# 1998 Little League World Series

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 | United States | International | 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 | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 27 August – International Championship | 27 August – International Championship |
| Japan | 3 |
| Japan | 3 | 29 August – World Championship | 29 August – World Championship |
| Canada | 2 | 29 August – World Championship | 29 August – World Championship |
| Canada | 2 | Japan | 9 |
| 27 August – U.S. Championship | 27 August – U.S. Championship | | Japan | 9 |
| 27 August – U.S. Championship | 27 August – U.S. Championship | New Jersey | 12 |
| New Jersey | 5 | New Jersey | 12 |
| 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.
| 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 |