can get our pitching a little better sorted out and better our defense, I don’t see why we couldn’t be in second by the next update, which would be around June 1st.

[Jakeydude18]

Monday, June 5th, 2017 – It’s time for the Intercontinental Baseball Cup and, as expected; many players left their major league clubs for the midseason classic. We lost 19 of our 35 active roster platers. Riyadh Bin Halim is the only major player of note who did not leave for the IBC as his Algeria is not in the tournament. In 104 games, he’s batting .239 with 87 hits and 17 HRs. His stat line reads .239/.319/.758. Josh Hughes is our teams batting leader at .317. Our runs scored rank as dropped significantly to tied for 18th with 501 runs in 111 games (4.51 Runs per Game). The HR Rank is still solid at 3rd with 135 HRs. Pitching continues to be poor but I won’t make any changes until after the IBC is concluded. We’re sporting a 5.01 ERA for starters and a 4.71 ERA for relievers, good for 32nd and 34th respectively. Suljo Prpos is leading the team in HRs with 26 and Sariyah Ishaq leads the team in ERA, Wins, and Strikeouts with a 3.69 ERA, 11 Wins (11-9, 23 GS), and 147 Strikeouts (38 Walks).

Here’s the reason why I am so happy that the tournament has fallen where it has:
Tallinn 53-58
Moscow 54-61 1GB
Kiev 50-61 3GB
Chisinau 50-61 3GB
Minsk 49-62 4GB

This is the closest division in the world at the moment. And the division leaders are 5 games under .500!!! The playoffs are still not out of the picture and even if we do get into the playoffs and spanked in the first round. The TV and prize money and reputation increase with help us tenfold for next season. There still is hope for the remainder of the season with about 160 games left! Our division is wide open and it’s there for the taking!

By contrast the best team in the world’s division (Washington Huskies) looks like this:
Washington 72-42
Mexico City 61-51 10GB
Havana 56-52 13GB
San Juan 52-59 18.5GB
Ottawa 50-61 20.5GB

Meanwhile the worst team in the world’s division (San Salvador Silver Snakes) looks like this:
San Jose 56-54
Belmopan 52-59 4.5GB
Panama City 52-63 6.5GB
Tegucigalpa 49-62 7.5GB
San Salvador 40-71 16.5GB

When the Intercontiental Baseball Cup is concluded I will look at what these three divisions look like and compare them to see if the IBC plays a significant role in the World Baseball League regular season.

The next update or two will be of the IBC then I will rejoin you with the Minsk Mustangs after the IBC is concluded.

[Jakeydude18]

Sunday, June 11th, 2017 – The IBC has started! Here are the standings early on! Remember, there are 4 groups of 16 and they play each team twice for 30 games. Most teams have only played five or so games but it’s a good idea to see where your nation or the nation you are rooting for is.

Note: There are 70 teams in the World Baseball League (each a capital city from a nation), so in general, the 64 used teams will be picked from the 70 nations that have teams in the WBL. The player origins for the WBL are derived from the nations of the teams used.

Division 1
1. Iraq 4-1
2. Puerto Rico 4-1
3. Belgium 4-1
4. Chile 3-1
5. Namibia 3-2
6. Kenya 3-2
7. Denmark 3-2
8. Egypt 3-2
9. Norway 2-3
10. Ghana 2-3
11. Brazil 2-3
12. El Salvador 2-3
13. Zambia 1-3
14. Ivory Coast 1-4
15. Italy 1-4
16. Mauritania 1-4

Division 2
1. Rwanda 4-0
2. Finland 4-1
3. Botswana 3-1
4. Germany 3-1
5. Croatia 3-1
6. Tanzania 3-2
7. Zimbabwe 3-2
8. USA 3-2
9. Scotland 2-3
10. Ethiopia 2-3
11. Serbia 2-3
12. Belize 1-3
13. Cuba 1-3
14. Libya 1-3
15. Bulgaria 1-4
16. Ireland 0-4

Division 3
1. Canada 4-1
2. Greece 4-1
3. North Korea 4-1
4. Australia 3-1
5. Belarus 3-2
6. China 3-2
7. India 3-2
8. Peru 3-2
9. South Africa 3-2
10. Iran 2-2
11. Estonia 2-3
12. The Netherlands 1-4
13. Portugal 1-4
14. South Korea 1-4
15. Poland 1-4
16. Argentina 1-4

Division 4
1. Paraguay 4-1
2. Honduras 4-1
3. Mozambique 4-1
4. Chad 401
5. Afghanistan 3-1
6. England 3-2
7. Mali 3-2
8. Ukraine 3-2
9. Spain 3-2
10. Mexico 2-2
11. Costa Rica 2-3
12. N. Ireland 1-3
13. Russia 1-4
14. Japan 1-4
15. Saudi Arabia 0-5
16. Panama 0-5

[Jakeydude18]

Sunday, June 17th, 2017- 11 games now played in the IBC. How is your team doing?

