Starting with the match against Australia on the 9th, the WBC schedule begins… Will it be possible to go to the United States after 14 years?
2006 (1st) and 2009 (2nd), the status of Korean 토토사이트, baseball has risen by advancing to the semifinals in two consecutive tournaments. . In 2009, he showed his potential by reaching the finals. As such, the World Baseball Classic (WBC) is more meaningful to the national team than any other competition.
It’s not just good memories. He also tasted bitter pain at the WBC. In 2013, when the ‘Taichung Disaster’ occurred, in 2017, held at home (Gocheok Sky Dome, Seoul), they were eliminated in the first round. It was a shocking result, but on the other hand, it was also a natural result. There was so little preparation.
Six years have passed since then. Due to the aftermath of Corona 19, the 5th tournament will be held two years later than planned. The baseball team has one goal. going to America Go beyond the 1st and 2nd rounds and aim for the quarterfinals. It is the first challenge in the semifinals in 14 years since 2009.
On July 21 last year, the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) appointed Lee Kang-cheol (kt Wiz) as the 2023 WBC national team coach and started preparing for the tournament. Here, he broke the ‘pure-blood principle’ and actively sought the participation of Korean major leaguers. Several players were mentioned, but the player who finally wore the Taegeuk mark was infielder Tommy Hyeonsu Edmon (St. Louis Cardinals).
In mid-November, a list of 50 people to be submitted to the WBC Organizing Committee (WBCI) was announced, and two months later, in January of this year, the final list of 30 people was selected. Ha-seong Kim (San Diego Padres), who played an active part in the big leagues for two years, joined the national team. However, Choi Ji-man (Pittsburgh Pirates), who had various problems, failed to participate.
The players who were notified to participate, such as adapting to the official ball while building their bodies, improved their condition faster than in previous years. In the middle of last month, the rest of the players, except for the two foreign players, gathered in Tucson, Arizona, USA, and worked together for over two weeks. In the evaluation match with domestic teams, he even checked his sense of practice.
In order not to repeat the nightmare of the previous two tournaments, the composition of the players and the preparation process were thoroughly conducted. In the process of returning to Korea after the schedule in the United States, a number of players had difficulties due to aircraft defects on domestic flights in the United States, but there was no disruption to the schedule.
Moreover, not a single player dropped out due to injury. On the 6th, during the evaluation match against the Orix Buffaloes, Ko Woo-seok, who felt something was wrong with his body, cleared his chest with a diagnosis of simple muscle pain. Athletes who showed poor physical condition in the cold weather of the United States also completed preparations for the competition normally.
The national team, which tasted victory in all of the unofficial evaluation matches against domestic teams, finished the official evaluation match against Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) teams with 1 win and 1 loss. With 9 points and 8 conceded points in 2 games, the hitter’s sense of hitting increased as time went on. In particular, with the performance of both starting and backup members, coach Lee Kang-cheol’s range of player appointments has widened.