South Korea crushes U.S. to win Premier 12 title

Nov 21, 2015 The Japan Times　by Jason Coskrey

South Korea didn’t need any ninth-inning heroics in the Premier 12 final.
They had this one well in hand pretty early on.
Kim Hyun-soo drove in three runs, slugger Park Byung-ho, likely MLB-bound, connected on a towering three-run homer, and the South Koreans battered the U.S. pitching staff on their way to being crowned inaugural champions of the Premier 12 with a 8-0 victory in the final on Saturday at Tokyo Dome.
South Korea finished the tournament with an 6-2 record and avenged losses against Japan, rallying from three runs down in the ninth inning, and the U.S. in the semifinal and final.
Kim Hyun-soo was named Premier 12 MVP. Japan’s Shohei Otani won the tournament’s ERA title and Hayato Sakamoto was named outstanding defensive player.
The U.S. was dealt a blow from Major League Baseball before even taking the field against the Koreans on Saturday.
The deadline for adding players to the 40-man roster in MLB was 8 p.m. on Friday in the U.S. (10 a.m. Saturday morning in Japan) and Team USA members Brett Eibner, an outfielder, and pitchers J.B. Wendelken and Jake Barrett were called up by the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks respectively. Because MLB isn’t allowing players on 40-man rosters to participate in the Premier 12, the promotions meant the trio was taken off the roster before the final.
Eibner was a notable subtraction. The 26-year-old had started every game for the U.S. and hit .259 with a double, a triple, and a team-high seven RBIs. One of those RBIs came in the 10th inning of the Team USA’s 3-2 win over the South Koreans in their first meeting on Nov. 15.
“It’s something out of our control,” Randolph said. “It’s a 40-man roster thing. You never want to lose your third hitter and your closer and your set-up guy. But no excuses. We got beat by a better team today. Korea played outstanding baseball.”
（Read the full story on　The Japan Times）

WBSC Premier12 All-World Team announced
TOKYO -- Following 38 global games, the WBSC announced the first-ever Premier12 All-World Team.
The WBSC Premier12 All-World Team is selected based on the players' performance from the opening round to the semifinals of the inaugural global championship. A total of ten players, representing six countries, were named to the 2015 WBSC Premier12 'All-World Team' and issued trophies or plaques:

Starting Pitcher OTANI Shohei (JPN)
Relief Pitcher MOLLEKEN Dustin (CAN)
Catcher SOSA Humberto (MEX)
First baseman NAKATA Sho (JPN)
Second baseman FRAZIER Adam (USA)
Third baseman HWANG Jaegyun(KOR)
Shortstop DAAL Carlton (NED)
Outfielders ODUBER Randolph (NED)
MCBRIDE Matt (USA)
KIM Hyunsoo (KOR)
Designated Hitter LEE Dae Ho (KOR)
WBSC also announced individual award winners as followes:
Leading Hitter MCBRIDE Matt (USA)
Pitcher with Best ERA OTANI Shohei (JPN)
Pitcher with Best W/L Average LEROUX Chris (CAN)
Most RBI NAKATA Sho (JPN)
Most Homeruns LIN Chih-Sheng (TPE)
Most Stolen Bases ODUBER Randolph (NED)
Most Runs Scored O’NEILL Tyler (CAN)
Outstanding Defensive Player SAKAMOTO Hayato (JPN)
Most Valuable Player KIM Hyunsoo (KOR)