Division 1
1. Belgium 9-2 -- +2 positions
2. Puerto Rico 9-2 -- 0
3. Denmark 8-3 1GB +4
4. Iraq 7-4 2GB -3
5. Egypt 7-4 2GB +3
6. Norway 6-5 3GB +3
7. Namibia 6-5 3GB -2
8. Chile 5-6 4GB -4
9. Ghana 5-6 4GB +1
10. Kenya 5-6 4GB -4
11. Brazil 5-6 4GB 0
12. El Salvador 4-7 5GB 0
13. Italy 4-7 5GB +2
14. Ivory Coast 3-8 6GB 0
15. Zambia 3-8 6GB -2
16. Mauritania 2-9 7GB 0

Division 2
1. Finland 9-2 -- +1
2. Botswana 8-3 1GB +1
3. Belize 8-3 1GB +9
4. Croatia 8-3 1GB +1
5. Serbia 7-4 2GB +6
6. Tanzania 6-5 3GB 0
7. Zimbabwe 6-5 3GB 0
8. Scotland 5-6 4GB +1
9. Libya 5-6 4GB +4
10. Germany 5-6 4GB -6
11. Rwanda 4-7 5GB -10
12. USA 4-7 5GB -4
13. Ireland 4-7 5GB +3
14. Bulgaria 3-8 6GB +1
15. Cuba 3-8 6GB -2
16. Ethiopia 3-8 6GB -6

Division 3
1. Belarus 8-3 -- +4
2. Peru 7-4 1GB +6
3. Iran 7-4 1GB +7
4. India 7-4 1GB +3
5. South Africa 7-4 1GB +4
6. China 7-4 1GB 0
7. North Korea 7-4 1GB -4
8. Greece 7-4 1GB -6
9. Estonia 6-5 2GB +2
10. Australia 6-5 2GB -6
11. Canada 5-6 3GB -10
12. Portugal 4-7 4GB +1
13. South Korea 3-8 5GB +1
14. Argentina 3-8 5GB +2
15. Poland 2-9 6GB 0
16. The Netherlands 2-9 6GB -4

Division 4
1. Mozambique 8-3 -- +2
2. Chad 8-3 -- +2
3. Mali 8-3 -- +1
4. Afghanistan 7-4 1GB +1
5. Spain 7-4 1GB +4
6. Honduras 7-4 1GB -4
7. Paraguay 6-5 2GB -6
8. N. Ireland 6-5 2GB +4
9. Costa Rica 5-6 3GB +2
10. England 5-6 3GB -4
11. Ukraine 5-6 3GB -3
12. Japan 5-6 3GB +2
13. Russia 4-7 4GB 0
14. Saudi Arabia 3-8 5GB +1
15. Panama 2-9 6GB +1
16. Mexico 2-9 6GB -6


The next update will be in two weeks time as we approach the end of the first round of the Intercontinental Baseball Cup!

[Jakeydude18]

I tried making the standings more in line with each other. It will be corrected in the next update

[Sizeman21]

Liking this so far!

[T27]

Man I underestimated division 4 in the Ibc that's going to be close.
The us is underachiving in their group I'm going to try beat there record when you make the QuickStart available

[Jakeydude18]

Originally Posted by T27

Man I underestimated division 4 in the Ibc that's going to be close.
The us is underachiving in their group I'm going to try beat there record when you make the QuickStart available

Yea Division 4 is going to do down to the last game! It will be interesting to see who is able to get through in the last few spots in Division 4, and how far they'll go.

The US I don't think is underachieving, rather, right on par with what is expected of them. I didn't go through lineups or predictions as the Baseball World Cup takes place this year (I will be managing Scotland). But the USA has a relatively poor team. 6 of the USA's position rankings rank 52nd or worse. Hopefully they will be able to sneak into the next round however and go far!

