It was a disastrous defeat. It was fortunate that they barely escaped a cold game.
The Korean baseball team, led by coach Lee Kang-cheol, lost 4-13 in the first round of the 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) held at Tokyo Dome, Japan on the 10th.
Korea lost 7-8 in the first game of the tournament against Australia on the 9th, and then completely collapsed against Japan, falling to the bottom of Group B, and the possibility of advancing to the second round became slim.
The news of Korea’s successive defeats also showed considerable surprise on the official website of Major League Baseball (MLB.com). ‘MLB.com’ summarized the news of the first round match between Korea and Japan, saying, “Japan drove Korea into a corner with superior offensive power.”
Above all, the mound without countermeasures is regarded as Korea’s defeat. Korea used 10 pitchers against the Japanese batters, but could not stand the hard hitting of the Japanese batters.
‘MLB.com’ said, “I realized that there is no pitcher in Korea who can calm down the Japanese hitters. Surprisingly, 10 pitchers were appointed, but no pitcher, fastball, or breaking ball could solve the mystery of the Japanese batting line.” He pinched the collective sluggishness.
On this day, Korea put forward starting pitcher Kwang-Hyun Kim, but Kwang-Hyun Kim pitched hard while catching 5 strikeouts until the 2nd inning, then faltered sharply at the end of the 3rd inning and provided a clue to a comeback. ~Park Se-woong was put in one after another, but it was not enough to prevent the wave of the Japanese line. 메이저놀이터
The possibility of advancing to the second round has not completely disappeared, but it is also true that the odds have become slim.
‘MLB.com’ cites Korea’s sluggish performance as one of the surprises of this tournament. “For Korea, this means that the schedule will almost certainly end in the first round of three consecutive rounds,” said MLB.com, “Two major leaguers on the table setter, a superstar named Lee Jung-hoo, and a young and promising rotation will make the 4th in Miami. It was expected that it would be close to the quarterfinals, even if it wasn’t the first round,” he said.
Korea still has schedules to face the Czech Republic and China, but even if they win the remaining games, they will have to wait and see the results of other teams. Currently, there is no answer other than a miracle.