Samurai Conquering the Baseball World Cup

If the World Cup in Qatar splendidly decorated the end of 2022, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) in 2023 is coming to sports fans. The WBC, which can be called the ‘Baseball World Cup’, is the 5th tournament.

After the first competition was held in 2006, the second competition was held in 2009, three years later, followed by the third in 2013 and the fourth in 2017, four years apart. I tried to open the 5th competition in 2021, but it was pushed back to this year in the aftermath of the corona, and the WBC was held in 6 years.

In Korea, coach Lee Kang-cheol, who led KT Wiz to win the KBO League in the 2021 season, takes the baton. The infield is considered a strong point.

Tommy Edman (St. Louis Cardinals), who won the Gold Glove for second baseman in 2021, which is awarded to the best defender by major league position, and Kim Ha-seong (Sen Diego Padres), shortstop Gold Glove candidate last season, are highly anticipated. there is. Edmund, whose mother is of Korean descent, joined the South Korean national team under WBC rules that would determine a country’s appearance based on the parentage of one of his parents or grandparents.

Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh Pirates), an eight-year major leaguer, is highly likely to take over as first base, but the key is whether his team will allow it.

Third baseman Choi Jeong (SSG Landers), who represents the KBO League, guards the infield with major leaguers. ‘Maid in the House’ must be Yang Eui-ji (Doosan Bears).

Lee Jeong-hoo (Kiwoom Heroes), who won the MVP for last year’s KBO league hitting 5 crowns, and Kim Hyun-soo (LG Twins), the captain of the WBC national team, are expected to occupy two outfield positions. Na Seong-beom (KIA Tigers), Park Gun-woo (NC Dinos), and Park Hae-min (LG Twins) are expected to compete for the starting spot.

It is true that the pitching staff has less weight compared to the previous national team. Ryu Hyun-jin (Toronto Blue Jays), who is considered the best pitcher in Korea along with Park Chan-ho, could not work together due to injury, and An Woo-jin (Kiwoom Heroes), the current KBO League best pitcher who received the Golden Glove by ranking first in ERA and strikeouts last year, has a history of school violence. It was excluded because

Lefty duo Kim Gwang-hyeon (SSG Landers) and Yang Hyeon-jong (KIA Tigers), a lefty duo born in 1988, will scramble together in what may be their last national competition. For Korea, it is very important whether Chang-mo Koo (NC Diners), who caused a sensation in the KBO League with 9 wins and an ERA of 1.55 in the first half of the 2020 season, will be active.

Lee Kang-cheol will be training for the WBC in Tucson, Arizona, USA from February 14th to 27th. Korea, which belongs to Group B, will play Australia on March 9, Japan on March 10, Czech Republic on March 12, and China on March 13 at the Tokyo Dome in Japan. The 1st and 2nd places in the group advance to the quarterfinals. 안전놀이터

The introduction is long. Today’s topic is not the Korean national team. I’d like to tell you about the Japanese national team that will face us on March 10th. It is said that it is the strongest power of all time, and Japanese fans are expecting a lot, so I want to see how great it is.

Japan, the winner of the 1st and 2nd WBC tournaments, is full of dreams of winning the tournament for the first time in 14 years. While the Dominican Republic won the 3rd and the USA in the 4th tournament, Japan only won 2 bronze medals in a row.

Tickets are already sold out. Tickets for the first round and quarterfinals at the Tokyo Dome have all been sold out. Tickets worth more than 2 million won are also available on resale sites. Basically, there are many tickets worth more than 1 million won.

Even if I’m a Japanese baseball fan, I think it will appeal to me. You can see Shohei Ohtani (LA Angels), the Japanese baseball hero who conquered the major leagues, play right in front of you.

The pitching rules for this tournament are strict. The maximum number of pitches thrown by a pitcher per WBC round is a maximum of 65 in round 1, a maximum of 80 in the quarterfinals, and a maximum of 95 after the semifinals.

If you throw more than 30 balls, you must take a day off, and if you throw more than 50 balls, you must rest for four days. Also, if you fight for two days, you should take a day off. So the more starting pitchers there are, the more advantageous it is.

In addition to Ohtani, many stars from Japan have joined the national team this time. In particular, the starting pitching staff, which is considered one of the ‘Big 4’, is really splendid. Let’s take a look at the main starting pitchers of this ‘Samurai Japan’, which are considered the strongest of all time.