[Jakeydude18]

Sunday, June 2nd, 2017- With around 6 games left in the first round, here are the standings!

Division 1
1. Puerto Rico--15-9 ------ +1 position
2. Namibia-------15-9 ------ +5
3. Iraq------------14-10 1.0GB +1
4. Norway-------14-10 1.0GB +2
5. Denmark-----13-10 1.5GB -2
6. Egypt----------13-10 1.5GB -1
7. Mauritania---13-11 2.0GB +9 (W10)
8. Belgium------13-11 2.0GB -7
9. Brazil---------11-12 3.5GB +2
10. El Salvador--11-13 4.0GB +2
11. Italy-----------11-13 4.0GB +2
12. Ivory Coast---10-13 4.5GB +2
13. Ghana---------10-14 5.0GB -4
14. Kenya---------10-14 5.0GB -4
15. Chile-----------9-15 6.0GB -7
16. Zambia--------8-16 7.0GB -1
Review- The biggest surprise is then 16th place Mauritania going on a 10 game unbeaten streak to fuel them up to 7th in the standings and 1.5 games ahead of 9th placed Brazil. An amazing run of games will most likely see them into the second round for the Intercontinental Baseball Cup. Namibia also moved up 5 places to a respectable tie with Puerto Rico for first place in Division 1. On the other side, 8th place Belgium and 15th place Chile are the worst movers each losing 7 positions. Belgium will have to play well in order to advance into the second round. Chile has effectively ended their campaign. They have gone 3-7 in their last 10. Nowhere near championship form.


Division 2
1. Belize---------16-8---------- +2
2. Botswana----15-8 0.5GB 0
3. Finland-------15-8 0.5GB -3
4. Zimbabwe---15-9 1.0GB +3
5. Scotland-----15-9 1.0GB +3
6. Croatia-------14-10 2.0GB -2
7. USA-----------12-11 3.5GB +5
8. Ethiopia-----12-12 4.0GB +8
9. Serbia-------12-12 4.0GB -4
10. Bulgaria-----10-13 5.5GB +4
11. Libya---------10-13 5.5GB -2
12. Germany----10-14 6.0GB -2
13. Rwanda------9-14 6.5GB -2
14. Tanzania-----9-14 6.5GB -8
15. Ireland-------8-15 7.5GB -2
16. Cuba----------6-18 10.0GB -1
Review- Division sees Belize atop of the standings with a 16-8 record, jumping two positions in the process. The USA has gone 7-3 in their last 10 to see the mighty North American nation climb 5 places to 7th. They are 0.5 games ahead of 9th place Ethiopia and will have to play well the last week of the first round. Ethiopia, the biggest movers in Division 2, is tied for 8th with Serbia. In our last update, they were sitting in dead last. They are now on the verge of making it into the second round. But, is this massive turnaround enough for Ethiopia? The worst mover in Division 2 is Tanzania, who managed to drop 8 places to 14th. They are 2.5 games out of 8th and will most likely have to win their remaining games to have a shot at advancing to the second round. Ireland and Cuba’s campaign are effectively over for the year.


Division 3
1. North Korea-------16-8 --------- +6
2. Greece-------------14-9 1.5GB +6
3. Belarus-------------14-10 2.0GB -2
4. Canada-------------14-10 2.0GB +7
5. South Africa------13-10 2.5GB 0
6. Iran-----------------13-11 3.0GB -3
7. Estonia-------------13-11 3.0GB +2
8. Portugal-----------12-11 3.5GB +4
9. China-------------- 12-11 3.5GB -3
10. Australia----------11-12 4.5GB 0
11. India---------------11-12 4.5GB -7
12. Peru---------------11-12 4.5GB -11
13. The Netherlands 10-13 5.5GB +3
14. Argentina-------- 9-14 6.5 GB 0
15. Poland------------7-16 8.5GB 0
16. South Korea ----- 7-17 9.0GB -3
Review- North Korea sits atop Division 3 at 16-8, 3.5 games ahead of 9th place China. Canada are the biggest movers, up 7 from 11th and are 1.5 games above 9th. North Korea ad Greece both are up 6 positions. Peru, on the other hand, fell 11 spots to 12th and is on the outside looking in this last week of first round baseball. South Korea and Poland’s campaigns are effectively over for this year.


