Introducing the FOOL World Baseball Classic!

[TeachEnEspanol]

P.S. Great idea Alan! This is fun!

[Alan T]

WBC Day 16:

POOL A games:

Mexico 2, Japan 0 - Juan Sierra pitched 8.1 innings of 4 hit ball, striking out 10 as he improves to 2-1 in the WBC. Anastasio Reynoso gets his 7th save.

England 2, Cuba 1 - Douggie Goff pitches 8 innings and strikes out 8 while spreading 7 hits out to achieve a perfect 3-0 record in the WBC. Mastin with his 5th save.

POOL B games:

USA 8, Canada 5 (10 innings) - Paul Dupree hits a 3-run HR in the bottom of the 10th inning off of Wei-fang Chan to win it for the U.S. Nick Vega hit his 7th HR of the WBC and Dani Aguilar his 6th of the WBC in the win.

Dominican Republic 7, Puerto Rico 4 (10 innings) - Mario Chavez goes 4 for 5 with a double, 2 HR and 4 RBI, including a game winning 3-run HR in the top of the 10th for the Dominican Republic.

POOL A Standings:

Mexico 11-5
Japan 9-7
England 7-9
Cuba 5-11

POOL B standings:

USA 13-3
Canada 8-8
Dominican Republic 6-10
Puerto Rico 5-11

- Puerto Rico has been eliminated from the next round.

[Alan T]

WBC day 17:

POOL A games:

Japan 2, Mexico 0 - FOOL Free Agent and one time great Ryuichi Hasegawa pitches a complete game 3-hit shutout of POOL A leading Mexico to improve to 2-0 in the WBC and more importantly clinch a spot in the next round for Team Japan!

Cuba 10, England 2 - Pedro Cruz pitches a complete game, striking out 6 and allowing only 6 hits as he improves to 2-0 for Cuba. Arturo Hernandez hits his 6th HR of the WBC in the win.

POOL B games:

USA 4, Canada 2 - Dani Aguilar hits his 7th HR of the WBC and Kieran Browne improves to 2-1 in the WBC. Hensley picks up his 5th save.

Dominican Republic 11, Puerto Rico 2 - Miguel Serrano goes 3 for 6 with a HR and 3 RBI for the Dominican Republic and Roberto Hernandez picks up his 2nd win.

POOL A standings:

Mexico 11-6
Japan 10-7
England 7-10
Cuba 6-11

- Japan has clinched the final spot for the next round from POOL A as England has been eliminated.

POOL B Standings:

USA 14-3
Canada 8-9
Dominican Republic 7-10
Puerto Rico 5-12

Canada either must beat the U.S. in the final game, or needs Puerto Rico to win one vs the Dominican Republic to prevent a tie in the standings.

[Alan T]

Tuesday, April 18th, 2023: Hasegawa Pitches Gem against Mexico
In a sharp 3-hit performance, Ryuichi Hasegawa tossed the Japan to a 2-0 shutout victory over the Mexico , fanning 4 and walking 1.

"That's as good a stuff as I've seen in a long time," the Mexico manager said in his postgame interview.

[Alan T]

The USA is 8-0 at home entering the final game vs Team Canada as well..

[Alan T]

WBC day 18 (final day of POOL play):

Starting with POOL B games first:

Dominican Republic 7, Puerto Rico 2 - Antonio Gonzalez pitches a complete game, striking out 5 and allowing only 5 hits to win his second game and keep the D.R. in the hunt.

USA 4, Canada 3 - Dani Aguilar goes 2 for 4 with a HR (his 8th) and 2 RBI in the game and forces Canada into a best of 3 matchup with the Dominican Republic to decide the final spot in the next round!

(**Note Normal WBC tiebreaker rules are different choosing head to head play, but OOTP has issues with tiebreakers for non-first place positions, so I'm doing it as a best of 3 series between the two here).


Pool A games:

Mexico 7, Japan 3 - Rafael Barrios pitches a complete game 6-hit performance, allowing 3 runs and striking out 9 as he makes it a 3-0 perfect WBC thus far.

England 5, Cuba 2 - Chattaway improves to 3-0 with a 8.1 inning 7 hit performance over Cuba. Mastin gets his 6th save of the WBC.

[Alan T]

As Canada had the better head to head record with the Dominican Republic, they get home field for game 1 , and 3 if needed.

[Alan T]

WBC day 19:

Dominican Republic 2, Canada 0 - Tomas Gallegos strikes out 10 in a complete game 5-hitter. Hector Romero went 2 for 4 with a double and a RBI in the win to give the Dominican Republic a lead in the series, heading home!

[Alan T]

WBC day 20:

Dominican Republic 2, Canada 1 - Larry Sanders pitches well for Canada, going 8 innings and allowing only 4 hits, but the Canadian offense is unable to get any runs across the plate as they fall. Manuel Lopez gets the win for the Dominican Republic, his 2nd of the WBC, but it was Leonardo Santos with the fine pitching display, going 7.1 Innings, striking out 8 and allowing only 1 run on 5 hits to propel the Dominican Republic into the second round of play!!

