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Imperialism32 · 06-17-2020, 01:10 PM

March 1, 1961

World Baseball Championship Pools Announced

The second annual World Baseball Championship will get underway on March 6, 1961. This year's edition will take place in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Last year's was a thriller, with the Dominican Republic taking down host South Korea in the finals, so there's a high bar to clear this year. Pool play is a round-robin format with the top two countries advancing from each pool.

Pool A features the host country as they try to advance for the first time. Last year they went a respectable 5-2 but lost out to the United States and the surprise German team. The WBC will mark the return of Olivier Roosmalen, who is fully recovered from the broken kneecap that ended his 1960 season after 39 games. The other favorite in this group would be Puerto Rico, who won their pool at 6-1 last year but was eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage.

Panama (4-3), Italy (3-4), India (3-4), and Sweden (3-4) all shared a group with Puerto Rico last season and will try to break through. Australia finished a very disapponting 1-6 in their pool last season and are trying to rebound. And while the World Baseball Alliance championship trophy now resides in the Ukraine thanks to the Kiev Comets, it's not likely their national team will make much noise. They also went 1-6 in the group stage a year ago.

In Pool B we have the underdogs of last season's event: The German team went 6-1 in their pool play and managed to advance out of the knockout stage into the final four where they were finally defeated by the eventual champs. They have one of the top up-and-coming players in the world in Geoffrey Mohr, who played in only 3 games last year but will be their premier player this time around. They made a statement in their first game ever with a win over the United States, and they'll share a pool again. The US is looking to bounce back from a knockout stage exit that came partially at the hands of Venezuela, who, like Germany, advanced to the final four last season following a 6-1 group record.

England (4-3 last year), Greece (2-5), Nicaragua (2-5), Canada (2-5), and New Zealand (1-6) round out the group and will try to be this year's Germany, but the US and Venezuela are the heavy favorites to advance.

Over in Pool C we have last year's host and runners-up, the South Koreans. They'll be the big favorites in this pool, led by their ace Soo-Keun Bae, who was simply outstanding in this event last year. The Russian team were another of last year's big surprises, beating out the Japanese team to advance from their pool along with Venezuela. They'll try to make their way back, but they'll have to deal with Matsuo Nakano of Japan again, who hit .409/.481/1.227 in last year's event.

Poland (4-3 last time), Spain (3-4), Curacao (3-4), Mexico (2-5), and Portugal (1-6) will try to infiltrate the Australsian triumverate at the top and make their way into the next round.

And lastly, Pool D features the defending champs, the Dominican Republic. They'll be a favorite again this season thanks to their middle infield duo of last year's hero Maximo Loaiza and Jay Reyes. It was actually China who won the pool last year, posting a 6-1 record to the Dominican Republic's 5-2. China failed to win a game in the next round, but they're hungry to get back. The early elimination for Team Cuba was a disappointment so they're sure to come in with some extra fire.

France (4-3) leads the remaining challengers, and we'll see if they or Taiwan (3-4), the Czech Republic (3-4), Belgium (2-5), and Colombia (2-5) can become this year's upstart underdog.

06-17-2020, 01:10 PM	#98
Imperialism32 Major Leagues Join Date: Jan 2013 Posts: 341	March 1, 1961 World Baseball Championship Pools Announced The second annual World Baseball Championship will get underway on March 6, 1961. This year's edition will take place in Amsterdam in The Netherlands. Last year's was a thriller, with the Dominican Republic taking down host South Korea in the finals, so there's a high bar to clear this year. Pool play is a round-robin format with the top two countries advancing from each pool. Pool A features the host country as they try to advance for the first time. Last year they went a respectable 5-2 but lost out to the United States and the surprise German team. The WBC will mark the return of Olivier Roosmalen, who is fully recovered from the broken kneecap that ended his 1960 season after 39 games. The other favorite in this group would be Puerto Rico, who won their pool at 6-1 last year but was eliminated in the first round of the knockout stage. Panama (4-3), Italy (3-4), India (3-4), and Sweden (3-4) all shared a group with Puerto Rico last season and will try to break through. Australia finished a very disapponting 1-6 in their pool last season and are trying to rebound. And while the World Baseball Alliance championship trophy now resides in the Ukraine thanks to the Kiev Comets, it's not likely their national team will make much noise. They also went 1-6 in the group stage a year ago. In Pool B we have the underdogs of last season's event: The German team went 6-1 in their pool play and managed to advance out of the knockout stage into the final four where they were finally defeated by the eventual champs. They have one of the top up-and-coming players in the world in Geoffrey Mohr, who played in only 3 games last year but will be their premier player this time around. They made a statement in their first game ever with a win over the United States, and they'll share a pool again. The US is looking to bounce back from a knockout stage exit that came partially at the hands of Venezuela, who, like Germany, advanced to the final four last season following a 6-1 group record. England (4-3 last year), Greece (2-5), Nicaragua (2-5), Canada (2-5), and New Zealand (1-6) round out the group and will try to be this year's Germany, but the US and Venezuela are the heavy favorites to advance. Over in Pool C we have last year's host and runners-up, the South Koreans. They'll be the big favorites in this pool, led by their ace Soo-Keun Bae, who was simply outstanding in this event last year. The Russian team were another of last year's big surprises, beating out the Japanese team to advance from their pool along with Venezuela. They'll try to make their way back, but they'll have to deal with Matsuo Nakano of Japan again, who hit .409/.481/1.227 in last year's event. Poland (4-3 last time), Spain (3-4), Curacao (3-4), Mexico (2-5), and Portugal (1-6) will try to infiltrate the Australsian triumverate at the top and make their way into the next round. And lastly, Pool D features the defending champs, the Dominican Republic. They'll be a favorite again this season thanks to their middle infield duo of last year's hero Maximo Loaiza and Jay Reyes. It was actually China who won the pool last year, posting a 6-1 record to the Dominican Republic's 5-2. China failed to win a game in the next round, but they're hungry to get back. The early elimination for Team Cuba was a disappointment so they're sure to come in with some extra fire. France (4-3) leads the remaining challengers, and we'll see if they or Taiwan (3-4), the Czech Republic (3-4), Belgium (2-5), and Colombia (2-5) can become this year's upstart underdog. Last edited by Imperialism32; 06-17-2020 at 01:12 PM.