Division 4
1. Honduras----------16-8---------+5
2. Afghanistan-------15-8 0.5GB +2
3. Mozambique------15-8 0.5GB -2
4. Mali-----------------14-10 2.0GB -1
5. Ukraine------------14-10 2.0GB +6
6. Costa Rica--------12-11 3.5GB +3
7. Russia--------------12-11 3.5GB +6
8. England------------12-11 3.5GB +2
9. Spain---------------12-12 4.0GB -4
10. Saudi Arabia-----12-12 4.0GB +4
11. N. Ireland---------11-12 4.5GB -3
12. Paraguay---------11-13 5.0GB -5
13. Chad---------------11-13 5.0GB -11
14. Japan--------------10-14 6.0GB -2
15. Mexico-------------6-18 10.0GB +1
16. Panama-----------6-18 10.0GB -1
Review- Honduras is leading the Division 4 standings with a 16-8 record. They are up five positions and have nearly sealed their place in the second round. Russia and Ukraine were the biggest movers each moving up 6 positions. Chad dropped 11 places to 13th. They are 1 game out of 8th so it isn’t over yet for the North African nation.


When the second round teams are set I will tell you the groups along with each team’s record and the group they came from!

Do you have any predictions for who is going to make it into the Semifinals??? It’s closer than you imagine!!!

[Jakeydude18]

Sunday July 9th, 2017- Here are the groups for the Second Round!
Egypt (16-14) 8th in D1
Mozambique (17-13) 5th in D3
Honduras (20-10) 1st in D4
Mauritania (17-13) 4th in D1

Canada (16-14) 8th in D3
Croatia (18-12) 5th in D2
Botswana (21-9) 1st in D2
Portugal (17-13) 4th in D3

Iraq (16-14) 7th in D1
Mali (17-13) 6th in D4
Costa Rica (19-11) 2nd in D4
Namibia (18-12) 3rd in D1

Greece (16-14) 7th in D3
Zimbabwe (18-12) 6th in D2
Scotland (19-11) 2nd in D2
Estonia (17-13) 3rd in D3

Denmark (17-13) 6th in D1
Ukraine (16-14) 7th in D4
Afghanistan (19-11) 3rd in D4
Puerto Rico (18-12) 2nd in D1

India (16-14) 6th in D3
Serbia (16-14) 7th in D2
Finland (19-11) 3rd in D2
Iran (17-13) 2nd in D3

Belgium (17-13) 5th in D1
Spain (15-15) 8th in D4
N. Ireland (17-13) 4th in D4
Norway (18-12)- 1st in D1

South Africa (16-14) 5th in D3
USA (14-16) 8th in D2
Belize (19-11) 3rd in D2
North Korea (21-9) 1st in D3

The second round is a double round-robin and the top 2 in each group move into the next round! I will rejoin you after the second round!

[Jakeydude18]

Wednesday July 19th, 2017- Here are the standings for the second round! Back in Belarus in Minsk, the Mustangs are slipping further and further away from the playoffs. It looks like there will be big changes in the coming offseason! Washington Huskies have slipped up a little bit since the IBC began a month and a half ago.

Mauritania (17-13) 4th in D1 (4-2)
Honduras (20-10) 1st in D4 (3-3)
Egypt (16-14) 8th in D1 (3-3)
Mozambique (17-13) 5th in D3 (2-4)

Portugal (17-13) 4th in D3 (4-2)
Croatia (18-12) 5th in D2 (3-3)
Botswana (21-9) 1st in D2 (3-3)
Canada (16-14) 8th in D3 (2-4)

Iraq (16-14) 7th in D1 (4-2)
Namibia (18-12) 3rd in D1 (4-2)
Costa Rica (19-11) 2nd in D4 (3-3)
Mali (17-13) 6th in D4 (1-5)

Estonia (17-13) 3rd in D3 (5-1)
Scotland (19-11) 2nd in D2 (3-3)
Greece (16-14) 7th in D3 (2-4)
Zimbabwe (18-12) 6th in D2 (2-4)

Afghanistan (19-11) 3rd in D4 (4-2)
Ukraine (16-14) 7th in D4 (4-2)
Denmark (17-13) 6th in D1 (3-3)
Puerto Rico (18-12) 2nd in D1 (1-5)

Iran (17-13) 2nd in D3 (5-1)
Finland (19-11) 3rd in D2 (3-3)
Serbia (16-14) 7th in D2 (3-3)
India (16-14) 6th in D3 (1-5)

