Numbers don't lie, Japan was the best team in WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals

Numbers usually don't lie in baseball. Those of the WBSC Women's Baseball World Cup Finals 2024 presented by CARNEXT tell us that Japan was the better team.

Madonna Japan had a .401 batting average with 85 total bases, committed six errors, and the seven pitchers who took the mound combined a 1.71 earned run average (ERA).

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Second-place USA batted .320 with 65 total bases. Their defence committed nine errors, and the eight pitchers on the staff allowed a 3.60 ERA.

In short, Japan would win the average game allowing two runs and the US would concede four.

Japan also prevailed in the on-base percentage (OBP—.490; the US had a respectable .425). Getting on base provides the spark to the Japanese strategy, which is focused on the running game and short ball. The Japanese lineup got on base almost 50% of the time, with catcher Nanako Hanabusa (OBP .643), DH Akari Hoshikawa (.545), leadoff hitter Iori Miura (.537) and tournament MVP Miu Shiraishi (.538) getting on base even more often.

Manager Risa Nakashima was understated about Japan's dominance but numbers apparently do not agree with her.

"We have seven consecutive world titles but I don't feel like we are dominating," said Nakashima. "The [final] could have gone either way. The US never had their momentum. We need to work on a lot of things. We have learned from this tournament that we need to work harder."

In terms of individual accomplishments, Canada's Sena Catteral played an MVP-caliber tournament, tying Shiraishi for hits (nine) and besting everybody for stolen bases (six), runs scored (10), and an incredible .625 on-base percentage.

Canada's team had a respectable .291 batting average, and its nine-pitcher staff allowed a 3.59 ERA. However, its biggest problem was defensive errors. They committed 17.

Fourth-place Mexico's lineup lagged far behind. Their batting average was .214, with only a .315 OBP. These numbers tell us that Mexico's batters got on base 31% of the time. Mexico used 10 pitchers, combining a 6.36 ERA. Their defence, which committed nine errors, kept them competitive.

Venezuela played only four games, but committing only four errors is a significant accomplishment. The lineup (batting average of .239) and the 6.00 ERA kept them far from the best.

Despite showcasing one of the best lineups (batting average of .318), with Yi-Hsuan Chen batting .563, Chinese Taipei finished without a win. The pitching staff allowed a 6.10 ERA, and the defence committed 11 errors.

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