[Alan T]

Final WBC pool play standings:

Pool A:

Mexico 12-6
Japan 10-8
England 8-10
Cuba 6-12

Pool B:

USA 15-3
Dominican Republic 10-10
Canada 8-12
Puerto Rico 5-13

[Alan T]

The Semi Finals will face:

Dominican Republic vs Mexico

Japan vs USA

[Alan T]

WBC Stats leaders:

Batting avg:

D. Aguilar (USA) .439
J. Colon (PUR) .429
M. Rodriguez (USA) .417
N. Vega (USA) .403
H. Romero (DOM) .386

Home Runs:

H. Romero (DOM) 10
D. Aguilar (USA) 8
J. Colon (PUR) 8
N. Vega (USA) 7
A. Hernandez (CUB) 6

RBI:

H. Romero (DOM) 23
D. Aguilar (USA) 21
J. Souza (MEX) 18
M. Chavez (DOM) 18
J. Colon (PUR) 18

OPS:

H. Romero (DOM) 1.420
D. Aguilar (USA) 1.401
J. Colon (PUR) 1.364
N. Vega (USA) 1.276
A. McIntosh (USA) 1.077


Wins:

R. Barrios (MEX) 3
M. Chattaway (ENG) 3
D. Goff (ENG) 3
M. Tanaka (JPN) 3

Saves:

A. Reynoso (MEX) 7
D. Mastin (ENG) 6
Y. Kobayashi (JPN) 5
M. Hensley (USA) 5

Strikeouts:

J. Sierra (MEX) 38
M. Chattaway (ENG) 31
T. Gallegos (DOM) 31
B. Rodriguez (DOM) 31
Y. Yamasaki (JPN) 28

ERA:

Y. Kobayashi (JPN) 0.00
M. Chattaway (ENG) 1.44
J. Sierra (MEX) 1.44
R. Hernandez (DOM) 1.99
D. Goff (ENG) 2.25

[Alan T]

WBC Semifinals Game 1:

Dominican Republic 4, Mexico 3 - Bartolo Rodriguez outduels Angel Aguilera in this one as Mario Chavez goes 2 for 3 with a double, a HR and 2 RBI in the win for the Dominican Republic.

USA 8, Japan 3 - Mike Davis gets the win thanks to Troy Meyers going 3 for 4 with a HR and 2 RBI, as well as Gabriel Duran going 2 for 4 with a HR and 2 RBI. Nick Vega also had a HR in the win for the U.S.

[Alan T]

WBC Semi final game 2:

Dominican Republic 12, Mexico 9 - Jorge Maldonado goes 3 for 5 with a double, 2 HR and 4 RBI while Hector Romero goes 2 for 2 with 2 HR and 4 RBI as well as 4 Walks!

- The Dominican Republic lead the series 2 games to 0.


USA 14, Japan 1 - The U.S. get 14 runs on 13 hits, including Home runs from Guthrie, Hughes, Dupree and Aguilar.

- The USA leads the series 2 games to 0.

[Alan T]

WBC Semifinals game 3:

USA 3, Japan 1 - Diaz outduels Yamasaki as he goes 8 innings and gives up only 6 hits and 1 run. Keyte with the only Home run of the game in the win.

- The USA lead the series 3 games to 0.

Mexico 16, Dominican Republic 5 - Mexico score 10 runs in the top of the 9th to come from behind in this one including a grand slam from Joaquin Pina and a 3 run homer from Rafael Estrada.

- The Dominican Republic lead the series 2 games to 1.

[Alan T]

WBC Semi finals game 4:

USA 5, Japan 3 - The Hasegawa magic can't stop the US freight train as Joe Hughes goes 3 for 3 with 2 doubles and 2 RBI in the win for the USA.

- The USA has advanced to the WBC Championship!

Dominican Republic 7, Mexico 5 - Jose Villareal goes 2 for 4 with a HR and 2 RBI in the win for the Dominican Republic. Gallegos gets the win and Blanco gets his third save of the Semi-final round

- The DOminican Republic lead the series 3 games to 1.

[Alan T]

WBC Semi final game 5:

Mexico 7, Dominican Republic 0 - Rafael Barrios pitches a complete game 3-hit shutout for Mexico to keep them alive, while Joaquin Pina goes 1 for 4 with a 2 run Home run in the win.

- The DOminican Republic leads the series 3 games to 2.

[Alan T]

WBC Semifinal game 6:

Mexico 3, Dominican Republic 2 - A great pitcher's duel as Bartolo Rodriguez pitches 7 innings of 5 hit ball, striking out 9 and allowing only 1 run to score, while Aguilera pitches a complete game 5 hitter, allowing 2 runs to score. THe game was tied 1-1 entering the 9th inning when Dominican Republic score 1 in the top of the 9th on a Hector Romero solo home run. Mexico responds with a 2-run homer from Francisco Rosado in the bottom of the 9th to win the game!