Spain (15-15) 8th in D4 (4-2)
Belgium (17-13) 5th in D1 (3-3)
Norway (18-12)- 1st in D1 (3-3)
N. Ireland (17-13) 4th in D4 (2-4)

North Korea (21-9) 1st in D3 (3-3)
Belize (19-11) 3rd in D2 (3-3)
South Africa (16-14) 5th in D3 (3-3)
USA (14-16) 8th in D2 (3-3)

I do not know what the tiebreaking producers were for the group that the USA was in but Belize and North Korea make it of the group



Third Round matchups (best of 3)

Mauritania vs Croatia
Portugal vs Honduras
Iraq vs Scotland
Estonia vs Namibia
Afghanistan vs Finland
Iran vs Ukraine
Spain vs North Korea
Belize vs Belgium

We will be back for the results of this round and the matchups for the next round!

[Jakeydude18]

Third Round
Mauritania vs Croatia (2-1)
Portugal vs Honduras (2-1)
Iraq vs Scotland (2-1)
Estonia vs Namibia (0-2)
Afghanistan vs Finland (2-1)
Iran vs Ukraine (2-1)
Spain vs North Korea (0-2)
Belize vs Belgium (2-0)


Quarterfinals Matchups

Mauritania vs Portugal
Iraq vs Namibia
Afghanistan vs Iran
North Korea vs Belize

[Jakeydude18]

Quarterfinals
Mauritania vs Portugal (0-2)
Iraq vs Namibia (2-1)
Afghanistan vs Iran (1-2)
North Korea vs Belize (2-0)


Semifinals Matchups
Portugal vs Iraq
Iran vs North Korea

Semifinals
Portugal vs Iraq (2-0)
Iran vs North Korea (2-1)

Finals
Portugal vs Iran (2-0)

Review- It was a tournament to remember for Portugal who has won the inaugural Intercontinental Baseball Cup! Finishing 4th in Division 3 (17-13) they faced Canada, Croatia, and Botswana in the second round. Portugal went 4-2 winning their group to face Honduras in the third round. They beat Honduras in the third round to face surprise package Mauritania in the quarterfinals (Mauritania won 10 in the row in the first round to move onto the second round). Mauritania went back to their pre-winning ways to lose 2-0 to eventual champions. Next up for Portugal was Iraq in the semifinals and they easily disposed of the Asian nation. Then came the final where Portugal emerged victorious 2-0 over Iran! USA did not get out of the second round where the finished 3-3.North Korea, who tied with Botswana for best record in the first round, lost in the semifinals to Iran, (2-1). Scotland (who I will be taking over in the World Baseball Cup) lost to Iraq in the third round, 2-1. Going into the Baseball World Cup, Portugal will have to be the favorites to win it! Future IBC’s will not be as in depth as this first one as it is not a important as the Baseball World Cup.

There will be one Minsk Mustangs update before I reveal my roster selection for the upcoming Baseball World Cup

[Jakeydude18]

Tuesday, August 8th, 2017- A week after the IBC and it’s time to go back to Minsk. The Mustangs remain in fourth, seven games behind leaders Moscow. Our division is still the worse division in the entire world, but that means we still have an outside shot at making the playoffs this year. With around 100 games left in the season, anything is possible. Sariyah Ishaq remains the team leader in ERA, Wins, and K’s (13 W, 3.61 ERA, 164 K’s, 25 Games). He really is the only bright spot in our rotation with everyone else having an ERA about 4. I am looking to significantly better our pitching in the offseason. That is my number 1 priority. On the offensive side of things, Suljo Prpos leads the team in Batting AVG and HR with a .295 avg and 33HR. he’s also second in RBI’s with 87. Five of our players have over 20 HRs.

Before the IBC started I looked at three divisions and decided to compare them before and after IBC to see if the tournament has had any implications on the WBL regular season. The Eastern European Division is as follows:
Moscow 82-86
Tallinn ...82-86
Kiev ......79-89 3GB
Minsk ....75-93 7GB
Chisinau 72-96 10GB

Moscow and Tallinn remain in the top 2 spots after the tournament, and even closer than when the tournament had started. Kiev is still in third trying to figure out a way to knock off the top two teams. Chisinau and Minsk swapped positions, all while losing ground to the leaders. It appears that the IBC has little effect on the Eurasian Eastern European Division.

