In our series about the European teams at the Baseball World Cup in Taipei, we are looking at Spain today.
What did they right? Their best two games in the tournament were against South Africa (8-4) and Japan (3-4). In both games, Hector OLIVEIRA was the starting pitcher, which certainly helped. He was easily the best for his team. He allowed just two runs on four hits in 12 1/3 innings, striking out 14. With better clutch hitting they could also have won against Chinese Taipei. The offense, led by Dewis NAVARRO (9-21), hit a solid .262.
What went wrong? They lacked a second strong pitcher. Only Jorge BALBOA (5.40) and Fernando GUTIERREZ (4.76) had an ERA lower than 7.00. Yoel HERNANDEZ got two starts and didn’t do well. He gave up 17 runs (15 ER) in just 5 2/3 innings. And these were games against Italy and Mexico. Although the offense hit .262, they had just 13 extra-base-hits. They were the only team besides Thailand without a homerun.
An outlook for the future: After a successful European championship the team looked really flat. Maybe it was hard for them to get motivated and focused on another tournament in relatively short time. Their next big event is the Olympic qualifier next spring. The host could be again Taipei, so the World Cup was a good test for them. They also gained experience at the international level, which will help. With a better pitching staff and a bit more power in the line-up, they could have a chance.
Stats:
Pitching:
Team ERA: 9.94
Hector OLIVEIRA (1-0), ERA 1.46, 12.1 IP, 14 K
Jorge BALBOA, ERA 4.76, 5.2 IP, 3 K
Fernando GUTIERREZ (0-1), ERA 5.40, 3.1 IP, 2 K
Remigio LEAL (0-1), ERA 7.00, 9 IP, 3 K
Batting:
Team batting average: .262
Dewis NAVARRO .429, 9 hits, 2 doubles, 1 triple, 3 runs scored
Marc CARRILLO .262, 2 doubles, 4 RBI
Juan GARCIA PAGAN .278, 5 hits
Daniel FIGUEROA .217, 5 hits, 1 triple, 3 runs scoren
Daniel MARTINEZ GONZALEZ .227, 5 hits, 3 runs scored
Complete Statistics at IBAF.tv
Results:
vs. Panama 9-0 due forfeit (IBAF ruling)
vs. Italy 1-11 box score
vs. South Africa 7-4 box score
vs. Chinese Taipei 4-8 box score
vs. USA 2-12 box score
vs. Mexico 1-19 box score
vs. Japan 3-4 box score
Finished in seventh place of group A. Complete Standings.
Photo: © International Baseball Federation (IBAF.tv)