- The series is tied at 3 a piece

[Alan T]

WBC Semifinal game 7:

Dominican Republic 12, Mexico 3 - After Mexico clawed back into the series, they get blown out in the final game 7 to end their WBC run. The Dominican Republic score 12 runs on 11 hits and Roberto Hernandez pitches 8 innings, scattering 7 hits out and only 3 runs.

- The DOminican Republic have advanced to the WBC championship game vs the USA!

[Alan T]

WBC Championship Game 1:

USA 4, Dominican Republic 3 - Johnny Catron strikes out 10 in 7.2 innings and allows only 2 runs on 5 hits, but gets a no decision as the USA depends on a Curt webb pinch hit home run with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th to win it.

- USA leads the series 1 game to 0.

[Alan T]

WBC Championship Game 2:

USA 6, Dominican Republic 3 - Mike Davis pitches 8.1 innings, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits. Nick Vega goes 1 for 1, hitting a 2-run HR in the win for the U.S.

- USA leads the series 2 games to 0.

[Alan T]

WBC CHampionship game 3:

Dominican Republic 4, USA 3 (10 innings) - Mike Hensley takes the loss for the US as Miguel Serrano hits an RBI Single in the bottom of the 10th to knock in Jorge Maldonado for the win.

- USA leads the series 2 games to 1.

[Alan T]

WBC CHampionship game 4:

Dominican Republic 4, USA 3 (10 innings) - Bartolo Rodriguez pitches all 10 innings, striking out 10 and allowing only 3 runs on 8 hits. Hensley takes his second loss in as many days thanks this time to a Juan Quintero pinch hit RBI single which scores Mario Chavez in the bottom of the 10th.

Of interesting note, in both extra innings games, Hector Romero grounded into a double play one hitter before the game winning hit each day!

- The Series is tied 2 games each.

[Alan T]

WBC Championship game 5:

USA 12, Dominican Republic 4 - Hector Romero goes 3 for 4 with a double and a HR in the loss as Joe HUghes also goes 3 for 4, with a HR and 3 RBI. Keyte also chipped in with 2 for 4, a double, a HR and 4 RBI in the win for the U.S. USA also got a home run from Aguilar in this one.

- USA leads the series 3 games to 2.

[Alan T]

WBC Championship game 6:

USA 2, Dominican Republic 1 - Catron pitches 8 innings, allowing only 5 hits but also giving up 5 walks in the win. Antonio Gonzalez pitches an excellent game for the Dominican Republic, going 8 innings and giving up 2 runs on 6 hits, but gets hardly any run support in this one.

The USA has won the FOOL WBC for the year 2023!!

[Alan T]

WBC Awards:

POOL A's MVP - Carlos Trujillo (Mexico - 2022 Edmonton edge)
POOL A MVP Runner ups:
Yasujiro Ishida (Japan - 2022 Napa Valley Winemakers)
iwane Yamashita (Japan - 2022 Apex Assassins)

POOL B's MVP - Hector Romero (Dominican Republic - 2022 Baltimore Charm)
POOL B MVP RUnner ups:
Dani Aguilar (USA - 2022 Hammersmith Hooligans)
Nick Vega (USA - 2022 New York Heroes AAA)

POOL A Best Pitcher: Mark Chattaway (England - 2022 Hartford Harpooners)
POOL A Best Pitcher Runner ups:
Juan Sierra (Mexico - 2022 New York Heroes)
Rafael Barrios (Mexico - 2022 Hartford Harpooners)

POOL B's Best Pitcher: Mike Hensley (USA - 2022 Montreal Majestics)
POOL B Best Pitcher Runner Ups:
Julian Diaz (USA - 2022 Baltimore Charm)
Roberto Hernandez (Dominican Republic - 2022 Hartford Hartpooners)

[muns]

This was really really neat. I didnt think id get that much into it, but i wasted 30 mins from work reading all this stuff.

Thanks alan for again taking the time to do it, and CHIEF, I didnt forget about the brain, glad you came up with the idea...

Great stuff guys!!

[Alan T]

Originally Posted by muns

This was really really neat. I didnt think id get that much into it, but i wasted 30 mins from work reading all this stuff.

Thanks alan for again taking the time to do it, and CHIEF, I didnt forget about the brain, glad you came up with the idea...

Great stuff guys!!

I actually found myself rooting for the Dominican Republic at the end there if not to win, to at least make the championship competitive.

[Tasan]

This was cool. Santos and Sanders, both Rancheros, battling in a key game. Dupree hitting a game winner off of Colorado teammate Chan (did he groove it???). Pretty cool seeing my guys going for their "home" teams.

[gstelmack]

Was very cool to follow, thanks for doing this.