Softball is a game of statistics and numbers. Offensive stats and pitching stats describe perfectly the game and the performance of the players. The U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup showed some interesting numbers, including the MVP Hitto Nagayosi tying a world record.
Japan went undefeated to claim the world title for the third time. Their pitching staff was amazing with a combined 1.59 ERA and 63 strikeouts, while their lineup was nasty, hitting .366 and scoring 83 runs in nine games, 9.23 runs per game.
Nagayosi showed all his skills throughout the nine days of competition earning the MVP honours at the end of the event. He hit .412 with 1 home run, 10 RBI, 8 runs scored and 4 triples, tying the record for most triples in a youth global event (two years ago, in Prince Albert, compatriot Shoki Matsuo had established the record). He also led the tournament in slugging, with 1.059.
Japanese players also dominated the batting average stats. Kai Yamamoto and Rui Mimoto hit .500 for the tournament (going 9-for-18 in both cases) and led this department. Mexican second baseman Abelardo Peñuelas also hit .500 (12-for-24), but he didn’t play the Super Round, participating in the Placement Round with Mexico finishing eighth.
Adam Buchner was the home run leader of the event with 3 (one every three games), only one shy of the record of four. The Czech first baseman homered in three consecutive games, against Canada, Argentina and Singapore. Five players have hit 4 homers in the Junior Men’s World Championship: Michael Ginger (USA, 1985); Rob Giesbrecth (CAN, 1993); Gustavo Benitez (MEX, 2005); Takuto Tsutsui (JPN, 2005) and Reilly Makea (NZL, 2018).
Buchner also collected 10 RBI and finished as the leader of the tournament, tied with MVP Nagayosi.
Two-way Australian player Jeremy Garland, named in the All-World Team as a shortstop, had an outstanding offensive tournament, finishing in the top five in average (.480), runs (leader with 13), hits (leader with 12), triples (second with 3) and slugging (third with .960).
Jakub Osicka was named the best pitcher of the tournament. He led the stats in six categories, including ERA (1.13), strikeouts (84), wins (5), complete games (4), games started (7), and innings pitched (43.1), and capped off a brilliant individual performance with the first-ever medal for the Czech Republic in this age category.
Only 14 years, 2 months and 17 days old, Denmark's Noah Andersen was the youngest of the 192 participating players in the U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup. He was one of nine players in the young Denmark roster who will be still eligible for the next U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup, in 2022.
Rishon Toh, from Singapore, made his debut with 14 years 5 months and 4 days. In seven games, he hit .118 with 1 run scored, 1 triple and 1 RBI, all of them in the historic victory over world No. 2 Argentina in the opener of the tournament.
A total of 24 players included in Palmerston North’s rosters will be eligible for the next global event, playing for Argentina (3), Czech Republic (1), Denmark (9), Guatemala (2), New Zealand (3), Singapore (3) and USA (3).
Prince Albert vs Palmerston North
Two years ago, in Prince Albert 2018, it was played the last Junior Men’s Softball World Championship (U-19), replaced this year by the U-18 Men’s Softball World Cup.
Comparing both events, a total of 68 home runs were scored in 2018 (54 games), 1.26 dingers per game; while this year in Palmerston North (50 games) the 12 teams combined for 40 home runs, at 0.80 per game played.
However, the 2020 edition of the youth event saw the teams making more contact, batting for an overall .266 average. Two years ago, the combined average was .246.
From the pitching perspective, the hurlers were more effective in 2018 than in 2020. In Prince Albert, the total combined ERA for the event was 4.41 while in Palmerston North the ERA was 4.82.
However, the strikeout rate per game was higher in New Zealand, where the pitchers struck out 729 opponents (14.58 per game), compared to Canada, where they totalled 771 strikeouts (14.27 Ks per game). Three pitchers in 2020 surpassed the line of the amazing Gaurav Chaudari from India, who threw 59 strikeouts in Prince Albert. Osicka (Czech Republic, 84), Mathew Tan (Singapore, 63) and Nahuel Saenz (Argentina, 61) led the way between the pitchers in the first-ever U-18 men’s competition.
You can see the complete statistics of the U-18 Men's Softball World Cup here.
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