1998 Little League World Series

1998 Little League World Series
Tournament details
Dates	August 23–August 29
Teams	8
Final positions
Champions	Toms River, New Jersey
Runner-up	Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan
	← 1997 1999 →

The 1998 Little League World Series took place from August 23–29 in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania. Toms River, New Jersey, defeated Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan in the championship game of the 52nd Little League World Series. The title game was punctuated by a standout performance by future Major League Baseball (MLB) player and Home Run Derby champion Todd Frazier, who went 4-for-4 with a lead-off home run, and was also the winning pitcher.

Teams

United States		International
Region	Team	Region	Team
Central	Jenison, Michigan Georgetown National Little League	Canada	Langley, British Columbia Langley Little League
East	Toms River, New Jersey Toms River East American Little League	Europe	Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Arabian American Little League
South	Greenville, North Carolina Tar Heel Little League	Far East	Kashima, Ibaraki, Japan Kashima Little League
West	Cypress, California Cypress Little League	Latin America	Guadalupe, Nuevo León, Mexico Guadalupe Linda Vista Little League

Pool play

Standings

**United States**
Region	Team	Record
East	New Jersey	3–0
South	North Carolina	2–1
West	California	1–2
Central	Michigan	0–3

**International**
Region	Team	Record
Canada	Canada	3–0
Far East	Japan	2–1
Europe	Saudi Arabia	1–2
Latin America	Mexico	0–3

Results

August 23
Mexico	1–6	Japan
Michigan	9–13 (11 innings)	New Jersey

August 24
Mexico	3–4	Canada
Michigan	1–3	North Carolina
Saudi Arabia	3–10	Japan
California	2–4	New Jersey

August 25
Canada	10–5	Japan
North Carolina	3–5	New Jersey
Saudi Arabia	8–7	Mexico
California	4–1	Michigan

August 26
Canada	9–3	Saudi Arabia
California	4–6	North Carolina

Elimination round

Semi-finals		Final

27 August – International Championship

Japan	3
		29 August – World Championship
Canada	2
		Japan	9
27 August – U.S. Championship
		New Jersey	12
New Jersey	5

North Carolina	2

1998 Little League World Series Champions
Toms River East American Little League Toms River, New Jersey

Notable players

Todd Frazier (Toms River, New Jersey) was drafted 34th overall by the Cincinnati Reds in the 2007 MLB Draft and played in 11 MLB seasons as an infielder for the Reds, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, New York Mets, Texas Rangers and Pittsburgh Pirates. 2015 Home Run Derby champion, 2-time All-Star (2014 and 2015) and 2020 Olympic silver medalist.
Jordan Lennerton (Langley, British Columbia) played first base in the Detroit Tigers and Atlanta Braves organizations. Won the CWS title with Oregon State in 2007.

Champions' path

The Toms River East American LL lost five games before reaching the LLWS, losing once each in district, section, and state tournaments and twice in the East Region tournament.^[1]^[2]

Round	Opposition	Result
New Jersey District 18 Tournament
results unavailable
New Jersey Section 3 Tournament
Opening Round	North Wall LL	9–1
Winners' Bracket Semifinals	Woodbridge LL	4–1
Winners' Bracket Final	HTRBA LL	3–4 (9 inn.)
Losers' Bracket Final	Woodbridge LL	15–3
Championship	HTRBA LL	17–3 (4 inn.)
Championship	HTRBA LL	4–3
New Jersey State Tournament
Opening Round	Cherry Hill National LL	4–2 (7 inn.)
Winners' Bracket Final	Randolph LL	13–7
Championship	Randolph LL	2–3
Championship	Randolph LL	7–4
East Regional
Group Stage	South Shore American LL	0–1
Group Stage	Cranston Western LL	6–2
Group Stage	Goffstown LL	11–4
Group Stage	Cranston Western LL	7–1
Group Stage	Brattleboro LL	2–5
Semifinals	Simsbury National LL	1–0
Championship	Georgetown LL	2–0
Little League World Series
Group Stage	Georgetown National LL	13–9 (11 inn.)
Group Stage	Cypress LL	4–2
Group Stage	Tar Heel LL	5–3
U.S. Championship	Tar Heel LL	5–2
World Championship	Kashima LL	12–9