“What should Korean baseball do to do well in the future?”
The Korean baseball team has another ‘catastrophe’ modifier. The Korean national baseball team finished 3rd in Group B with only 2 wins and 2 losses in the group stage of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) 1st round. 1st place in Group B was the championship candidate Japan (4 wins), and 2nd place was Dark Horse Australia (3 wins 1 loss). Korea was unable to secure a ticket to advance to the quarterfinals, which is given to second place in the group, and was eliminated in the first round for three consecutive times following the 2013 and 2017 tournaments.
The most shocking thing was the collapse of the mound. The idea of using veterans Kim Gwang-hyeon (SSG) and Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA) was distorted, and the young guns, except for Park Se-woong (Lotte) and Won Tae-in (Samsung), were beaten while pitching in a hurry to put a strike. Korea recorded a team ERA of 7.55, and as of the 14th, it was ranked 16th out of 20 participating countries. The Czech Republic, which was considered the weakest team in Group B, ranked 17th with an ERA of 7.94, while Japan, which delivered a decisive blow confirming the true face of Korean baseball, ranked first among 20 countries with an ERA of 1.50. It is the only team with an ERA below 3 points.
I did enough to hit. Looking at only the 10 countries that have played all 4 group stage matches so far, Korea ranked second overall with a team OPS of 0.967. Japan ranked first with 1.001. Regardless of the number of matches, Japan ranks second and Korea ranks third among 20 countries. In the last game against China, Korea won a cold game 22-2 in the 5th inning, setting a new WBC record for the most points scored in a single game, and ranked first in the category with 40 points in all 4 games. The number of home runs is also 7, which is 1st among 20 countries.
There was a stark difference in pitching performance, but as a result, Korean baseball received a poor report card of being eliminated in the first round for three consecutive times. We listened to what the players who directly experienced the ‘Tokyo Disaster’ reflected on for Korean baseball in the future.
Captain Kim Hyeon-soo (LG)
“The biggest challenge is for the players to get rid of the burden. They did their best during the preparation process and the game, but I think the most important thing for the players is to create an environment where they can enjoy without feeling the pressure of not being able to win. .I was nervous, and the players were also nervous. I couldn’t show my skills in the tension, so I have to make sure that I can do well in those things.”
Outfielder Lee Jung-hoo (Kiwoom)
“I know that many fans and the people expected it. I am sorry that the result was like this. Many young players, including myself, participated in this tournament, and it was a tournament where we could feel that our skills were inferior to many baseball players in the world. Frustration “I don’t want to do it, and I just need to improve further. Each player’s shortcomings are not the same and can be different. I think we should go back to our respective teams and improve the things we felt at this tournament in the future.”
Infielder Kim Ha-seong (San Diego)
“I saw these things on Darvish Yu’s social media after dinner (with the Japanese national team before the tournament). The Korean team didn’t have that. I think it can’t be helped because the players did not perform well in international competitions, and I felt that the Australian team was more organized and well prepared, and I thought that the Japanese pitchers were good pitchers because they had very good balls. In fact, the coaches and coaches say that they are all responsible for the result, but in the end, I think the players who played the game are responsible. Because it all came out.” 바카라사이트
Pitcher Won Tae-in (Samsung)
“Honestly, I felt a wall. In a way, I am playing baseball with good treatment in the big leagues, but there is no excuse for being eliminated three times in a row. I think I need to go to and change my mindset and the exercises I’ve been doing up until now. It’s not just me that’s changing, everyone must have thought that way. Everyone will go to Korea and change because they’ve experienced regret or being pushed behind in their skills. It seems that we have only been able to maintain while the players have developed a lot. I hope that Korean baseball will develop a lot with this tournament as an opportunity.”
Pitcher Park Se-woong (Lotte)
“I thought a lot about how to catch a hitter quickly. Young players, including me, don’t have much experience in international competitions like this. Throwing in front of a large crowd (Tokyo Dome with 46,000 seats full) is not easy in itself. As a player, I know that well. I think the players will be able to pitch better as they gain more experience.”
Pitcher Kim Won-joong (Lotte)
“Every single ball can happen, but I should have thrown every ball with a little more care. For young pitchers) I want to tell them to be confident because there is a good chance of winning even if they go into a big tournament and enter confidently without fear.”