The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) baseball team, led by coach Lee Kang-cheol, gathered in Tucson, Arizona, USA in mid-February to begin full-scale team training. However, inclement weather held the team back.
It was said to be the first abnormal climate in 30 years. By mid-February, the weather in Tucson, which should have been brighter and hotter, was very messy. The training environment for the players was limited, such as a snowstorm. A practice game that had been held in the rain was also canceled. It was all unexpected. All players struggled, but the bigger problem was the pitchers.
Since it was before the season, it was natural that the pitchers’ physical condition was not improved. I should have improved my condition through practice games in warm weather, but I couldn’t do that at all. Opportunities that hadn’t happened before disappeared under a dark cloud. Even manager Lee Kang-cheol expressed concern about the condition of the pitchers.
I still believed in the players’ readiness, but when I opened the lid, the result was disappointing. It was difficult to determine whether it was simply bad luck from not being prepared, or whether it proved that the level of Korean pitchers was not keeping up with the world trend.
Korea lost 7-8 in their first match against Australia in Group B in the first round of the finals held at the Tokyo Dome in Japan on the 9th. The batting line was also a problem, and the lack of concentration was also a problem, but the mound that gave 8 points was the biggest problem. It was difficult to see that all pitchers were in normal condition. In a situation where the pitch is not good, even long hits were allowed, and all ideas were twisted.
Starter Ko Young-pyo kept the game scoreless until the 3rd inning, but runners kept going except for the 1st inning. In the end, he gave up 1 run in the 4th inning, and even allowed an extra run by hitting a home run in the 5th inning. Two runs in 4⅓ innings wasn’t such a bad pitch. However, it was coupled with a sluggish batting lead to somewhat disappointing results.
The condition of the pitchers who threw was also not that good. Won Tae-in and Jung Cheol-won did not concede, but it was not neat. So Joon Sohn, who climbed the mound in the 7th inning with a 4-2 lead, allowed the first two batters to get on base and was driven to the 2nd and 3rd bases with one out. Kim Won-joong, who came up to extinguish the crisis, hit a come-from-behind three-run home run by Glendining after two outs. The change ball was driven high. It was a mistake that would have surprised even the players. 안전놀이터
There was still a chance because it was 1 gradual. However, Yang Hyeon-jong, who came to the mound after one out in the 8th inning, made a shocking 3 runs. Leading Wingrove got an infield hit to second base, and Wade hit a double to left field and was driven to second and third base. Although it was necessary to minimize the run, Perkins hit a 3-run homer and the score gap widened to 4-8. Here, the flow of the game turned to Australia.
He made up for 3 points in the 8th inning, and Lee Yong-chan struggled until the 9th inning, but he already allowed too many points. Only after the middle of the game, it collapsed after giving 6 runs to Australia’s home run. The game ended in defeat without a chance to do anything amid the poor condition of the national team pitchers. The game against Japan on the 10th is expected to be a game that can more accurately pinpoint the current address of the Korean mound.