2016 U-23 Baseball World Cup
Connor Macdonald
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Country | Mexico |
| Dates | October 28 - November 6 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Defending champions | Chinese Taipei |
| Final positions | |
| Champions | Japan (1st title) |
| Runners-up | Australia |
| Third place | South Korea |
| Fourth place | Panama |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Games played | 50 |
| Attendance | 27,797 (556 per game) |
| Awards | |
| MVP | Yusuke Masago |
The 2016 U-23 World Baseball Cup was the second edition of the U-23 Baseball World Cup since its inception in 2014 as the U-21 Baseball World Cup. The competition took place in Mexico between Oct. 28 and Nov. 6, 2016. A total of 50 games were played in three host cities: Monterrey, Saltillo, and Cadereyta.[1]
In the gold medal game, Japan defeated Australia with the score of 10:3. Korea defeated Panama with the score of 5:3 to win the bronze medal.
Venues
Monterrey, Saltillo, and Cadereyta are the three cities where games were played. In Monterrey, games were played at the 27,000-seat Estadio de Beisbol Monterrey, home of Sultannes Monterrey of the Mexican Baseball League. In Saltillo, games were played at Estadio Francisco I. Madero, home of the Saraperos de Saltillo of the Mexican Baseball League. In Caderetya, games were played at Unidad Deportiva Alfonso Martinez Dominguez.
Teams
Twelve nations competed in the tournament, from 6 continents:[2]
World No. 1 Japan, No. 3 Korea, No. 4 Chinese Taipei, No. 7 Venezuela, No. 8 Mexico, No. 13 Australia, No. 14 Czech Republic, No. 15 Panama, No. 18 Nicaragua, No. 27 Argentina, No. 33 Austria, and No. 36 South Africa.
Group stage
Two groups of six teams played in a round-robin format, with the top three teams from each group advancing to the Super Round. The bottom three teams from each group went to the consolation round. The rankings of teams in each group were determined by the win-loss record of all games played. If two or more teams had the same win-loss record, rankings were determined as follows:
- win-loss record in games between the tied teams;
- team's quality balance (TQB) and game results between teams tied;
- earned runs team's quality balance (ER-TQB);
- highest batting average in games between the teams tied;
- a coin flip.
| Pool A | Pool B |
|---|---|
| South Korea | Japan |
| Venezuela | Chinese Taipei |
| Mexico | Australia |
| Czech Republic | Nicaragua |
| Panama | Argentina |
| South Africa | Austria |
Opening round
Pool A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panama | 5 | 5 | 0 | 45 | 12 | +33 | 1.000 | — | Advance to Super Round |
| 2 | South Korea | 5 | 4 | 1 | 40 | 12 | +28 | .800 | 1 | |
| 3 | Mexico | 5 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 13 | +22 | .600 | 2 | |
| 4 | Venezuela | 5 | 2 | 3 | 32 | 35 | −3 | .400 | 3 | Advance to Consolation round |
| 5 | Czech Republic | 5 | 1 | 4 | 32 | 54 | −22 | .200 | 4 | |
| 6 | South Africa | 5 | 0 | 5 | 9 | 67 | −58 | .000 | 5 |
Pool B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 5 | 5 | 0 | 58 | 8 | +50 | 1.000 | — | Advance to Super Round |
| 2 | Australia | 5 | 4 | 1 | 39 | 26 | +13 | .800 | 1 | |
| 3 | Nicaragua | 5 | 3 | 2 | 37 | 17 | +20 | .600 | 2 | |
| 4 | Chinese Taipei | 5 | 2 | 3 | 28 | 33 | −5 | .400 | 3 | Advance to Consolation round |
| 5 | Argentina | 5 | 1 | 4 | 17 | 44 | −27 | .200 | 4 | |
| 6 | Austria | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 55 | −51 | .000 | 5 |
Super Round
In the Super Round, each the three teams that advanced from Group A play one game against each of the three teams that advanced from Group B.
At the end of this round, four teams will qualify for the finals, based on the results of five total games: the two First Round games between the three qualified teams, plus the three games of the Super Round.
The first and second place teams will play in the Gold Medal Game, the third and fourth place teams will play in the Bronze Medal Game.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | RF | RA | RD | PCT | GB | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan | 5 | 4 | 1 | 24 | 9 | +15 | .800 | — | Advance to gold medal game |
| 2 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 2 | 33 | 42 | −9 | .600 | 1 | |
| 3 | Panama | 5 | 3 | 2 | 18 | 24 | −6 | .600 | 1 | Advance to bronze medal game |
| 4 | South Korea | 5 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 25 | +6 | .400 | 2 | |
| 5 | Mexico | 5 | 2 | 3 | 26 | 24 | +2 | .400 | 2 | |
| 6 | Nicaragua | 5 | 1 | 4 | 27 | 35 | −8 | .200 | 3 |
Awards
| Awards | Player |
|---|---|
| Most Valuable Player | Yusuke Masago |
| Outstanding Defensive Player | Tae-jin Kim |
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| Starting Pitcher | Ji-seob Lim |
| Relief Pitcher | Josh Guyer |
| Catcher | Carlos Mendivil |
| First Baseman | Connor Macdonald |
| Second Baseman | Tae-jin Kim |
| Third Baseman | Tung-Hua Yueh |
| Shortstop | Jacob Younis |
| Outfielder | Yusuke Masago |
| Byeong-wuk Lim | |
| Kengo Takeda | |
| Designated Hitter | Guy Edmonds |
References
- ^ "WBSC announces dates, venues for new U23 Baseball World Cup 2016". March 24, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.
- ^ "WBSC unveils nations, Logo for inaugural U-23 Baseball World Cup 2016 in Monterrey, Mexico". August 29, 2016. Archived from the original on October 8, 2016. Retrieved November 3, 2016.