Offense is taking a step back at the Little League World Series (LLWS) this year. Pitchers are zipping through opposing lineups, helped by a new rule meant to boost participation that calls for everyone on the roster to be in the batting order.
Yet that is not the only reason. Some of the players just throw hard, such as Taiwan’s Fan Chen-jun.
After the LLWS hit its 20-game mark on Sunday, the tournament’s combined run total stood at 140, significantly fewer than the 187 runs scored through that point last year — the only other time the tournament field has been 20 teams.
Photo: AP
Until Thursday, a perfect game had not been thrown in the LLWS since 2017.
Then on Monday, the team from Taoyuan’s Guishan Elementary School, representing the Asia-Pacific, took on Japan.
Fan started for Taiwan and dominated, striking out six in three no-hit innings. Some of his pitches were clocked by ESPN at more than 80mph (129kph), which — given the shorter distance from the mound to home than in the major leagues — looks like something over 100mph to the batter.
Photo: AP
The 12-year-old’s fastest ball reached 82mph, which would seem like a 107mph fireball in MLB, ESPN said.
To compare, the Minnesota Twins’ Jhoan Duran last month uncorked the fastest pitch in the MLB so far this year and the 11th-fastest since pitch tracking began in 2008, at 104.8mph.
Taiwan beat Japan 10-0, ending the game in four innings under the 10-run rule.
“[Fan] has athletic talent, more than anybody we have seen,” Taiwan manager Lee Cheng-ta said through a translator. “He has the coordination. He has the speed. He has the jumping ability. He has a lot of future to come in baseball.”
Teams have noticed a few major differences contributing to a lack of offensive production compared to previous years, none likely as obvious as a rule announced earlier this season that says batting orders must include every player on roster.
“I guess [the drop in runs] might be because the best hitters get fewer at-bats a game,” Venezuela manager Jannio Gutierrez said through a translator.
In previous years, offensive stars have stolen the spotlight, but this year, those potential household names have been typically limited to just two at-bats per game.
Teams with strong pitching staffs have owned the rule change. Others have struggled to keep up.
After a second place finish in last year’s LLWS, Curacao are one win away from the final on the international side of the bracket.
Taiwan are set to square off against them at 1pm today.
Despite winning each of its two games by 2-1, Curacao’s pitching has made championship hopes a serious possibility.
“Our main focus of the team is defense — that defense wins games. They concentrate on getting runs, but they focus [more] on defense and winning that way,” Curacao manager Ildion Martina said.
Martina built Curacao with his eyes set on sturdy pitching.
That strategy was on full display Monday as Nasir El-Ossais hit a two-run, go-ahead homer in the sixth to help lead Curacao to a 2-1 victory over Venezuela.
“I just tell them every time, ‘We can’t win a game 0-0,’” Martina said. “You have to put at least one run on the board to win the game.”
For teams playing against Taiwan or Japan, it has been nearly impossible to even touch the scoreboard. While Taiwan routed Japan on Monday, prior to that the Japanese had been nearly just as tough.
Taiwan have not allowed a run through two games, and Japan gave up just one through its first two contests before falling on Monday.
Teams that have never faced Asian pitching mechanics — typically known for slower windups and a quirky, stop-start leg hitch — have made it a point of emphasis in practice, but few have found success in games.
Additional reporting by CNA
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