The 2023 World Baseball Classic (WBC) of the Korean baseball team has ended. Knocked out in round 1 of shock. I selected the best players, but they were not good. If you look deeply, it is also a part that connects with the crisis of the KBO League.
The national team finished the 2023 WBC with the match against China on the 13th. They won 22-2. He set a new WBC record for most goals scored in a single match. Although it was belated, it exploded coolly. 2 wins and 2 losses including this match. They ended up in 3rd place in Group B, and were eliminated in the first round. It is a shocking result to be eliminated in the first round of three competitions in a row.
Losing 7-8 against Australia in the first game, which he had to catch, became a fatal blow. They lost to Japan 4-13, barely avoiding a called game. In fact, it should be seen that the quarterfinals are over here. They caught the Czech Republic and China, but considering the level of baseball, they are opponents that must be defeated.
After the match against China, coach Lee Kang-cheol said, “I am sincerely sorry to the people and baseball fans. The players prepared really well and did their best to prepare. The result came out like this because I was lacking. The pitcher’s performance was worse than the fielder’s. I drew it as I thought, but I think it didn’t go wrong when I came here.”
Again, the mound was a problem. First of all, the conditioning failure is big. The players prepared diligently in their own way. From January, he flew to warm places such as the United States and Japan to build his body. After returning to Korea, they went abroad again to join their team’s camp, and gathered in the United States. After that, after two days of training in Korea, I entered Tokyo via Osaka.
When the tournament was held, the pitching staff that could be operated was cut in half. Go Woo-seok could not play a single game due to phlegm, and Kim Yun-sik played 1 game and digested 0 innings. Kim Gwang-Hyeon and Yang Hyeon-Jong also only had 2 innings and 1 inning respectively. Won Tae-in, Jeong Cheol-won, and Kim Won-joong were overloaded.
You need to look deep. Compared to the tournaments in 2006 and 2009, when they won the semi-finals and runner-up, there is a clear difference in the mound. There was no ‘Ace’ card that I could trust and trust. Previously, there were cards that could be played for each opponent. In particular, the ‘Japanese killer’ has always existed. 메이저사이트 Coach Kang-cheol Lee also looked back, saying, “At the time, I was able to select a pitcher with certainty in the starting and midfield.”
Not this time. Even though it was called ‘Kwang Hyeon-jong again’, they are still the aces. League record shows. Of the 22 players who filled the required innings last year, 10 were foreign pitchers. 12 indigenous people. And 8 of these 12 came to the national team this time. They are Kim Kwang-hyun, Sohn Joon-jun, Ko Young-pyo, Kwak Bin, Yang Hyeon-jong, Lee Eui-ri, Park Se-woong, and Won Tae-in.
Among them, Kim Gwang-hyun is the only one with an ERA record of 2 points. Even if it is calculated with ‘3.20’, which can be said to be the midpoint of the average ERA of 22 regular innings, only one small-jun (3.05) is added. On the other hand, there is Gu Chang-mo. He had 11 wins and a 2.10 earned run average. The innings are as few as 111.2 innings.
This means that there are not as many pitchers who have been consistently active as aces throughout the season. Foreign pitchers are in charge of each team’s one-two punch, so the proportion of native pitchers has decreased significantly. There are six foreign pitchers who have achieved an ERA in the 2-point range while filling the required innings. There are also Sean Morrimando and Thomas Panoni, who came in as substitutes and showed their power.
It was also pointed out in Japan. Tomoya Satozaki, former member of the Japanese national team, said, “The KBO League is dominated by foreign pitchers. It seems that they are not trying to develop their own pitchers.” From the point of view of the KBO league and the national team, it seems that the bones have been properly hit.
The bullpen was, in some ways, better. Lotte’s closer Kim Won-joong and Doosan’s Pil Seung-jo and Jeong Cheol-won showed good performances despite hearing the sound of ‘excessive work’. Lee Yong-chan also came up when needed and gave strength. However, the fact that LG Pilseung duo Jung Woo-young and Go Woo-seok failed to throw properly became a fatal part.
Of course, there is an ace named Ahn Woo-jin among domestic pitchers. However, the non-baseball part became a problem and he was not selected. Director Lee Kang-cheol said, “There is still no change about the decision. I have no regrets.” And when Ahn Woo-jin was absent, the talent pool was ‘suddenly’ reduced.
We need to break this flow. Through this tournament, I saw the limits of young players. Instead, it is also a competition where experience is accumulated. You can expect: And for this, not only the players, but the whole league must join forces. It is not simply something that is left to the players.
There are foreign pitchers, so you can do it in the league, but the national team is a completely different story. It felt right this time. faced with a great crisis. All that remains is to overcome it wisely. You have to take it seriously and look far.
