For the second consecutive year, I am thrilled to be calling Little League's Intermediate 50/70 Baseball World Series July 30-August 6! This is not the 12-year-olds you see on TV in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, every year, but kids one year older, playing on a slightly bigger field (50-foot pitching distance, 70-foot basepaths) in Livermore, California. It's a different vibe than Williamsport, but extremely cool nonetheless, and it was really special for me to call the 2022 tournament, including the championship game on ESPN2.
So leading up to the 2023 Intermediate 50/70 World Series, which will air entirely on ESPN+, I want to introduce each of the competing teams with whatever information I've been able to glean on their path to Livermore (and to your ESPN+ screen!).
West Seoul, Korea
West Seoul Little League
Location:
Seoul, Korea Republic
Championships:
Korea
Asia Pacific
Record: 9-0
Date Qualified: June 25
Noteworthy:
2015, 2018 World Series champions
2022 International champions
Coaches: TBA
These tournaments are notoriously difficult to scout and predict, but in almost every edition of this tournament, the heavy favorite is the team from Korea. You don't have to scout them to know they will be, at a bare minimum, among the most polished and talented teams.
West Seoul has been the most frequent Korean qualifier for Livermore, although East Seoul did quite well a few years back. Last year, West Seoul looked unstoppable in the international bracket, with a mix of bat-flipping power and daring speed on the basepaths. The pitching didn't quite overpower, however, and they fell in the championship game to the superior arms and defense of the hosts from Danville.
This year's group will be a different one, of course, but there is no question West Seoul enters the tournament as the favorite.
| Road to Livermore | |||
| Korea | |||
| April 28 | East Seoul (group) | W | |
| April 28 | Jeolla Jeju (group) | W | |
| April 29 | Busan Gyeongnam (group) | W | |
| April 30 | Chungcheong Gangwon (group) | W | |
| May 1 | Daegu Gyeongbuk (group) | W | |
| Asia Pacific | |||
| June 20 | Auckland, New Zealand (group) | W | 21-1 |
| June 21 | Tanauan City, Philippines (group) | W | 9-2 |
| June 22 | Tokyo Nakano / Johoku, Japan (group) | W | 9-4 |
| June 25 | Tokyo Nakano / Johoku, Japan (final) | W | 11-1 |
| Intermediate Baseball World Series | |||
| July 30 | Northwest Czech Republic | 3 pm PT | |
| TBD | TBD | TBD | |
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