The next division we looked at was the Africa America North American Division with the then best Washington Huskies who were 72-42. The standings are as follows:
Washington Huskies ..95-72
Havana Hellfighters ...91-76 4GB
Mexico City Twisters .84-84 11.5GB
Ottawa Senators....... 77-87 16.5GB
San Juan Bulldogs ...73-95 22.5GB

I think it just goes to show how poor Washington was during the tournament, going 23-30 since the start of the tournament. That allowed then 3rd place Havana Hellfighters, who were 13GB at the start, to catch up to the division leaders and are currently only 4 games out of the division title. Washington is still on a poor run of games going 4-6 in their last 10.

The last division we looked at was the Africa America Central American Division, where the San Salvador Silver Snakes had the worst record in the world at 40-71. The standings are as follows:
San Jose Sharks .................84-84
Belmopan Beavers ..............78-86 4GB
Panama City Pythons ..........78-90 6GB
Tegucigalpa Ticos................ 77-91 7GB
San Salvador Silver Snakes 66-102 18GB

Pretty much the same since the tournament started. It’s really tough to conclude if the tournament has a significant effect on the regular season. We will check again in a year to see if we can come to a more conclusive answer!

[Jakeydude18]

The World Baseball Cup is here!

Scotland is all set to take on Spain in the first game of the 12 game group stages!

Line up for Scotland
RF Dylan Smith (Ottawa Senators) - .259 AVG, 4 HR, 34 RBI
2B Ian Partridge (Havana Hellfighters) - .272 AVG, 4 HR, 26 RBI
SS Josh Hughes (Minsk Mustangs) - .310 AVG, 28 HR, 98 RBI, 7.4 WAR
1B Leo Davidson (Pyongyang Cavaliers) - .279 AVG, 30 HR, 89 RBI
3B Jack McNeil (Dodoma Doves) - .299 AVG, 23 HR, 80 RBI, 5.4 WAR
CF Dylan Gibb (Berlin Black Knights) - .264 AVG, 21 HR, 68 RBI
LF Ryan Wilson (Tehran Tide) - .230 AVG, 8 HR, 40 RBI
C Matthew Morrison (Asuncion Alligators) - .178 AVG, 7 HR, 15 RBI
P Connor Paterson (Algiers Algerians) – 16-9 4.20 ERA in 31 games, 1.30 WHIP, 7.8 K/9

Josh Hughes of the Minsk Mustangs send a deep fly ball to right field for the his first HR of the tournament! Glad to see my player being productive! 1-0 Scotland Top 1st
Connor Paterson goes clean in his first IP of the tournament. 1-0 Scotland End 1st
Top 5th- with one man on and two men out, Ian Partridge sends a splitter down the middle to deep left field for his first HR of the tournament! The HR was the second off LHP Marvin Martinez. 3-0 Scotland.
Top 5th- After a Josh Hughes single up the middle, 1B Leo Davidson hits a 2 run shot to right field! 5-0 Scotland. The HR was given up by Marvin Martinez, his third of the game
Bottom 5th- LHP Connor Paterson gives up his first run of the game, a solo HR to LF. 5-1 Scotland
Top 6th- LHP Jonathan Limon replaces Marvin Martinez
Top 6th- with two on and no one out, Matthew Morrison his a double to the left field corner to drive in one. 6-1 Scotland
Top 6th- PH Rhys Graham replaces P Connor Paterson, flies out to RF.
Top 6th- Dylan Smith grounds out to first, drives 1 run. Scotland 7-1
Bottom 6th- RHP Paul Brown relives Connor Paterson who goes 5 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 5 K in his first outing of the World Baseball Cup. Brown gives up 0 ER 1 H in his first inning of the BWC.
Top 7th- 3B Jack McNeil send a 2 run shot to right center field. Scotland 9-1

Scotland defeats Spain in the opening game of the Baseball World Cup, 9-1. Connor Paterson gets the win, going 5 IP and giving up 1 run, and Paul Brown came in relief and pitched 4 innings of shutout baseball, picking up his first save in the process. Hughes, Partridge, McNeil, and Davidson all homered in their first game of the BWC.

Next up: Scotland takes on Spain for the 2nd game in a row to kick of the tournament. Scotland will send Liam Findlay of the Rome Romans to the mound against Ruben Juarez of the New Dehli Nighthawks